Poker is a card game that involves betting and gathering cards to form a winning hand. The winning hand is called the pot and the person who claims it is the winner. There are many aspects of poker that must be taken into consideration in order to succeed, such as learning hand rankings, the basic rules, and understanding how position influences your decisions.

Having a strong understanding of these aspects will help you maximize your potential for winning and minimizing losses. In addition, it’s important to understand poker etiquette, which is very similar to social etiquette. This includes respecting other players and the dealers, not disrupting the gameplay, avoiding arguments and disputes, and following basic tipping guidelines.

One common mistake that many poker players make is to limp into pots when they’re out of position. This strategy can lead to big losses, especially when you call a big raise and end up getting beat on the river by a stronger hand. You should almost always raise if you have a strong hand, and fold if you have a weak one. It’s also important to know when bluffing is appropriate and when it isn’t. Generally, only strong hands are worth bluffing with, and even then you must be careful that the opponent doesn’t pick up on your bluff and start calling more often or raising you. A good way to learn this is to review your hands and study how your opponents played them.