Poker is a game of skill and psychology, but it also has a large element of chance. This is why it can be so fun and addicting to play. In addition to the basic rules of poker, you should learn about some of the more obscure variations of the game.
A player must contribute to the pot (representing money, for which poker is almost always played) before he can see his cards. Each player places chips in the pot in turn, according to the rules of the specific poker variant being played.
Often, it is smarter to fold than to continue betting a hand that you are not likely to win. Especially in a game with experienced players, it is very easy to get caught up in the emotion of the moment and start calling every bet, even if you do not have any good cards. This is known as playing on tilt, and it can lead to disaster.
The best way to prevent this is to study some charts of what hands beat what. For example, a flush beats a straight, and three of a kind beats two pair. You should also know how to bluff. This is a great way to take advantage of other players, but it must be used sparingly and with care. If you bluff too much, you can quickly lose your chips to an opponent who is better at reading tells. The most effective bluffs are those that look very similar to your actual hand.