Poker is a card game in which players place bets (representing money) into a common pot. Each player has a private hand of five cards which they may or may not choose to reveal at the end of the betting round. Generally, the highest hand wins the pot.

The game begins with each player having to contribute a forced bet, which is either the blind or the ante (the amount varies by game). After this, the dealer shuffles the deck and deals each player a number of cards one at a time, beginning with the player to his/her left. The first player to act must either match the previous bet (called calling) or raise it (called raising).

If a player has a strong hand, he/she should try to bluff other players into folding their hands. This can force weaker hands out of the game and increase the value of your own hand.

Poker is a game of strategy and luck, but it’s also a game that requires a lot of raw technical skill to maximize your edge in-game. To do this, you need to understand the optimal frequencies & hand ranges for different situations based on your position and stack depth. Push-fold charts help you make these decisions by displaying solved ranges that show you when it is correct to call, raise or fold your hand.