Poker is a card game with many variants, but the most common types are cash games and tournament play. Regardless of the variant, the object is to win the pot, which is the sum of all bets in any one deal. Players compete for this by betting, either in order to make a superior hand or to intimidate other players into calling bets.

In most forms of poker, the players receive a total of seven cards in their hands, and the best five-card hand wins the pot. The remaining cards are revealed to the players, and players can then decide to call, raise or fold. Some players may also choose to put all of their remaining chips into the pot, a move called an all-in bet.

A player’s betting is determined by the rules of the game and his or her knowledge of the other players at the table, including their body language, which can be used to determine whether they are bluffing or holding a strong hand. This type of observation is sometimes known as reading tells, and it is a key component of the skill of poker playing.

In addition to knowing the mathematical odds of a winning hand, successful poker players must be comfortable taking risks. As Just explains, “Some of those risks are going to fail, and you have to learn how to recognize when it is time to cut your losses. This is something I learned as an options trader, and it has been useful in poker.” Moreover, she says, the more risk-averse players tend to lose more than those who are willing to take bigger risks.