Poker is a game of incomplete information. Unlike other games where you can see what your opponents have, in poker every action (folding, calling, checking, raising) gives away bits of information that can be pieced together to build a story about the strength or weakness of someone’s hand. Consequently, a player’s strategy is not so much about what they hold as it is how they play it.

Getting into a good position is one of the most important aspects of poker. Players in early positions risk more money than those in later position because they’re working with less information.

In poker, you’re often betting on the possibility that your opponent has a weak hand or no hand at all. This is called “playing the board” and it’s an essential part of any poker strategy.

Bluffing is an advanced skill that takes practice. In general, the best time to bluff is when your opponents’ boards pair well, or when they have a straight or flush and you can give them a scare card.

The more you play, the better you’ll get at determining what your opponents have in their hands. That’s not possible to do by analyzing physical tells in person, but there are a number of ways to figure out how your opponents play and to make adjustments on the fly. Watch for patterns like a player who calls every bet until they hit a showdown, or a player who doesn’t call preflop but raises on later streets.