If you want to be successful at poker, you need quick instincts and good strategy. The best way to learn this is by playing a lot and watching experienced players. Observe the strategies they use to develop your own, and practice putting yourself in their shoes to understand how their decisions affect their success rate.

The most important thing to remember is that a hand is not good or bad only in relation to its own strength, but also in relation to what other players are holding. This is called “playing the player” and it can make your hands a lot better or much worse than they would be without that player’s presence at the table. For example, if you have Ks-Kd and another player is holding A-A, your two pairs are losers 82% of the time.

A player who wishes to stay in the pot after the last raise must either call or raise his own stake a matching amount (called re-raising). If he is unwilling to do this, he must fold, even if his hand has an excellent chance of winning.

Often top players will fast play their strong hands in order to build the pot and chase off other players who are waiting for a draw that could beat theirs. This is called “playing the pot.” In addition to this, it is a good idea to watch the play of experienced players in order to recognize their mistakes and see how they can be avoided.