Official poker is played from a standard 52-card pack (with some variant games using multiple packs or adding jokers). Cards are ranked from high to low in the suits of spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. The highest hand wins. Some poker games also include wild cards that can take on any suit or rank.

When a player has a strong hand, they should raise in order to price all of the worse hands out of the pot and maximize their winnings. However, it’s important to remember that even if your hand is good, you may still lose if another player folds. To minimize losing hands, players should always protect their cards by placing either their hand or a chip on top of them.

Many players fail to play within their bankroll, which leads to a lot of bad decisions. This is why it’s important to understand how to manage your bankroll effectively and play within your means.

Regardless of whether you’re a cautious player or an aggressive one, there will be times when your emotions get the better of you and you make a bad call or ill-advised bluff. This is the scourge of poker, known as poker tilt and it’s the number one reason why so many poker players fail to win. Poker tilt is the result of negative emotions such as anger or frustration influencing your decision making and it can ruin your game instantly. For this reason, you must remain disciplined and stick to your strategy despite these emotional setbacks.