Poker is the most popular card game in the world. It melds knowledge of strategic principles with luck, probability, an ability to discern what kind of hand your opponent has and how he may choose to act on it, and the courage and conviction required to put your money where your mouth is. Find out about the five most popular poker games played around the world, and master the skills and techniques necessary to give you the confidence to sit down at any poker game and win. Learn how to identify the best games to play in, which starting hands to hold and which to fold, how to figure the odds, when to play drawing hands and when to avoid them, and how to read and deceive your opponents with or without a poker face. A ready-reference as well as a progressive tutorial, you don't have to read this book from cover to cover – if you know all the rules but want to find out more about advanced strategies, or what the best starting hands are for each common poker variant, jump right in there and start reading. If you want to learn the basics and save the advanced stuff for later, start at the beginning and wait until you feel ready to tackle some of the more advanced concepts.