Poker is a game of chance with quite a bit of psychology and skill involved. The fact that luck can bolster or tank even the best players makes it a truly fascinating game to study. It also gives us an unfiltered window into human nature.
Observation
Poker requires a keen sense of observation to spot tells and changes in an opponent’s mood. This skill is valuable in the real world, especially if you work with people or live in a fast-paced environment where sudden changes can cause stress and emotions to rise uncontrollably with potentially negative consequences.
Risk assessment
When you play poker, you have to evaluate the probability of an unpleasant outcome from your decisions and decide whether to call, fold, or raise. This is a key life skill that improves over time, and poker helps teach you how to make better decisions in your everyday life.
Position
It is important to understand position when you play poker, as it allows you to control how much money is in the pot. For example, if you are in the middle position and your opponent checks to you with a good hand, you can call and win the pot. It is also easier to win pots in the early stages of a hand when you are in position, so it’s worth learning this aspect of the game.
Learning poker is difficult because there are so many different strategies and aspects of the game that you need to master in order to be a successful player. However, it is essential to focus on just one concept per week and study it thoroughly before moving onto the next. For example, you might watch a cbet video on Monday and read an article on 3bets on Tuesday, then listen to a podcast about tilt management on Wednesday and then read another book chapter on ICM on Thursday.