While poker does involve a significant amount of chance, most hands are won by players making decisions on the basis of probability, psychology and game theory. In fact, poker is one of the few games that can actually improve your logical thinking skills!
A big reason for this is that the game forces you to make a decision every time you play. This helps to keep your mind sharp and prevents you from getting into emotional or mental tilt when things don’t go your way. Winning poker players are also able to stay calm and rational even after losing a hand because they understand that results don’t matter – only good +EV decisions do.
Another big benefit of poker is that it forces you to quickly learn probabilities. This is because you must constantly calculate the chances that a certain hand will beat another and make your decision accordingly. This is a skill that you can carry into many other areas of life, from giving presentations to negotiating deals.
Finally, poker teaches you to read other players’ body language. You must be able to tell when someone is stressed or bluffing, and you also need to know how to read the cards in a particular situation to figure out whether to hit, stay or double up. These are all useful skills to have in life, and they all help you play better poker! The best part is that you can become a world class poker player by practicing and studying regularly.