Poker is a card game played by people around the world. It is a game of chance but also involves skill and psychology. It is a game where concentration is paramount, as one mistake could result in a big loss. Poker trains your concentration continuously enabling you to improve your focus in other areas of your life.
It also teaches you to be patient. Often you’ll be losing hand after hand, and it’s important to not let your emotions boil over and cause you to make bad decisions. It is also a great way to build up your comfort with taking risks. As the game progresses, you will take more and more risks, and some of them will fail, but you’ll learn from those experiences and will be able to control your emotions better in future.
Another good way to train your patience is by reading books about the game, particularly strategy books written by winning players at your level of play. It’s also helpful to discuss hands with other players – finding players who are winning at your stakes and starting a weekly group chat is a great way to do this. You can talk about difficult spots that you’ve been in and see how other players would approach the situation. This is called studying your opponent. You can even learn to read your opponents’ tells, such as fiddling with their chips or putting on a poker face.