Poker might not require the ability to run a 4-minute mile or bench press a small car, however it does require a large amount of mental toughness. Those that don’t have the ability to handle a bad beat will be crushed and squander their entire stack within a few hands of play. Those that do have the ability will ride out the rough patch and know they’ll eventually make money.
A major component of poker strategy is understanding how to read other players. This includes learning to spot tells, which are not only nervous habits (like fiddling with chips or a ring) but also the way a player plays their hand. For example, a player who slow-plays their strong hand could be signaling weakness to their opponents or chasing off other players waiting for a better hand.
Another key aspect of poker strategy is knowing how to adjust your bet size based on your position and the actions of your opponents. Whether you want to be tight and conservative or aggressive, the ability to determine the right amount to raise is critical. This process involves taking into account previous action, the number of players left in a hand, stack depth and pot odds. Mastering this aspect of poker is a skill that takes a lot of practice.