Poker is often portrayed as a game of chance, but this is not the case at all. It is a highly strategic game that can teach you life-long skills in areas such as finances, psychology and interpersonal relationships.
It helps you learn to control your emotions. Poker is a stressful game, and when things aren’t going so well it can be easy to let your anger or stress levels boil over. This type of unfiltered expression can have disastrous consequences, both in the poker room and your personal life. Poker teaches you to stay in control and to never chase your losses with foolish gameplay.
You learn to read people. Poker is a social game, and you can get to know the other players at your table. Observing your opponents’ body language and tellings will help you understand their strengths and weaknesses. This can be hugely advantageous when playing against them.
It improves your concentration levels. Poker is a highly mentally challenging game, and it requires constant concentration in order to succeed. It is a very difficult skill to develop, but it can be taught. Keeping your focus on the game and ignoring other distractions will allow you to concentrate more easily in other areas of your life as well. This also enables you to pick up on tells and other subtle changes in the way your opponent is behaving. This information can then be used to your advantage in future hands.