Poker is a game of chance and skill, but it also requires the player to be mentally tough. It’s important to be able to play the game when you are feeling confident and happy, so that you can perform at your best. It’s equally important to know when to quit the game, especially if you feel frustration, fatigue, or anger building up.
Regardless of how well you play, it’s inevitable that you’re going to lose hands at times. However, the top players don’t let these losses affect their confidence or make them overthink the game. They understand that bad luck happens and learn from their mistakes. The key is to minimise the number of bad beats that you experience and maximise the amount of money you win when you do have a good hand.
This is called the MinMax strategy. It’s a difficult strategy to implement because it requires discipline and perseverance. It means playing the best possible hand, even if it’s not the most likely one to win. It also requires the ability to ignore your emotions and focus on the mathematical aspects of the game.
To maximize your profits, you must study the opponents at the table and read their body language. This will allow you to classify them into tight, loose, passive, or aggressive types. You can then use this information to make better decisions in the game. It’s also important to watch for tells, which are the small non-verbal expressions a player gives that can reveal how strong or weak their hand is.
