Poker is a card game played by two or more people around a table. Each player must ante (put in a small amount of chips; the exact amount varies by game) before being dealt two cards face down. They can then choose to call (put the same number of chips into the pot as the player to their left), raise (bet a higher amount than the previous player), or drop (fold). The players who put in the most chips win the “pot,” or the pool of money contributed by all players.

Top players understand the importance of weighting their chances to maximise profit. For example, if you have a strong hand but there is a chance your opponent has a better one, it might be more profitable to call than to risk losing the rest of your money by raising and being called. In the same way, if you have a weak hand and your opponent is bluffing, it may be worth attempting to draw replacement cards from the community to improve your odds of winning.

Another important skill is reading body language at the poker table to detect tells and misinformation from other players. This is a vital part of the game, and is something that can be transferred to other parts of life, such as assessing whether someone you are interviewing is lying or not. Finally, top poker players know how to analyse their own play, identifying what went wrong and how to avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future.