Poker is a card game of chance and skill, played between two or more players. The game has a long history and many variations, including draw poker, stud poker, and five-card draw. It became popular in the United States during the American Civil War.
A typical poker game starts with forced bets called blinds, placed into a central pot by the player on each chair to their left. The dealer then shuffles the cards and deals each player 2 cards face down. After each player has received their cards, a round of betting begins. If no one has a winning hand, the money in the pot is split amongst the players who have the best 5-card hands.
Losing at poker hurts. It’s hard to admit that your opponent is stronger, smarter, or just plain better than you. This is especially true in a game like poker, which is steeped in machismo and dominated by a king-of-the-table dynamic.
To be a first-rate poker player, you need to learn to play the game correctly – and that requires self-honesty. If you can’t be honest with yourself about why you play, or what your real odds of winning are, it won’t matter how much knowledge you accumulate on strategy, or what fancy software you use to calculate percentages — you will never be a great poker player. But if you’re willing to be brutally honest with yourself, there is a way. The formula is simple: Self-honesty + Patience = Great Poker.