Developing Resilience Against Variance in Poker

Poker is a card game with a lot of strategy and psychology. While luck is the biggest factor in winning poker, it still requires quite a bit of skill to play well. The most important thing to remember is that every situation in poker is different and that you need to adapt your actions. Rather than trying to memorize complicated systems, focus on developing quick instincts by practicing and watching other players.

The dealer does a little shuffling and then deals three cards face up on the table that everyone can use (the flop). Each player has a choice to check (not bet), call (match another player’s bet), or raise (bet more than the previous player).

You have a strong value hand like a pair of kings and an opponent moves all in for a decent amount of money. It’s tempting to try to figure out what they have, but this takes too long and may not be accurate. Instead, start by categorizing your opponents into a few simple categories: loose or tight; passive or aggressive.

Once you’ve done that, you can make much better decisions in each hand based on the odds of getting your desired result. This makes you a more valuable player and increases the number of profitable sessions that you have. When you do lose, don’t let it break your motivation or confidence; just learn from your mistakes and move on. This is the best way to develop resilience against variance.