Poker is a card game in which players bet on the probability that they will have a winning hand. While luck plays a major role in any given hand, specific skills make some people better at the game than others. This is because the skill in poker lies in deciding when to invest resources into a winning hand, and when to hold back and play a safer hand later on. This is similar to risk management in business and can help with career progression, says Jenny Just, a 2020 graduate of the University of Oxford who launched Poker Power, a virtual workshop to teach women how to play poker and improve their confidence at work.
During the initial betting round, each player places two forced bets called blinds into the pot before the cards are dealt. Once everyone has their 2 personal cards, the dealer shares three more community cards on the table called the flop. This is followed by another betting round and the highest ranked poker hand wins the pot.
A poker player must be able to observe the other players’ betting behavior, and read their tells (eye movements, idiosyncrasies, hand gestures etc). They also need to have the ability to quickly analyse the strengths and weaknesses of their own hand and understand what the odds of winning are. This requires a combination of experience and practice to develop quick instincts. This includes studying the strategies of experienced players and playing against them to improve one’s own gameplay.