Poker is a game that’s all about making fast decisions. You can bet, call, and raise all in a few seconds, so it’s important to make the right decision quickly or risk losing money. This mental skill is useful in many other areas of life, such as business, where you might have to make a quick decision when your rival makes a big move.

One of the more useful things poker can teach you is how to think about probabilities and odds. The more you play, the better you’ll become at calculating the odds of your hand in your head and comparing them to the risks and potential gains from your actions. This type of thinking is an essential part of any good poker player’s toolbox.

Poker also teaches you to be confident in your decisions, even if you don’t have all the facts at your fingertips. This is a valuable lesson for entrepreneurs and athletes alike, who often have to make decisions without having all of the information they’d like to have.

Finally, poker helps you to learn to read other players’ hands. This seems like a very difficult thing to do, but the more you play, the easier it becomes. For example, if a player checks after the flop and then raises on the turn, you can infer that they probably have a high card or a pair. If you can guess what other players have, you’ll be able to plan your own betting strategy more effectively.