How to Become a Better Poker Player

The game of poker requires many skills to succeed. Discipline and perseverance are essential, but so is the ability to choose the right games for your bankroll and skill level. Smart game selection allows you to find avenues for profitable play that aren’t necessarily obvious. It also helps you understand how to make better decisions.

As you continue to play poker, you’ll start to develop an intuition for things like frequencies and EV estimation. These concepts will become a natural part of your thinking, and you’ll begin to have an automatic understanding of how to play each hand in almost any situation.

A good poker player is always looking for ways to improve his or her game. This includes studying books, watching training videos, and talking to other players about their strategies. A skilled player will also tweak his or her strategy to make sure it’s the best possible fit for his or her style.

One of the most important things you can do to become a better poker player is to learn about hand ranges. This is an invaluable tool that can help you understand how to play any hand in a given situation, and it will save you a lot of money over the long run by eliminating unnecessary calls.

Another aspect of poker that is crucial to success is positioning. Having a better position will allow you to make more value bets because your opponents will have less information about the strength of your hands. For example, if you are in early position (EP) you should only open strong hands, and if you are in MP you can usually add a few more weaker hands to your opening range.