Poker is a game that tests your analytical and mathematical skills while pushing your endurance. It also indirectly teaches life lessons that can benefit you in your everyday life. For instance, it helps you become more self-aware by giving you the opportunity to observe your own mood and emotions while suppressing them in front of strangers. You also learn to manage your own expectations and handle failure by being resilient.
It improves your math skills by allowing you to work out the probabilities of cards coming up in future streets and compare them with your bet size. It also makes you more observant of your opponents and their body language. You can pick up tells, changes in their betting pattern and even their moods. This requires a lot of concentration and focus, but the results can be substantial.
As a beginner you’re going to lose some hands and it is important to be able to accept this as part of the learning process. A good poker player won’t try to chase their losses by raising the stakes, instead they will just fold and learn from their mistakes. This is a vital skill for life in general.
It also helps you develop quick instincts by observing the experienced players and imagining how you would react in their situation. By combining these factors you will develop a fast and reliable strategy.