If you want to improve your poker game, you need to learn how to make decisions when you don’t have all the information. Whether it’s poker or business, deciding under uncertainty requires an open mind and the ability to estimate probabilities.

Poker is a card game that involves betting and raising. Each player puts a specified amount of chips into the pot before the cards are dealt. Then, the players act in turn. The first player to act raises his or her bet and then each subsequent player has the option of calling, raising, or folding his or her hand.

One of the most important aspects of a good poker strategy is knowing when to fold. Unless you have a strong hand, it’s usually better to fold than to continue fighting for something that may not be there. This allows you to avoid large losses and preserve your bankroll for stronger hands.

Another key element of a good poker strategy is understanding how to read your opponents. This includes analyzing their betting patterns and observing the size of their chip stacks. Paying attention to these details can help you determine if they are short-stacked, meaning that they’re desperate to win, or long-stacked, which means that they’re more likely to hold a strong hand.

You can also improve your poker skills by studying past hands that you’ve played. Don’t just review hands that went badly – you should also look at the good ones. This will help you identify what you did right and how to repeat those actions in the future.