Poker is a game of cards in which players compete against other players for money. Unlike other casino games such as slots, poker is a game where you must have other players willing to pay you to play and win. This means there is a great deal of randomness involved in poker and while you can improve your luck with practice, there will always be a certain amount of randomness in each hand.
Learning to read and exploit this randomness is an integral part of becoming a successful poker player. The divide between break-even beginner players and big-time winners isn’t as wide as many people think, and often it is just a few little adjustments you can make that will carry you over and enable you to start winning at a much higher rate.
For instance, if you are dealt in EP, it is important to keep your opening range tight, playing only the strongest hands. However, as the last to act, you can raise or bet yourself in order to create a bigger pot and put more pressure on your opponents.
It is also important to be able to spot the differences between conservative and aggressive players. Aggressive players can be easily bluffed and can easily lose a lot of money. Conservative players, on the other hand, are a bit more difficult to bluff and tend to fold early in the hand. They can also be spotted as they don’t usually raise very high early in the hand.