Poker is not only a game of cards, it also teaches you how to deal with adversity and stress. When you are losing at the tables, it is important to remain calm and focus on what you can control. This will help you avoid a bad session from ruining your whole game and can apply to many situations in your life.
It also teaches you to think in bets and to estimate probabilities without having all the facts. This is a crucial skill for many types of decision-making, including finance and business. In poker, estimating the probability of certain scenarios will enable you to bet wisely and force players with weak hands to fold. This will increase the value of your pot.
Additionally, it helps you learn how to be aggressive when needed. Poker is often a very aggressive game and the ability to make well-timed bluffs can increase your winnings significantly. This type of aggression can also apply to business situations, where you may need to push for what you want.
Another aspect of poker that is useful in other areas of your life is the ability to read people. While this is a generalized skill, poker makes it more specific by teaching you to notice things like how they handle their chips and how they move around the table. This can be useful in reading the emotions of your opponents and assessing what they are holding. It can also be helpful in interpreting their tells and other body language.