In Poker, players have “chips” to bet with (i.e. money), two cards dealt, and five community cards. They aim to make the best 5 card poker hand using their own cards and the community cards. Each round involves betting between two players, with the option to call, raise, or fold. There are four rounds of betting in a hand – pre-flop, flop, turn, and river.

Professional poker is a game of incomplete information, and each action a player takes – whether to fold, check, or raise – communicates something about their hand. In order to win, a player must exploit the weak hands of their opponents while protecting themselves from strong opponents. This requires the twin skills of luck and skill, and over time, skill will almost always overcome luck.

It is not difficult to develop some level of skill at reading people – there are many books on the subject and everyone from psychologists to police officers have spoken about body language tells and other clues that give away an opponent’s strength or weakness. But to play poker well, a player must learn to read other players on a much more detailed scale: the way their eyes move, their mood shifts, and the small details like how they hold their cards and chips.

Another skill is the ability to understand how to maximise your winning hands and minimise your losses with losing hands. This is known as ‘Minimising Losses – Maximising Winnings’ or MinMax for short.