When you play poker, your hand value inversely relates to the mathematical frequency of the five cards that make up your hand. In some cases, you may be able to bet the best hand and win the game. Other times, you may be bluffing, betting that you have the best hand but actually having a weaker hand than your opponent’s. Depending on the situation, you may even lose the game. You can learn to tell whether someone is bluffing or not by observing the other players’ actions.

When you lose, you might feel sick or numb and think that you are a failure because the game is rigged. You may even feel like you have to quit poker forever, blaming the rigged game or the dealer for a bad hand. Those are all terrible feelings to experience, so learn how to deal with them before they take over your life. If you are a big loser, you can get to that point by changing your poker attitude.

Besides betting the correct amount of chips for your hand, you can try to win big pots by bluffing. When playing poker, you must be aware of the possible negative effects of betting your hand too much and being overconfident. Don’t make impulsive moves that may cost you the pot. While you may be tempted to bluff with a monster hand, you’ll probably end up losing more money than you would if you had a good hand.