Poker is a game of chance, but also one of skill and psychology. It can be extremely fun and rewarding to play if you have the right mental state going into the game. It takes a lot of discipline to be able to stick to a game plan for extended sessions while dealing with the ups and downs that inevitably come. But it’s worth it in the end.
A big part of poker strategy is understanding your opponent’s range. This is the range of possible cards that your opponent could have in their hand. If you know what they could have, it will help you decide whether to call or raise their bets.
In general, you should be raising instead of calling when you have a strong hand. This will push players with weaker hands out of the pot and increase your odds of winning the pot.
A common mistake that new players make is looking for cookie-cutter advice, like “always 3bet X hands.” There are always exceptions to these rules. You need to understand your opponents and study each spot individually to determine the best line of action. This will take time and practice. But over time, you will learn to make the right decisions in most situations. As a result, you will win more often than you lose. This will improve your EV over the long run. You will also begin to develop an intuition for things like frequencies and combos.