Poker is a game of skill that teaches you how to be flexible and creative in solving problems. These skills are highly useful in many areas of life. Poker also helps you to better understand yourself and how you react in different situations. This awareness is helpful in developing a healthy lifestyle.

Another important skill that poker teaches you is resilience. No one goes through their life racking up wins without some losses. In poker, you learn to accept your losses as a learning experience rather than a setback. This is an important skill because it helps you to avoid chasing bad hands or throwing a fit when you don’t hit on a big hand. In turn, this makes you a more resilient person and can help you to deal with challenges in your life.

Finally, poker teaches you how to assess the strength of your hand. This is a critical skill because it allows you to avoid making calls with weak hands and to take advantage of aggressive players who are putting you in tough spots. In addition, it helps you to determine the quality of your opponents’ holdings and to avoid bluffing with weak hands.

In short, poker improves your math skills in the sense that you’ll start to see the game more like a mathematical exercise than an emotional one. It’s the reason why so many break-even beginner players eventually start winning at a higher rate.