A card game played with a deck of cards and chips, poker requires a combination of luck and skill to win. Over time, applying skills will virtually eliminate the luck element of poker. The more you practice, the better your chances of success.
Annie writes that it is easy to fall into the trap of what poker players call “resulting,” which means starting at an outcome and working backward from there to either validate or lambast the people who made the decision that led to the result. What you want to do instead, she says, is examine whether the process that produced the outcome was sound or not.
Poker is a social game that is played with incomplete information about your opponents. After the initial deal of two cards, a 5th card is dealt face up (called the “river”). There is another round of betting before the showdown, during which the best five-card poker hand wins all the bets placed at each stage of the betting.
Part of what makes poker interesting is the interaction between the players, including the tells that are exhibited by each player. Writers who write about poker should be well versed in the nuances of the game and understand how to capture the reader’s attention through storytelling techniques like scene development, character development and anecdotes. They should also have a good grasp of how to incorporate the elements of plot conflict into their stories.