3 mental benefits of playing poker
Poker is, without a doubt, one of the most exciting games you can play. In addition, thanks to technological improvements it is no longer only possible to play at any of the best online poker sites on the entire network, but it is also possible to enjoy this card game from almost anywhere you are thanks to the dozens of mobile poker sites that exist today.
Some users play for fun, others play to relax after a hard day’s work. Likewise, you can find players who participate in this card game to develop their skills and gain more experience to be able to play in tournaments more professionally.
No matter which group you belong to, the important thing about playing poker is that it can bring you a host of cognitive benefits.
In this sense, even science says that you can improve certain specific mental abilities by playing poker.
In this article, we are going to show you some of those benefits. When you read through the text, you will realize why there is another unique type of poker player that many are not familiar with. These are players who play to improve mentally and never miss an opportunity to hone their skills.
Thanks to the expansion of online poker, you can now do the same without having to physically travel to a casino, poker room or a friend’s house for a game night. There are hundreds of legal and licensed online poker rooms that you can join, an option that will be more interesting to you even after you finish reading this article.
1. Helps you sharpen your mind and keep it active
As we mentioned before and, most likely, you know, despite having an element of luck, poker is a game in which the skills of the players prevail.
What’s more, it’s the only casino game where you can get incredibly good at it the more you develop the skills associated with it.
While it’s true that Blackjack is another one of the few casino games where player skills are involved , they don’t affect hand development as much as they do in poker.
As a result, playing poker can help you further develop your mind . Basically, this card game forces you to stay very focused while playing. This will help you push your mental limits and even overcome a series of previous cognitive limitations.
Poker is directly related to calculation and logic , so playing it regularly will allow you to improve your arithmetic skills and become a better decision maker.
Best of all, you will eventually learn to be more patient than you were before. This aspect will be incredibly useful to you at times in your private life when patience is key to solving certain problems.
2. It helps you improve as a businessman
Naturally, playing poker is not going to help you directly improve your business life. However, it can encourage you to develop certain mental traits that will be incredibly beneficial for your profession.
This happens especially among entrepreneurs, since the cognitive skills they develop playing poker help them improve certain aspects related to successful people.
In relation to all this, there are several personal traits or characteristics that you can improve by playing poker and that we are going to review below.
# Confidence
Business and poker present stressful situations that put those involved under pressure, so a lack of trust could lead both businessmen and poker players to disaster. However, the more you play poker the more confident you will be . Even if lack of confidence isn’t an issue in your life, playing poker will help you feel even more comfortable with the decisions you make.
# emotional intelligence
Playing poker allows you to learn to read people better, as over time experience helps you understand what their body signals mean, for example. This can translate into benefits for your private and professional life, as it will allow you to relate to other people with a greater degree of understanding and empathy.
# Know how to manage failure
Losing is common in games of chance. In this sense, poker is no different. No matter how good you are at the game, take it for granted that there will be times when you lose. Fortunately, this can turn into something positive, as it will help you deal with failure better , something that can be very useful in your day to day life.
# Risks evaluation
Taking risks and evaluating them properly so that you avoid damaging situations is especially important in business, especially for senior managers. By playing poker, you will improve risk assessment , as that is one of the main points of the game.
# Social life
Whether you play poker in a land-based casino or online on a website, you will be constantly interacting with other players. In fact, this interaction is one of the basic pillars of the game.
The connections you’ll develop with like-minded people are also incredibly beneficial to your mental health. If you like to chat with other players, it will be even better for your social life, since you will develop communication and social skills in general .
Since you will constantly have something to talk about, you will always have fun while playing, which will help reduce your anxiety and stress level . That, in turn, will be beneficial to your social life in general.
To take advantage of all of the above, the best thing you can do is join different communities and forums that revolve around poker, as there are many groups of this type both in physical casinos and online poker rooms.
3. Helps prevent degenerative diseases
Playing poker also offers long-term benefits. In this sense, there is a study by Jeffrey Cummings that talks about the effect of playing poker on Alzheimer’s .
This study showed that people who play poker can reduce the chances of developing this disease by up to 50%.
Obviously, there aren’t many studies on poker’s influence on disease, but findings like these show that it does offer certain benefits.
This also opens the door for other researchers to carry out studies related to the mental benefits of poker, so it is not ruled out that it may produce other benefits .
Summary
As you can see, there are many benefits to playing poker . In fact, the more you play, the more mental improvements you’ll notice. In any case, this should not serve as an excuse to bet any amount of money. Remember to always play with the amount of money you can afford to lose and to do so responsibly at all times.
Over time, you will improve your poker playing skills …and you may even rise to a level suitable for competing in tournaments of a certain category. Why not even consider becoming a professional poker player! Of course, if you are not interested in this, poker will always remain a good way to have fun and exercise your mind even when playing casually.
So, whether you decide to sign up for one of the many new online poker sites available or get together with your friends to play a few hands, remember that in addition to enjoying this card game you will always be improving your cognitive ability , something that in the long run It will help you in many other areas of your life.
