Poker is a game of chance and skill, where players can choose to play defensively or aggressively, depending on their mood. However, it is also a game where human nature will try to derail your plan. You might be tempted to call or bluff when you have nothing, or you might want to stay in the hand a little longer than necessary. But if you want to be successful, you have to stick with your plan and resist the temptations.

Whenever you can, always try to guess what other players have in their hands. You can use a range of tools to do this, from your table software to other people’s actions at the table. For example, if an opponent checks after a flop of A-2-6, you can infer that they probably have a 2 in their hand. You can then raise your bet to price out his hand, and potentially win the pot.

When you have strong value hands, you should play them aggressively, even if it looks like you’re bluffing. This will force your opponents to call your bets and chase their own bad draws, which can make them lose a lot of money. It’s not often you will hit these hands, so you should maximize their value when you do. This is an area where you should look to learn from more experienced players and study their action at the tables. In doing so, you can develop quick instincts.