These skills involve calculating pot odds, recognizing betting patterns, bluffing, and using position.

This is especially true concerning the decisions made at the very end of every hand. The area that separates professional players from amateurs is that professional players tend to play much better than their opponents during the remainder of the hand, after the starting hand decisions are made. Once you have mastered solid starting hand guidelines and understand how they change by your position at the table, the next area you should work on is your play for the rest of the hand. Starting hand selection is fundamentally important, but it’s only one piece of the poker strategy puzzle.