CONCEPTS
COMMON TO ALL POKER games
Some poker players, like prodigies in other fields, have
an innate genius for the games. Mozart was composing symphonies
by the time he was six, and every so often you can pick
up People Magazine and read a story about some 14-year-old
who's about to graduate from Yale. It's the same in poker:
Legendary players like Stud Unger had this same uncanny
prescience.
Don't take it personally,
but we're assuming - at least where poker is concerned -
that this doesn't describe you. It doesn't describe us,
either. But even in the absence of genius, poker is a learnable
skill. It can be taught, even to levels of expert proficiency.
Inherent ability helps. but although some innate talent
is needed, you don't need all that much - anymore than you
must be Mozart to play music, Picasso to paint, or Kobe
Bryant to play basketball. What you do need is a solid plan
for learning and playing the games, and - just as important
- the discipline to stick with that plan no matter what.
In fact, many experts believe that discipline is the single
most important factor in achieving poker success.
Poker can be a gut-wrenching
games. After you've lost a few stacks of chips to players
who had the worst hands all the way, only to catch miracle
cards and beat you, it's easy to lose discipline and begin
playing as poorly as your opponents.
We can tell you about
discipline and why it's critically important to winning
poker, but only you can exercise it. When you're sitting
alone in front of your computer playing poker against opponents
from all over the globe, you're the one in charge. If you
lose a few hands you were favored to win, there's nothing
anyone can do about it except you. All too many players
lose discipline after losing several consecutive pots. They
become emotional and then make poor decisions based on those
emotions. Poker players call this "being on tilt.
Some pundits say that
poker builds character. We're not so sure of that, but we're
absolutely certain of this: Poker reveals character. Success
at poker, as in most things, demands a certain quality of
character. Players lacking self-discipline won't win consistently.
For example, lack of will to fold poor starting hands is
a liability you can't overcome, no matter how knowledgeable
you are. Vast strategic knowledge doesn't guarantee success.
It's a precursor to success, since know-how is essential.
But personal discipline - "true grit" - is crucial.
Without discipline, knowledge is merely unrealized potential
- and in poker, that's the road to financial ruin.
