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Archive for the ‘Poker’ Category

Playing poker, means making sure you are prepared to win, and this doesn’t necessarily mean willpower or the laws of attraction. While it is great to have your head in a good space, what playing winning poker really comes down to is playing the right hands. No matter how many affirmations you do, a K-8 hand is not going to turn into a K-K hand, and you are the one who has to decide to play or fold.

An all encompassing desire to win when you are on the sports field is a different matter to when you are seated at a poker table. The competition is different in a 100m track race; you know there is you, the track, your lane, your competitors, the starting pistol and the finish line.

In poker your play depends on the hand dealt and this offers far more variables. So, an all encompassing desire to win may make you play that K-8 hand, when you should actually fold. This is not considered to be a good starter hand – in fact, some experts consider it to be one of the worst; but there are a lot of bad starter hands in poker. Approximately 80% of the hands you are dealt are non-starters.

That’s right, unmitigated desire can lead you to making all the wrong poker playing decisions!

Knowledge is key; so it is brains before desire in any poker playing decisions made. In the heat of battle this may be difficult to overcome so the poker player needs to be prepared. What you think and how you think makes the difference between winning and losing.

If you are new to poker, you need to learn as much as you can about the game and learn a systemic approach to playing. You also need to have a systemic approach to learning and when you are preparing to win make sure you know the basics off pat. Improve your game and make sure you know the difference between right and wrong poker.

Read as many books on the subject as you can and play bearing any snippet of knowledge you pick up in mind. This also means learning new behavioral techniques which means getting new, good habits and getting rid of the old bad habits. A paradigm shift can be the key to unlocking many poker playing doors.

You have to be in control of your actions, the cards have no memory or mind and if you are getting cards that are not falling your way, it is unlikely that a change of deck will help. Cards don’t give your opponent a great hand and you a bad hand, and the dealer is also not responsible for this. You have to be responsible for yourself and your own actions. Personal responsibility is a big part of what goes on around a poker table.

Find a role model and emulate them. Walk the walk by finding a great player and wanting to be like them. Look at what they do, how they do it and why. They don’t play marginal hands in bad positions, you can be guaranteed of this.