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Mental Preparation for Poker
Being mentally prepared is vital to having success at any sport
or competition, none more-so than poker. This article will discuss several
methods to improve your mental preparedness before and during your poker
game.
1. Clear your mind.
Don't play if you are upset, worried, on
tilt, or just coming out of an emotional situation. Don't sit down if you feel
you have to win. Poker is a game of skill, sure, but it is also gambling
to a certain degree. Don't play with money you can't afford to lose, also known
as scared money.
2. Be Patient
As anyone who has watched poker tournaments or
games on tv knows, even the best players have incredible runs of bad cards or
bad luck at the poker table. How they deal with those inevitable downturns will
have more effect on their ultimate success or failure than how they play their
'rushes' or streaks of good luck. Don't sit down at the poker table expecting
only good cards. Don't think the cards owe you something because of how
they treated you the last time you played. Tighten up your play during bad
streaks. Observe other players after folding your cards. Losing patience is a
major cause of players going on tilt.
3. Have Confidence
Part of being patient is also having
confidence in yourself and your game. A lot of this only comes with experience
and knowing strategies and ways to play in different situations. Consider
playing at a lower limit table to gain back confidence (or money) that you have
lost. Think about bad poker experiences you have had in the past and the
positive or negative lessons you learned in dealing with them. All good players
have bad days, but they know that over the long-haul, their discipline and skill
will make them a winner.
4. Be Tough
Don't let bad beats affect your poker style or
skills. Stop yourself from losing your cool over situations you can't control.
If another player plays badly and pulls out a win on the river, compliment him
on his hand. Don't whine or belly-ache after every loss. Behavior like this
makes you appear weak and vulnerable to other players and believe me, poker
sharks can smell blood.
5. Be Optimistic
A good poker player must have complete
assurance that bad cards will eventually turn good. Optimism is a part of it.
Knowledge of the inevitable swing of good and bad is also part. If an opponent
is playing bad and beating you, be confident and optimistic that his bad play
will eventually give you an opportunity to turn the tables. A player who is
pessimistic will allow his emotions to start controlling his actions. It isn't
always easy to keep believing in the positive, but believe we must.
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