Posted in Poker January 31st, 2010
Introspection in the Game of Poker
To be taken to the level of art, any complex activity requires deliberate and elaborate introspection. So much so, that even to be able not to engage in poker, one must be able to know oneself more intimately than most people are willing to. Introspection is difficult because our consciousness struggles against self-revelation; because self-conscious thinking is hard and the only way to be good at introspection is to be constantly self-conscious; and because it is easier to dissolve in outward activity rather than deal with your own character. That is why many people who would gladly play less poker paradoxically play more and more, yet have no idea why they do or how to stop.
You may have come to poker because you had no idea what to do with yourself in the first place. Persons without purpose regularly engage in pointless activity. If you just won\’t take any introspection, but still want to deal with the problem, a possible way is to deliberately focus on the idea that poker is about winning and that nobody, including yourself, despite what may have been happening for the past year since you had taken up this accursed game, nobody likes to lose.
Focus on the fact that your decision to stay or leave directly influences your profits from the game and that you just can\’t afford to lose. Then it will become apparent that the only reason to stay in a game is because there is a good chance to win. Reason broadly with this ultimate goal and ideology in mind. It does not matter whether you are wining or losing at present; it does not matter whether you are being lucky or suffering a bad spell; what matters is the final overall gain; and if you see clearly that the current game, however great it is going, will in the end translate into overall loss, leave the game.
On the other hand, to practice hit-and-run strategies only seems to keep you constantly with a safe benefit. If your goal is not more than to play safe, hit-and-run may be a valid solution. But if you also wish to win, yet be able to leave in time, play discerningly, and leave when you perceive a definite loss.
You must also realize that all hands in poker are dealt by pure mathematical chance, not an evil entity which haunts you. Therefore it does not make sense to feel especially anxious when the game isn\’t going particularly well or be rash when you think that \”luck is on your side now.\” On the other hand, self-fulfilling prophesies are a real enough psychological phenomenon: after a good game and some luck, you success creates the impression of a good player; you play better, with greater confidence and aggression; while your opponents instinctively feel weaker and thus assume weaker roles, playing worse, feeling unlucky.
So, what is important here, is to not let this happen to you. Allow yourself some introspection and you may even find that you are afraid to take chances and may really think that it is wrong to do so. Admit to yourself that this is you and this idiosyncrasy alone must not control what you do in life or in poker.
The author is a successful limit cash game player. He plays poker online and receives Ultimate Bet Rakeback as well as Rakeback at Carbon Poker.
This entry was posted on Sunday, January 31st, 2010 at 1:45 pm and is filed under Poker. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
