Play What You Have

I am not going to go into the details of how to play which type of hand in which type of poker, but rather the root psychology premise of the great poker player.  If you see some relation to real life here keep in mind that that is fully intentional.  Poker is life in a very real way.  There is skill and luck.  The world is not out to get you but sometimes it seems that way and sometimes you ride on a high.  And yes, as much as I may not like it oftentimes the details make the difference.

When you get a great hand the rest is easy.  You know the rules and you are competent but not great.  You are focused on getting better, but this is a great hand so you act different.  You are more confident and you bet more than you are really comfortable with. If you are around the table with mediocre players you win.  If you are surrounded by great players you probably loose. Then you go back to getting your normal hands and playing happy if you are with those mediocre players or hang dog if you are with those really great players.

What’s the point here?  The point is great luck happens, so does lousy luck and everything in between.  The great players don’t dwell on past luck, good or bad.  They play their hand and they play the other players each hand.  They focus on the details.  If you get them right the wins will come and oftentimes when it is least expected the luck will come. The great player focuses on the basics and plays what he has in his hand.

Ok, I know what you are likely thinking.  That is easy to say and hard, very hard to do.  Are there any tips or tricks or better yet reliable methods to help you focus on the things you need to focus on?  One of the most effective and most basic ones is to make a list of all the things that you need to do each hand.  There should not be over five things in the list.  It should be composed of things like scan the players, choose the bet size and give out a false “tell.”  I could give you a list, but it is much better to ask yourself what are the five major things that you need to do for each and every hand.  Then when your emotions are running amuck and you are trying to keep your cool poker face on, run the list in your head.  Attend to each thing you need to do.  Force yourself to do it in approximately the same amount of time each hand. 

As an aside here, sometime have a friend time your hand time.  Then play with what is the right length of time for each hand until you have a time that is right for you.  This can also be a great false “tell.”  Good players will notice that you are very consistent.  Then if you hurry or if you slow it down they will note very quickly.

Run that check list in your head deliberately each hand for the next 100 hands you play. Attend to the details that the list prompts you to attend to and you will see your poker success grow and you begin to play what you have each hand.