Poker: Winners and Losers Part 3

If you have been following the Winners and Losers series, you know the harsh fact.  In Poker as in Life winners are those folks who do what the losers won’t do.  Also, we were talking about Poker as a zero sum game.  There is just so much money in a Poker game.  No one can go out and create more.  There is just so much. 

So on the day you decide to do those things that the losers won’t do you become a winner.  You have at least won a moral victory and very soon you will begin to win at the table.  But what exactly will that winner do that that loser won’t do?  I have already mentioned several things, but there is one more biggie.  That is, the winner will decide.  The winner will decide to take those steps and then do it.  If the first piece of the plan is to play twice a week, he will go out and start finding games.  If another part of the plan is to study the art of Poker (and it should be), the winner will set aside a few hours every week to study. 

The most important principle here is that the winner commits to taking action to get better, to learn his craft as it were.  And then the winner TAKES that action. He takes it regularly, consistently and intensely.  He is relentless in his pursuit of the knowledge and skill necessary to win at the Poker table. Very very soon this winner leaves the casual penny ante players behind.

Very likely the very next thing that the winner does that the loser does not do is manage discouragement.  Everyone will lose.  It happens especially when climbing a steep learning curve. The loser may make the plans and take some action but when they don’t work out the first or second or third time the loser will lose their enthusiasm.  They will get bummed out and look for other things that are easier.  This is “The Dip” in the accomplishment curve that Seth Godin talks about in his book by the same name. 

The Dip is great for the new player, the winner with a strong attitude on the way up, because once you get thru the Dip the rewards start coming thru.  In Poker when you are thru the Dip you can sit in almost any casual game and take some cash off the table.  The average game is like your own little bank account.  Sure you lose some and sometimes there is a much more skilled player there and you lose.  That is the payment you make for the skill you are developing.

My own thought about Poker is decide.  Decide to be a winner or decide to hand over your money on a regular basis.  That is a little harsh but it is the reality of the Poker table. There is a chance that it is just not your game.  That is ok. Maybe it is not physical enough or maybe the learning curve is too high.  Me, I could never play basketball.

If you decide to play Poker and I hope you do; do those things the losers won’t do.  Learn something every day.  Set your budget and study and play.  Don’t forget to have a great time, but remember keep moving forward thru the Dip and the rewards will come your way.