HoldemNation.com: The Right Poker Mindset

The Right Poker Mentality

Poker is a game that can at time be frustrating. Professional poker players all have their own strategies that they use to maintain the right frame of mind for a winning poker session.

While the techniques that each person uses can be unique to themselves, there are a few universally accepted pillars of poker that should always be observed.

Do Not Play On Tilt

A player who is on "Tilt" is said to be playing irrationally. Players can go on Tilt for a variety of reasons. Often, Tilt is caused when a player loses a hand that they were heavily favored to win. Other times, a player can go on tilt simply because they have gone long periods of time without getting a playable starting hand. Still others can be put on tilt by other players who make comments that are irritating.

However you get there, once you are on tilt, it's time to take a break. If possible, take a walk. Grab a snack. Watch TV. Call your mom and dad. Just STOP PLAYING. When you are on tilt, you are betting with emotion and not reason. You will also tend to feel even worse after subsequent beats. The frustration has a habit of building upon previous losses until you feel like poker is a game that rewards bad players and hates you personally. ALL poker players go through this feeling at some point. But the good players protect their bankroll by halting their play while they compose their emotions and are ready to play again.

Do Not Play Tired

If you play poker long enough, you will come across some poor soul who has been awake and playing for more than 24 hours. Don't let this be you. When we are tired, we become less observant, are more likely to make mathematical mistakes, are more easily irritated, and less likely to think clearly. People need sleep, pure and simple. You are no exception. When you are tired, it's time to quit for the day. Poker will still be there tomorrow, but your bankroll may not be if you keep playing.

Pay Attention To The Table Dynamics

This is important in all poker, but especially so for online poker. Sometimes you will scout out the perfect table. There are fish everywhere, and they are giving money away. You go on a nice run against them, busting them out one by one. Sometimes they buy back in, and sometimes they leave. When they leave, they are replaced by new players. Before long, your perfectly scouted table will be composed of an entirely different cast of characters, and the conditions may not still be right for you to stay. Remember, you are COSTING yourself money if you are at an unprofitable table and do not move to a table with better potential.

Set Goals

Goal setting is perhaps the single most undervalued exercise that you can go through when trying to play professional quality poker. If we told you that you could make $70,000 next year playing poker, you would probably find that difficult to believe. However, when you break that down into smaller chunks you will see that this figure corresponds to about $200 per day in profits. As you you build your bankroll, you will find that $200 at the $5/$10 limits corresponds to winning 20 big bets per day on average, a goal that is EASILY attainable as long as you have the bankroll to play at those stakes.

If you are indeed looking to supplement your income with poker, setting goals will help you identify a daily goal that you are trying to achieve. Once you achieve that daily goal, you should initiate a stop-loss. For example, if your daily goal is $200 and you hit that goal you may decide that you want to continue playing. Perhaps you are sitting at the dream table and to leave would be just plain irresponsible. In that case, set in your mind an amount of money that, if you drop that amount, will cause you to quit. In this instance, you may say something like, "I'm going to keep playing poker as long as my stack is increasing, however, if at any point I drop $50 or more from my highpoint, I will stop playing and lock in my profits." It is critical that you make sure that your profitable sessions end profitably, and you do this by leaving when you are up.

Balance Your Life

It is very easy to let poker become all-consuming. Don't let it. Make sure you leave time for friends, family, work, exercise, food, and other hobbies. By not focusing all of your time on poker, you will actually be able to focus MORE clearly on poker when you are playing. If you think you may have an addiction to poker, 1-800-GAMBLER might be helpful-- or visit www.gamblersanonymous.org.