Poker Articles

As with most of us, I got my start by losing.  I played some home games with my friends, had no idea what I was doing, and got taken.  It’s what should have happened.  But instead of just buying back in, I left.  I told myself I’d be prepared next time. I went and read just about every insightful piece of literature on the subject of poker.  I remembered what it felt like to lose, to be outplayed, and I wasn’t going to have that feeling again.  From there, I deposited some money online and expected to crush the competition.  I mean, I knew everything about poker. Nope.

Instead, I was stuck on the $25 NL tables of Ultimate Bet, grinding out a couple big bets an hour.  I occasionally entered some $5 or $10 tournaments, and cashed a few times for a couple hundred bucks, but I just didn’t have the experience. I was an average player. Eventually my immaturity got to me, and I started playing outside my bankroll. We all know what happens there. Quickly down to my last $30 or so, I decided to take one last shot, and I entered one of the nightly 30+3 tournaments.  I know everyone says you can’t play right when you have to win, but I won nonetheless.  I took down the tourney for $3,000 or so, and I all of a sudden had a bankroll.  From there on out it was like riding downhill. I played more, started discussing hands with better players, and started taking down bigger tournaments.  But the truth is—-put in the time, pay your dues, and you can beat this game.

Poker really isn’t that much different from the game of life.  You’re dealt a hand--there’s nothing you can do to change that part--and then you have to try and win with that hand. Along the way, you may have to outsmart, outmaneuver, or outright overpower other players, but it’s all moving towards the universal goal: victory.  I hate losing more than anything else in the world.  I may not always show it, but I am trying to win in every scenario in every aspect of my life.  Not just beating my buddy in a game of basketball, but showing up at a party and looking better than some idiot as well.
 
Poker’s the same way. It’s all about taking calculated risks, and maximizing your advantages when you have them is paramount.  Aggression is a second language, maybe even a lifestyle for me. You can’t just sit around and wait for things to fall into your lap; that’s how you end up at 25 with a two-year degree, a shitty one bedroom apartment, and a dead end job. 
 
Attack! Push! Push! Push! That’s the key. Assert yourself in everything you do. Gain an advantage however you can.  Someone doing better than you in a class? Pop a couple adderall, stay up all night and cram until you spew facts.  I mean sleep is great and all, but too many people are missing opportunities after the sun goes down.  There’s eight hours! You know how much shit you can get done in eight hours? Eventually it will catch up with you, but you can sleep whenever you want.  Take a nap while your trite friends go catch a flick. The idea here is to take advantage of every single opportunity available.  Note I didn’t say “every opportunity given to you,” because opportunities are usually earned or created and rarely given. 
 
A wise person once told me that what most people call luck is little more than pure chance combined with the ability to make the most of opportunities.  I’ll never forget that.  After I had a couple $30k weeks, my dad said something to me along the lines of “Your luck’s going to run out some day.” I just looked him in the face and said, “No, it’s not. Never.” I have a fire inside me that you wouldn’t believe.  Want to get me going? Tell me I can’t do something, anything. Fear of failure is as powerful a tool for motivation than anything I’ve ever seen.

A lot of times we hear about these up and coming young poker players with this amazing natural talent.  I have less talent than you could possibly imagine. If you want talent, go look in the craps pit; there you'll find at least a couple of tremendously talented poker players losing their bankrolls. You'll find some more down at the bar getting drunk - but they'll be down at the tables soon enough too - plenty of poker talent around, but it's not me and it's not most of us who make a good living off this game. What talent I do have is tied up in discipline and a work ethic. With those talents, a person can survive and even thrive in this business - beyond even the abilities of the most talented amongst us who fail to have acquired the necessary discipline.

I work my ass off to be the very best I can be at this game - every day, every session, day in and day out, year in and year out. I play my A game every time I sit down to play, and I don't play if I don't have it that day. The toughest player you'll ever have to face is the one sitting in your seat; if you can't manage that one, the rest of the table doesn't matter.

This article was done in collaboration with TUP from another forum.