Playing perfectly is the goal, although none of us achieve it. Remember, Phil Ivey mucked a winning hand deep in the WSOP Main Event. If he can make that obvious of a mistake, then everyone else is making plenty of mistakes too. In a game of incomplete information, playing perfectly is impossible to define, much less achieve, but it is still the goal.

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In this vein, we are all looking to assess the motivations and reasons behind why others do what they do, knowing that the better we can understand them, the more accurately we can predict their actions, allowing us to make decisions that, although not perfect, are as close as we can get. On the other side, we have to be able to accurately analyze our own tendencies and make sure we are adequately accounting for them in our style of play.

If we agree that the midpoint between playing out of the fear of losing and playing for the joy of winning is optimal, then we should all strive to play neutrally without emotion factoring into the plays we make. Have you ever said, “I don’t really go on tilt,” or, “I play pretty much the same all the time whether I am winning or losing”? Well, it is good to strive to play like that, but almost no one does.

Some people are better than others at avoiding it, but almost everyone falls victim to it at some point. For many, it is a major pitfall in their game. We know we have to fight our own emotions while striving to be calm and calculating at the table at all times.

On the other side, we need to analyze our opponents as well. In analyzing them, I expect many of us will learn a lot about our own true motivations.

Have you ever played with someone who was so afraid of losing that they all but showed you their hand to keep you from calling? How about the guy that says, “If I get aces, I’m just going to go all in. They get cracked every time I have them anyway.” If your bet sizing is anywhere near accurate, there should be a lot of times when you have the best hand and want a call. If your opponents always fold when you have the best hand, you miss out on all of the value and equity you have by acting in a way that folds out hands you should be getting value out of.

There are a lot of players who play scared. Fear of losing the money, not being able to emotionally handle getting sucked out on, and a general lack of knowledge and understanding of the actual equity of hands are all causes.

If you are making it 10x pre-flop when you have A-A or K-K because you are afraid your hand will get cracked, you are playing out of fear and giving up equity. If you know you have the best hand, your opponent is drawing at you, and you wish they would fold or go to the extreme and showing them your hand so they will fold, you are doing it just as incorrectly as the guy on the other end of the spectrum is when he calls a couple of big all-ins in front of him with 10-7 because he “feels it.”

If you are playing out of fear, it is time to start accepting that losing with the best hand is part of poker and understanding that if in 10 instances, you lose the pot three times but win a much bigger pot the other seven times, you have come out way ahead in the long-run.

I have witnessed a player move all-in pre-flop over the top of a raise for a huge amount and the other player go into the tank. The all-in player got so afraid of losing that he actually showed pocket aces and begged his opponent, who had Q-Q and was going to call, to fold. That is an extreme example of how the fear of losing can impact the play of many players every session of every day.

On the other side are the players we all love to play with who know they are beat, but just can’t stand not to see a flop and find out what they might make. More so than caring about winning, their motivation is to see if they can make their hand, even if making the hand means they lose when there ends up being any real money in the pot.

Those playing too much are often identified as bad players, but the ones playing out of fear are often even worse in the long-run because they prevent themselves from ever getting any real value out of their hands.

Court Harrington has worked on the business side of the poker industry in roles including tournament reporting for PocketFives, radio hosting for PokerRoad Radio, coaching for the WSOP Academy and privately, and a variety of behind-the-scenes responsibilities for poker media businesses. He also plays in cash games and tournaments. Harrington is currently doing consulting work and exploring business opportunities outside of the poker industry. You can contact him at Court@CourtHarrington.com.

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