Poker Improvement: Doing What You Don't Want To Do
If complexity means art then poker is as artistic as it gets
. Philosophy is a requirement of the arts. Unless you are a robot and get your motivation for passion and achievement from an on-off switch, you will need more than just electricity. You need a philosophy, a credo, or if that makes you nervous, how about calling it imagination or perception?You can learn to force yourself to do whatever it is you dislike and improve exponentially by tapping into the imagination and perception within you. For instance, compare developing your skills of communication with taking a cold shower, an unpleasant shock to the system at best. But that feeling can be ameliorated over time and after a few months of cold showers once or twice or week, you may begin to look forward to them. They have certain advantages, like waking you up and making you feel so good when you get out.
The same holds true for learning any new skill and the challenge involved is appealing to many people, they begin to seek those experiences even though somewhat stressful. The results are worth it.
So with the analogy of the cold shower in mind, take the plunge and dive into those areas of poker that you would really rather not venture into.
Okay, no more lessons on philosophy, it is now time to consider more pragmatic advice. A good way to acquire meaningful expertise is by hiring a professional trainer to give you private, hands-on lessons without the embarrassment to you caused by onlookers. The coach will point out your weaknesses, most of which you are probably unaware of, so you can learn from them and move on. A good trainer will have you make notes of your play so you can continue to learn from both your strengths and weaknesses.
If the idea of a professional coach is too pricey for you, try making the acquaintance of poker playing buddies. The honest debates between even run-of-the-mill players can greatly improve strategy and perception. Poker forums are another good place to learn. Some exceptional poker players post to these and you can gain some valuable insights from them sharing their experiences.
Keep notes. Even during offline games, note down your games so that you can review it later the better to realize where you did wrong and remember it. Notes help you realize that there are often more possibilities that you might first think. They help acquire the keen self-consciousness necessary to learn to ask yourself why you made the move. The same applied to the moves of your opponents. And it is a sign of significant progress to be able to ask yourself those crucial questions before you make the move.
What reaction do you expect from the opponent? Is that expectation, dictated by the current situation, consistent with what you have managed to learn about the opponent? Can that bet or raise evince the expected reaction? What hand do you want him to think you have? In which specific cases do you want him to call or raise?
Constantly asking yourself questions like these is difficult to learn, but after a while it become a habit and then a challenge. And then you are playing poker for real.
by: Thomas Kearns