Poker Skills

There are four key skills of a poker professional – math skills, discipline, psychological skills and a clear understanding of risk versus rewards.  A player who possesses these skills is believed to be one who has mastered the critical concepts of the game.  With these skills, a professional poker player becomes the master of the game.

Good poker players know the poker percentages.  They know the importance of outs and how it can improve a player’s hand.  They are able to translate their knowledge of outs into rational and calculated betting and figure out the pot odds.  They know too well that there is about 1 in 8 chance of hitting a set when holding a pocket pair and that there is about 1 in 3 chances of completing a flush draw at the flop.

There is a clear distinction between a winning poker player and an average player. The former is a strong player who expects to win while the latter is a typical player who does not expect to win and just hopes to get lucky.  Solid poker players hope that other players don’t get lucky.

Poker players who are good at their game understand that different games require different disciplines.  The rules of playing are a lot different between limit and no limit plays.  It is possible that a disciplined no limit player can be a foolish limit player and vice versa.

A disciplined limit player characterized by a very tight preflop will not play at too many hands and will choose the ones wherein he/she would have a very good chance of winning.  A disciplined no limit player is primarily concerned with not getting trapped and is not concerned with paying too many blinds.  A disciplined limit player avoids piddling away his stack bit by bit while a disciplined no limit player avoids losing a whole stack in one hand.

A generally disciplined player knows when to hold’em or to fold’em.  He/she is quick to recognize a tilt situation or when a game is too juicy to just quit while ahead.  More importantly, a disciplined player knows that there are mistakes that are bound to happen and is able to accept it without blaming others.  He/she know that there are lessons that can be learned from these mistakes and actions are needed to move on.

Once in the table, a true poker professional always empathizes with his opponents regardless of whether or not he/she is someone who truly feels for and with other people.  He/she tries to think what the opponents think, understand their decisions and why they make them.  Knowing the answer is the first step and knowing how to manipulate the opponent’s thinking towards believing that they actually know how you think by slow playing, fast playing and bluffing will effectively throw opponents off.  Limit games often turn into math battles while no limit games have a strong psychological component.

Responsible poker players are willing to take a long shot risk only if the reward is high enough and the expected return is worth it.  More importantly, they have a clear grasp and understanding of the relationship between games in a poker room and the life outside it.  They know the bankroll needs of a game in the same way that they know the reserves required to cover other expenses in life.  Good poker players are fundamentally slightly risk-averse and know that it is much better to risk what one can afford to lose and not what one considers important and essential.

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