? for Al

I read your psychology of poker and learned so much from it that I decided to read your "negotiate to win" book as well. I found that the extreame detached personality type in that book fit me perfectly. Is there any way I can apply that to utilize that personality type to improve my poker?

I had no idea Al has another book out there..I`ll be sure to inquire when we talk next month..

I ABSOLUTELY reccommend Als "Psychology Of Poker"..

Knowing what makes players who they are is critical to decision making...


jim grass

Festiva,


Thanks for the compliment. "The psychology of poker" was really the son of "Negotiate to win" and the grandson of "Selling: the psychological approach." All three books said that you have to understand your own and other people's personality and style, then adjust to their effects.


NTW and STPA used three dimensions, dominance (power-oriented), detachment (fact-oriented), and dependence (people- riented). POP emphasizes only two, dominance and detachment. The sensitivity to people of dependent people is extremely useful, but poker is not a game for people who really want to have warm personal relationships. In fact, poker is essentially a predatory game in which the desire for warm relationships is a major liability. If you're "too nice," don't play poker.


The ideal poker player is detached and dominant, and the proportion varies from level to level. The detachment enables him (or her) to be objective, compute odds, and all that other analytic "stuff." Anyone who can't do that analysis has no chance to win.


You have described yourself as "extremely detached," and extreme detachment creates severe limitations. An extremely detached approach will win in most low limit games because they contain so many people who do not objectively analyze situations, compute the odds, and act rationally. You will win as long as your remain in low limit, full table games.


However, an extremely detached player cannot beat short handed games because they are more oriented toward mind games than playing cards well.


It's easy to avoid short handed games, and I urge you to do so. You must also consider the issue of level. An extremely detached player will not do well in larger games because most of the players there will already understand and work within the constraints of the odds, etc. That is, you cannot beat middle limit games for much (or at all) by just playing an extremely detached style.


As you move up, you must become more aggressive (dominant). Taking control is essential because you have to win when you don't have the best cards. You must also be able to recognize "irrational" actions such as bluffs, semi-bluffs, image plays, and other moves. Extremely detached people tend to want to reduce everything to formulas and logical relationships, but poker is not just applied math.


In other words, I encourage you to keep the virtues of detachment, objectivity, thoroughness, etc., but recognize their limitations. Work on the other aspects of your game, especially the aggression part.


Good luck, and thanks again for your compliment.


Al