The Inner Game of Poker

[Robusticular]

Not tactics. Not card odds. Not pot odds. Not bluffing skill....not tournament tactics. Personal (inner) psychology is perhaps THE factor most critical to success. This article details the similiarities between poker play and market trading, looks at recent advances in scientific knowledge about trader psychology, and applies the research to the improvement of individual poker play.

The Inner Game of Poker
http://www.primatepoker.com/online_poker_article001.asp

[deacsoft]

If your interested in this kind of material I suggest reading Zen and the Art of Poker by Phillips.

[steamboatin]

i liked that book. I am not much on all that Zen stuff, but it made some sense.

[alpine0000]

[ QUOTE ]
Not tactics. Not card odds. Not pot odds. Not bluffing skill....not tournament tactics. Personal (inner) psychology is perhaps THE factor most critical to success.

[/ QUOTE ]

oh, okay, so i guess all of sklanskys books, which reflect his huge success in his career, are all just fictional jibberish? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[Dan Mezick]

To denigrate Sklansky's work is to denigrate poker in some sense. His work advanced the state of the art regarding poker theory in several areas.

Instead, I am stating that areas where David Sklansky has **not** written represent a massive hole in the poker literature and overall body of knowledge about the game.

I am saying that first things are first, and that exploring your own beliefs about the game and your involvement in it are "job one" in approaching the game with winning in mind.

I am saying that all the Sklansky in the world cannot help you if you have not done this personal work in advance.

I am saying that reading everything David has written-- twice-- may actually be part of the reason your performance is sub-optimal, if you have not done the inner work first.

I'm saying that trading and poker present similiar challenges to the player, and that in the trading area, the research is further along, and that the reading of that trading research could help the poker player committed to winning, the kind of player that is going to do whatever it takes to "get it right".

I'm saying Mark Douglas' "forced awareness" events (in trading) are in fact something that poker players also face, just like traders, and that self-exams need to be ongoing, rather than event-driven, if you really want to win.

Respectfully,

Dr. Norm
www.primatepoker.com/online_poker_essays.asp

[steamboatin]

I don't believe this thread is contradictory to Sklansky's books. I am a new guy and clueless but how do you explain texas holdem to a guy like me, who has only been playing for a year?

You start out with which two cards to call the big blind and which ones I should fold. Then you tell me about pot odds and standard deviation ( which I don't understand) and eventually ( I hope) I understand this whole inner game of Poker idea.

It's kind of like the difference between knowing how to tell time and knowing how to build a watch. Sklanksy's books for beginner's helps me tell time. This inner game of poker concept is like taking the back off of a watch and understanding what all those little gears do.

[Dan Mezick]

SteamBoatin,

My advice to you is to buy the more important poker texts listed below, and then come back to the inner game concept, which is about your motivation for playing and your beliefs about poker and yourself. Beliefs actually drive all your behavior, of which your poker playing is a small subset.

THEORY OF POKER by David Sklansky
TOURNAMENT POKER by David Sklansky
HOLDEM POKER by David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth
SUPER SYSTEM by Doyle Brunson

[steamboatin]

I own them except I have Holdem poker for advanced palyers. I believe the next book I buy will be Holdem Poker the original, not for advanced players. I also own and study the Psychology of Poker.

How do you get away from being results oriented? It has an impact on me if I am up or down for each session. I know from the books that I am not supposed to worry about short term results but that is not as easy as it sounds.

[Dan Mezick]

i suggested the books because you expressed some questions about pot odds etc.

regarding your question on emotional swings:

if you are playing poker to make money then your play will be relatively void of emotion. it may actually seem boring to you.

ironically for many players, it may be the variance of emotional effects (generated by large swings in results) that make up a large part of their actual reason for playing.

what often happens to players that are doing well is the play gets "boring" to them. so they move up in limits, usually with an inadequate bankroll for the new size they are playing. the new thinner margin for error in the bankroll coupled with the unfamiliar and sharper opponents creates drama and emotional variance.

if you are having difficulty with your emotional responses to near-term results, you are probably playing too large for your bankroll, and/or playing in games where you intuitively "know" you have little or no edge.

[steamboatin]

I hope not, 4-8 is the smallest limit Ceasars spreads. I don't actually have a bankroll. I take $200 with me and if I lose half, I get up and leave. If I win, I spend the money.