Re: Dr. Al, I have a question for you, and anyone else who wants to an
 

[ QUOTE ]
Innate natural ability + discipline + hard work. Keys to success in just about any field, come to think of it.

[/ QUOTE ] dr. al you said micheal jordan was a freak, and well he was but its not to say he didnt work on his shot countless number of hours. he didnt come out of the womb hitting threes and jumping over houses. the quote is pretty on point in my opionion

Re: Dr. Al, I have a question for you, and anyone else who wants to an
 

This is a simple question. Lots of intelligence and lots of hard work, at both studying and playing.

If you want to be successful at anything, you usually need to be semi-obsessive at it.

Re: Dr. Al, I have a question for you, Does any one else wonder...
 

... why winning yet mediocre B&M players make 5x more money
per hand, than online prodigies, While still tipping, paying a higher rake and no bonuses, rake back, ect...

And no one here crows about their successes?

Re: Dr. Al, I have a question for you, and anyone else who wants to answer
 

Certain players seem to have a very special gift that I recognize but am unable to pin down.

This gift is a natural ability to sense the weaknesses in their opponent's game and then shift their own style to exploit those weaknesses. The consequences of this ability are:

1. Otherwise talented opponents make an unnatural number of mistakes.

2. These mistakes and the constant stream of uncomfortable situations often trigger loss of confidence and even tilt in the victim.

3. Hero is rarely put to the full test from a technical perspective. Everything becomes about the victim and his problems. In this fashion the Hero protects the technical leaks in his own game.

4. The gifted one is often perceived as lucky because his opponents make excessive mistakes while his own play doesn't stand up to paper analysis. Of course the victim's discomfort is not on the paper.

I've seen this phenomena at the chess table many times and it is very disconcerting. Players whose results far exceed the objective quality of their moves. Former world champion Emmanual Lasker was famous for this gift.

I've also seen it playing bridge. Michael Cappelletti Sr. (yes, the well-known poker author is also a bridge expert) is uncanny at this. He always knows the right time to do the "wrong" thing.

A major difference between poker and bridge or chess is that this talent seems to be much more powerful at poker. Technically inferior bridge and chess experts do not exist. Yet it is very clear from reading these forums that many quite successful poker players have really serious leaks in their games. Clearly other factors are compensating in a major way.

Now I am not saying that the true stars of poker are leaking all over the place. But given the apparent ability of the gift to overcome major shortcomings in mediocre players, it may well be that it is absolutely devastating in the hands of someone who doesn't have these technical weaknesses to overcome. The lore of poker is full of larger-than-life players who could routinely dominate tables. Mere technical skill doesn't explain this, especially at limit.

Re: What makes an internet poker prodigy so successful?
 

I'll say it has something to do with an ability to focus and identify the main point; and then a willingness to present it to others and accept the result.