Selfdicipline and psychology
 

Hi, this is my first post here, so please don't flame me too much if this should have been posted in psychology [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

My question relates to the topic of this post. In poker, i believe, as in other aspects of life, your personality/type influences your action in a given situation in numerous ways.
A somewhat reserved/introvert person might be more inclined to play tight and an extrovert might play more argessive regardless if their overall skill level is the same.

This is of course just an assumption but i believe from especially (though limited) live experience that risk averse people in general play risk averse poker and vice versa. In the same way people deal with tilt, variance, boredom and bankroll management much differently.

My question is essentially if you have any experience in analysing your own personality traits that influence your game, and if any books poker related or not, have helped you maximize the positive traits of your personality while minimizing the negative ones?

Re: Selfdicipline and psychology
 

Zen and the Art of Poker by Larry Phillips does pretty much what you are asking for. It is IMO especially relevant to learning to control my emotions and aggression in tournament play. It would be very relevant to anyone who has any tendency to tilt also.

Doc

Re: Selfdicipline and psychology
 

I would agree with DrPhysic on Zen and the Art of Poker although I believe most 2+2ers give this book average marks. It was helpful for me when I was just getting started out. It may not be as helpful for those playing for a long time as a lot of it may be common sense by then. Anyways, give it a try, the book is on the cheap side.

I haven't read it, but a lot of people also recommend Psychology of Poker by Alan Schoonmaker (sp?). It's a 2+2 book, so you can get more information on this site.

Re: Selfdicipline and psychology
 

I agree with you completely with this proviso:
He asked for a book to learn to deal with his own psych related poker problems. Zen does that.

Dr Al Schoonmaker's book is one of the best books on Psych of poker that has been written, but it is fundamentally about reading the psychology of the other people at the table.

They are both on my "If I could only own a half dozen poker books the rest of my life, here are the ones I would pick", list.

Doc [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]