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.

[Dispatch]

I read a little out of Zen and the Art of Poker (Larry W. Phillips) every day. I find it more important to me than all my other books.

[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

[Al Schoonmaker]

I must disagree with your position that learning about yourself comes first. In TPOP I wrote that, if Freud played poker without understanding the odds and strategy, he would go broke.

Psychology is very important, but odds and strategy come first. There are lots of winners who rarely look at themselves, but there are no winners who don't understand and apply odds and strategy.

Regards,

Al

[Dan Mezick]

Al,

of course we all need the technical grounding in the game. yet, even with this many are involved for reasons they may not fully know about.

did you check out www.tradingtribe.com? many traders "get" entries, exits, position sizing, etc but they do not execute on this knowledge the way that they might to be successful.

Feeney talks about "subtle tilt" in his book Inside the Poker Mind.

Where does "subtle tilt" originate from? again this comes up with players that know correct play techniques.

I totally agree a player needs the technicals on how to play correctly. yet without the personal pre-work, i argue these tactical topics are likely not well utilized by the player.

[Al Schoonmaker]

I have no argument with your position that we must understand and control ourselves to apply technical principles properly. Mere knowledge is insufficient. In fact, I wrote an article, "Fun versus profit," which said that most people don't play as well as they know how to play. You can read that article at cardplayer.com.
Regards,
Al
Regards,
Al

[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.