Five tools in limit Hold'em....rate them 1-5

[mtdoak]

Hand Reading

Mathmatical Knowledge

Using Position (both relative and absolute)

Adjusting to Game conditions (i.e. playing optimally for your table)

Emotional Control (keeping your play optimal under bad beats/good runs)


My thoughts:
5. Emotional control: in most cases, running tilty can usually be corrected within a session. But, emotional control is really dependent on the person. If you piss away 30 BB every time you get runner runner'd, well, this is a much bigger issue.
4. Hand reading. Being able to construct what a player has from his actions is a powerful tool, but really only an estimating tool.
3. Adjusting to game conditions. Being able to adjust your game properly to game conditions is a hallmark of a good player.
2. Mathmatical knowledge: An essential piece, esp being able to compute correct odds on the fly. However, this does not give you a decided edge over good players (but a massive one over bad ones)
1. Position. Knowing how and when to use it, combined with the other skills here, IMHO, is undoubtedly the most powerful tool in limit hold'em.