The top 5 qualities of a successful online poker player:

[oreogod]

Discipline and steam control (subform of discipline) takes a backseat to knowledge of the game.

If u suck at poker, be as disciplined as you want, it wont help.

1.Game knowledge.
2.Emotional control
3.Money managment.

Who cares about your personality if u have these under control...if u have these smoothed out, you should be confident, if you are not, then work on getting better. Its important that you feel your game is pretty solid.

[Cerril]

So hmm... The qualities that would enable someone to

1 Tenacity
2 Level-Headedness
3 Competetiveness
4 Financial Aptitude
5 Mathematical Aptitude

All of those are pretty important. Even though Math is at the bottom, you'll fail without being pretty good. The others are higher in my opinion. If you can't pick yourself up after losing, failing, and generally sucking for awhile, you'll never make it. If you can't play your game well when you're up or down for the day, you'll never get in the hours you need. If you don't -really- want to win, you aren't going to be interested in getting good enough to excel; this is a game after all. If you can't handle a bankroll properly, you'll never have enough money to do well. And if you can't crunch numbers with some accuracy and alacrity, you won't be able to pick up the game

Number six is computer aptitude, just behind the rest but you'll fail without it. I know some people who would be pretty live players but just aren't very swift with computers, to the point that two monitors would scare the daylights out of 'em and even the mildest aspects of using PT, GT+, hand history management, and even the online money management thing cause them serious issues. So, I couldn't even start.

[Cerril]

That's tough, and wimpy short sessions/days are up there as a risk too, since computers are notoriously good for wasting time with things that aren't poker. *looks at his hands for the month and cringes*

[wahooriver]

This is a great thread because the question is so fascinating. My response is similar, yet I hope worthy of consideration.

1. Patience - almost everyone includes this, yet it remains most important. You just have to be willing to fold for periods of time.

2. Reading your opponents - poker is played against others. You will lose if you only play your hand. I (like most 2+2'ers) use Pokertracker - but I prefer concentrating on my opponents at the table I am currently playing. Many players change style over time - I must continue to work to understand why my opponent is betting, or calling. I clearly need to work on this - my biggest fault is calling a turn C/R when I clearly should not.

3. Understanding the odds - the more I read, the more I absorb the odds knowledge. If you read your opponent correctly, then the odds drive your actions.

4. Understanding when to bluff (this applies to pure bluffs and semi-bluffs). This understanding seems to depend on knowing your opponents and position.

5. Valuing position - Position allows you to be creative.

All of these qualities require knowing when you are playing your cards, and when you are playing your opponents.

[bobbyi]

[ QUOTE ]
If u suck at poker, be as disciplined as you want, it wont help.

[/ QUOTE ]
And if you are great at poker but suck at discipline, you will eventually go broke. It has happened to tons of decent poker players. If you understand the game well, but tilt horribly, play when drunk and try to play in games ten times as large as your bankroll and skill can handle, you will eventually go broke.

[Alobar]

1. The ability to look into your opponents soul

[oreogod]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
If u suck at poker, be as disciplined as you want, it wont help.

[/ QUOTE ]
And if you are great at poker but suck at discipline, you will eventually go broke. It has happened to tons of decent poker players. If you understand the game well, but tilt horribly, play when drunk and try to play in games ten times as large as your bankroll and skill can handle, you will eventually go broke.

[/ QUOTE ]

But if you absolutly suck at poker, like its your first day of playing poker, kind of suck --- then u will get nowwhere and the other issues dont even matter.

So u can have good money managment and emotional control, and still completely suck at poker but still be ahead of someone who can outplay most opponents but has poor emotional control and money management.

Also, maybe its just me, but as I got more skilled at poker that in it self helped solve some of my tilt issues. Sure u still have to put extra work into it, but more knowledge = less tilt, for me anyway.