Poker: What's so difficult about it???

[phish]

One thing I tell non-poker players is that poker seems like a very simple game because, as you said, the rules are simple and decisions are limited. But hidden within that seeming simplicity are layers upon layers of complexity.

All the items you've mentioned only scratch the surface. What's important to win at one level may not be very important at all at a higher level. As you move up and play with different opponents, the complexity of the game peels open gradually like layers of an onion.

So many people think they're great and know all there is about poker, only to look back two years later(when they've much more accomplished) and see that they knew squat at the time. Of course these are the ones who grow. There are many who think they know it all for 20 years, and they never improve.

It seems if you're not discovering how little you knew two years (6 months?) ago, then you are not growing and poker WILL pass you by.