People Who Quit

[Jorge10]

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I think a player starting out tight and less gambling-oriented has potential to do better than players who are gamblers by nature and must work to tighten up and get a grip and their emotions.

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I dont know about that, I think both have a good shot, I personally started as a very tight non gambling type and have changed a lot, but it took me about 5 months of non stop playing thousands of hands, so it was a long time would have been years in real life play. Im sure people that needed to tighten up have done it faster.

I say this because I'm under the [possibly false] impression that the biggest mistake new players make is playing too many hands. I also make the assumption that players playing too few hands are closer to the ideal number of hands to play than players playing many hands.

[Mr. Curious]

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Reading books and visiting forums is only information. If you don't know how to apply the information that you've obtained properly, then it's actually pretty useless.

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I've done fairly well playing GSIH short stack style in NL and recently let a friend borrow GSIH. He has played since then and I know understands how to play short stack style, yet he will still be a long term loser because he is not willing to adhere to the rules laid out. Discipline is key.

[xxJEDIxx]

There is a lot of good points made here, excellent post for those on the journey.
I have played all my life, since age 17-18, and seriously(record keeping/reading-studying,etc..) the last 3 years. The main element here is to learn the "whole" of the poker dynamic. The key ingredients to this is to realize the probability of a winning player over time and apply your skill level to that probability and also to understand true swings of variance. As follows:

-1- Everyone cannot be a winner. In fact, after applying all factors(rake,variance,psychology, natural talent, timing, economics, and many more variables) most players will be losers. Less than 20% can mathematically win long term(generous estimate). That being said, Are you willing to work and do what it takes longterm to be better than 80% of players? most are not...

-2- Understanding the "whole" may help players especially novice or new players understand what their getting into. Using the points above to open your mind to the whole of the game, Do you think that one could buy a set of nice Ping golf clubs, take lessons, practice hard and then after a few years be able to compete with pros for a living ? No,
and to accept that poker on the whole is the same as any other professional endeavor will enlighten you.

However, due to "short term luck" or card variance(inevetable) in poker a newer less skilled player could compete in a series of short term iterations(tourny) and win with "a good run". In time, skill will prevail, but with high payouts on some majors such as WPT and WSOP events a newer player could "hit paydirt" if you will. Do you really think some of these 22 yr old winners on the WPT are as skilled as guys who have played for a lifetime? No, but factor in econimics and bankroll and after a big win they now have a cushion to keep playing while improving their lifestyle. These points being made, building a winning percentage over time grinding it out will take much more skill and devotion than a short term tournament with a big top end payout. Example, Chris Moneymaker won 2-1/2 million at the 03 WSOP, It could take many years to lose that back, thus making him a winning player but not as skilled as many who have played for years. So, your venue must also be factored in, this is why many invest in the tournament trail for the Big payout.

*figures above are not exact but paints a good overall representation of the poker dynamic IE player/winning/losing expectation..