It Amuses Me How So Few Actually ‘GET’ Poker

Let me begin by saying that I was once one of these uninformed people -I guess ignorant is a better way to put it-but as soon as I read my first strategy article the light went on for me, and I started to ‘get’ it. Perhaps that is why I am so perplexed at the number of strategically educated poker players who simply don’t understand the underlying aspect of poker.

Poker isn’t about starting hands and odds; anyone who really wants to is able to implement a decent strategy. Oh no, the real problem that faces poker players is that to play good poker you have to push aside almost everything your brain has been programmed to tell you. Whoever invented poker realized that he could part people from their money by creating a game that only he (and a small segment of the population who thought along the same lines) understood. If you think I’m overhyping this point I’ll now present my case:

• Poker is the only competitive activity where your margin of victory is more important than your number of wins.
• In poker a bad play that wins you the pot is still a bad play: In a game like basketball or football when there is a broken play that works out in your favor it’s a positive thing.
• Second place is the biggest loser in poker.
• Opting not to compete for a pot is often the best play. Where else can you win by not playing?

And these are just a handful of the ways poker is diametrically opposed to virtually every other competitive activity we take part in. Without this understanding even if you “know” how to play poker -pot odds, starting hands, and so on-you will be hard pressed to actually continue playing the right way: Your brain will be forever telling you: “look what that guy just won with!” “It’s a good thing you didn’t fold there, or you wouldn’t have won!” And all kinds of things that on the surface, appear to be logical conclusions; but will be murderous to your long-term poker outlook.

So in order to “get it” at the poker tables you have to win an argument with your brain, and convince yourself that no matter what you are seeing, and regardless of what is happening, you are in fact doing the right thing. Once you can do this, you will truly “get it” and be on your way to becoming a dynamic poker player.