Keys To Success In Poker: Stay Consistent

You may think that this article will be about playing your best all the time -consistency-or perhaps it will outline the benefits of taking a consistent approach to the game -when/where/who/what you play. However, neither of these topics will be covered in this article. In this instance when I talk about consistency I am referring to the frequency you play poker.

We all have heard the sports reporters ponder whether so-and-so will be “ready to play” after coming off a prolonged absence, or if they will be in “game shape” if they were suspended and couldn’t participate in any games.

Well, the same holds true in poker. Players who take to the felt day-in and day-out tend to make crisper decisions than players who compete sporadically. If you do not play poker daily, your brain will not be as tuned into the game as someone who does. The more you do something, and the more often you do something, the easier it becomes. People who only play here and there spend a good deal of their session getting back up to speed.

Imagine someone who goes for a run every day, and another runner who gets out only a couple times a month: Which of these two will make better progress in their time and distance? Which of these two will be sore and tired from running?

This isn’t simply a physical activities phenomenon either; it applies to anything you do: Are you as fast with your multiplication tables as you were when you were a kid?

When you seldom partake in activity it’s increasingly difficult for you to improve, or to even maintain your current level, so you often regress.

If you are playing poker infrequently you are more likely to make mental errors and are less likely to progress in ability, because you will be spending all of your mental energy trying to remember details/strategies/concepts that should be automatic: You simply lack the repetition needed for your brain to make these decisions without thinking.

So, in order to play poker at a high level you have to play consistently, day after day. Prolonged periods of inactivity will cause you to take the proverbial ‘one step forward, two steps backward’. If you were to poll the top players in the game I think you would be surprised to find that despite all their success and money they take little time off -vacations tend to coincide with major tournaments around the world-and when they do take a break they usually come back to the tables off their game.