Any creative art requires a philosophy. The game of poker, with all its complexities, is an art form. If you are a droid, all you need is an on off switch to get you going. If you are not, you will need certain human qualities to motivate you to achieve your purpose and that which you love. Obviously, few of us would consider ourselves philosophers. But that isn t required what is required is a creative imagination and powers of perception.
Imagination and perception are the springboards to allow you to force yourself to do that which you don t like to do. These two concepts will enable you to view the unwelcome chore from a more favorable perspective. Think of comparing the somewhat abhorrent task of developing communication skills with taking a cold shower. The cold shower will shock your system and turn you off of them completely. But with repetition, over a few weeks of taking them one or two times a week, you actually may look forward to the occasion and you won t give them up. It becomes a challenge to step into the shower, but it will wake you up, and the warm water feels so good after the cold.
This is true of almost any new skill that is humanly possible to acquire and that is why some people like to learn new things even though the initiatory stages are always necessarily stressful to a certain degree.
So with the analogy of the cold shower in mind, take the plunge and dive into those areas of poker that you would really rather not venture into.
So much for the philosophical side, it is now time to consider some more general and pragmatic advice. You might hire a professional coach to teach you privately where you can acquire experience without the embarrassment of more learned opponents making fun of you. The coach will also point out your weaknesses and mistakes so that you can learn from them weaknesses and mistakes that you may not be aware of without outside intervention.
If the idea of a professional coach is too pricey for you, try making the acquaintance of poker playing buddies. The honest debates between even run of the mill players can greatly improve strategy and perception. Poker forums are another good place to learn. Some exceptional poker players post to these and you can gain some valuable insights from them sharing their experiences.
Jot down notes whether playing online or offline. You can review these later and don t have to depend on memory alone, which given the complexity of the game will probably fail you in the end. The notes will aid you in formulating a self concept of how you are playing the game and why you made the moves you did. This is applicable as well to your opponents. The goal of this recordkeeping and critical review is to progress to the point where you can ask crucial questions before you make a move.
Ask yourself the following questions during the game: What do you expect your opponent s reaction to be? Did he react in a manner consistent with your perceptions of him in that situation? Did he bet or raise as expected? What cards do you want him to think you are holding in your hand? Under what circumstance do you want him to call or raise?
Constantly asking yourself questions like these is difficult to learn, but after a while it become a habit and then a challenge. And then you are playing poker for real.
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