In part three of Developing Your Poker Mindset, I will talk about another important personality trait – discipline. Talk to any successful poker player and they’ll tell you that you’re going to need a good amount of both patience and discipline if you to want to succeed in the long run. In part two of this series, I talked about tilt and how emotional play is normal because it’s human nature. If you missed it, you can read part two here.
It’s really no different in this case as we are not born disciplined and all of us have some degree of impatience. So, we must learn to be patient, learn to be disciplined, and learn to not make emotional decisions. It’s not an overnight education, however, but instead a constant evolution of typical human behavior. If you don’t regularly work on it, you’ll find yourself making key mistakes that will surely affect your bottom line.
In part one of this series, I discussed why you need to be focused while at the tables. But all the focus in the world won’t mean a damn thing when boredom sets it in and you start playing too many hands as a result. Just because you’ve been dealt rags for the past 6 orbits doesn’t give you the right to open ten-six from middle position. Be patient and wait for a profitable opportunity. Don’t be a donkey!
In low stakes games, especially live games, many players are at the table for pure entertainment value. They play far too many hands and rarely fold. These types of players, whether they’re passive or aggressive, are EXACTLY who we want at the table because they’re not only fun to play with but they’re also EASY money. Will you get drawn out on from time to time? Of course, but that’s part of the game and part of what brings these card chasers back to the tables!
The last thing you should do in these situations is to get upset, berate the other player, or start playing poorly as a result. If this sounds like you, your discipline is shit and needs some work. Patience and discipline are attainable traits however by creating positive poker habits. This can be done by clearly defining your goals, monitoring your behavior, and holding yourself accountable. Here’s a simple 3-step process for doing just that.
- Clearly define your goals for the poker habits you need to develop. Think about the outcomes you want and create good habits around them in a way that are both measurable and quantifiable.
- Monitor and track your progress regularly. This is immensely important because what you track gets improved upon. If you can’t or don’t track your progress, how will you ever know what to do?
- Be transparent and hold yourself accountable. It’s extremely easy to lie to ourselves and that’s why this step is what separates the winners from the losers. Find a way to hold yourself accountable by any means necessary. Get a study buddy, make a prop bet, whatever you need to do.
Having the discipline to see through a process like this will surely carry over to the tables and even your daily life. And once these positive behaviors become entrenched into your brain, you’ll no longer need to think about it while playing. Just keep training until the good habits are the same as breathing, blinking, walking, etc.
Do you have any bad poker habits you’d like to break free from? Let us know in the comments below!
