Poker is about a lot of things. It’s about catching cards at the right time. It’s about knowing when your opponent is bluffing. It’s about knowing when to fold an over pair. It’s about extracting the most chips from your opponent when you make a big hand….
All of these are factors on what makes a good poker player. But, how do you get to that point? One of the key factors is time spent playing the game. Reading books, blogs & forums on poker strategy will only take you so far. But, to really advance at the game of poker, you need to put in the hours at the table. You need to be put to the difficult decisions. You need to stare down hundreds of opponents.
A while back my buddy Scott called and told me he was thinking about quitting his job to play poker full time. I remember my first thought – “You are crazy!” But, fast forward to today and Scott hasn’t posted a losing month. We have talked on the phone almost daily to discuss hands. He values my opinion on situations and I enjoy getting to live vicariously through him as I would love to be playing poker for a living. Even though he calls me looking for my opinion, if you were to ask who is the better player, I’d have to honestly say that he is based on the amount of time he spends actually playing the game.
The point is, to get better at this great game, you have to get out there and play. Start playing at stakes that you can comfortably afford to have several losing sessions and only move up when your confidence, winning session % and bankroll dictate.
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