In the 2021 real poker online landscape, there is no dearth of information about poker. Tutorials, entertainment, live streams, live events being streamed. There is a lot of poker content available for consumption, more than enough free content to become a solid player, and yet. Only a few people do. Only a few people ever will. Because poker is not just about technical ability, It is about mental fortitude, grit, and determination as well. You need mental fortitude to sustain through your downswings while also keeping a level head while you are having an upswing, playing good consistent poker regardless. You need the grit to sustain through the long hours of grinding over months and years, you need the determination of focusing only on winning the game, letting insults trash-talk, and table affects you as minimally as possible.
Only then after you master these obstacles of the mental game of poker and start sitting on your tables with intent and focus, will you realize your profits with your technical skill and knowledge of the game. You need the discipline to make the right move with disinterest in how large or small an amount is on the line. Today we are going to discuss how to approach your mental game in a better healthier manner.
There are multiple variables to consider when it comes to developing the right mindset for real money poker online. Discipline is one of them, the finesse of your execution, creativity, etc are some of the other well-known factors.
But one factor that few people talk about is belief. Believe that the “winning play” is the winning play. The very nature of poker is such that in the short term, The “winning play” is hard to spot, sometimes it is even disguised as a line that looks like it is losing.
Other times you see it but your emotions get in the way of you executing it since it has become personal at the table, and curiously a major population tendency is to play hit and miss poker once it has gotten personal between them and the villain and the battleground of poker has now become a battleground of ego and manning up.
And I get it, I am no pro. I feel the same thing. You can only get your AK beat by 67o so many times before you wonder if 3 betting right here when I know my opponent will c-bet flop whenever I check back and I can only make a hand so many times? shouldn’t I just shove and get it over with? should I limp because they keep hitting with everything? See a flop before I act? Or should I forget all that and focus on punching my opponent through the screen (I am kidding, don’t consider this “option”). And that is not your fault, that is a gap in your understanding that is manifesting itself in a jarring manner. I want you to stop thinking of those moments as travesties and start thinking of them as the greatest learning opportunities, think of them as the game of poker itself trying to tell you something. There are crucial lessons to be learned here in these spots where nothing works out, pay attention!
That is you reading into small sample size and seeing things that are not there, things that lady luck wants you to see. Songs of sirens lure you into a false sense of comfort before drowning you and biting your throat out. Your job as a poker player is never to control the outcome, It’s only to make the best decisions in the various scenarios and spots you will face. Your job is not to control the unpredictable waves of poker but only to sail your ship just as steadily in calm and turbulent waters.
This brings me to my point. All the crazy weird shit that happens, you are meant to see it. It is meant to confuse you, dishearten you, scare you. make simple decisions hard. Make hard decisions seem simple. What makes a pro is not the ability to row harder and harder. But the ability to navigate treacherous waters without losing your mind. The ability to keep your head above water. When everybody else is losing theirs.
Poker is a labyrinth you choose to get lost in, in the hopes of learning the truth and being rewarded for it. The journey for truth and objectivity while worth it is never easy. So give yourself time and trust the process and so variance will be no more annoying than a buzzing mosquito to you. An irrelevant obstacle standing between you and greatness. Your only job is to play the best online poker you can and as they say, let the chips fall where they may, only most often, they will be falling on your side.
