Playing Competitive Poker

Many people I meet that are talented poker players all have many things in common. But foremost many are very competitive people. Competition is very inherent in the human spirit and can be found anywhere in the World. People feel the need to be measured in some way on their abilities or talents against other humans with similar talents. I think the main root of this is clearly based on the human need for growth, by measuring yourself against others it drives you to become better. Poker is an amazing example of a game that always allows room for improvement, in this game there's always someone better than you. I grew up as an athlete and had that drive to win at an early age, losing absolutely crushed me and I did whatever I could to ensure I didn't have that feeling again. When I quit competing in Sports I really felt an absence that I didn't understand how to fill until a friend of mine introduced me to poker. I had played poker here and there but always for pure entertainment and laughs and had never realized the amount of skill and strategy involved until my friend showed me a few books and a place to play. I was instantly hooked and that drive to compete was restored, I felt the adrelaine rush of looking down at two aces and the heartache of being outplayed and trapped by better players. I was measuring my skills and my mind against others and was able to find a way to make a little money while doing it. I was in love with the game and it had managed to become a big part of my life. These early days were some of the best for me I remembering getting home from work and instantly logging in to play free games for months, then reading a Lee Jones book and logging a couple more months of .01/.02 limit hold em' logging all my results in a notebook and excited to be making even miniscule profits for playing a game. I was competing and winning and striving daily to become a better player. I was as happy as I could be with this great game. But it would all change.


Three years later I could hardly bring myself to put an hour without being negative and bitter, towards the players, towards the sites, towards everything. What had happened to me? A game I love so much I had suddenly felt like was a job or a grind for me to even consider, this trend would continue, I still played daily but it felt like more of a routine and addiction rather than an occasion to enhance my spirit and motivate me to grow as a competitor. I had simply replaced my need for competition with a need for money. Greed had become my focus and the game was just a tool for me to gain. During this time my game suffered and I played robotically and without respect for the players or the game itself, it's a time that I think many of you can identify with or may dealing with right now. This was a time not only my growth stopped but I took a step backwards. I sometimes would find a burst of motivation and read some books and start playing focused only to get sucked back in to my routine of greed and bitterness. It was a low point for me and I thought of giving the game up. But a wonderful thing would happen and my passion would resurface.

 

Later in that year my girlfriend and I were moving, I was unable to play as much and when I did get the oppurtunity I played with focus for a while but still carried bitterness and disrespect for the players and the game. I knew the time off had helped me, but not cured me. When we settled in to our new home we had live poker availible pretty close to us, I had managed to play some live poker in the past but mostly I reserved my live play for Vegas trips. I'm somewhat of a rake snob and many small, local casinos are just insanely greedy and unprofessional, I had a hard time watching them drop $5/hand in a low limit game when I knew I could set at home get a bonus or rakeback and chill on my couch watching poker on TV. But our new home offered good games and decent compensation for the rake via high hands, comps, and freerolls, suddenly I found myself mixing live play into my game. It was about a month in when I realized that I had being treating people so rudely and being hateful online that in reality are mostly really nice people. When I play live my tilt factor is incredibly low, I see people's motivations and why they make bad plays, they are playing for entertainment and for fun, not for a profit. My online game started immediately showing better results, I was playing with focus and being positive. I could envision the people online that made a terrible play as the really nice guy named Tim I talked football with for 6 hours, nice poeple, just bad poker players. I was loving the game again and bringing passion to the felt everyday!



In conclusion, this for me isn't an essay about how you should play live poker, but to try and remember that the people you play against are, just that, people.They deserve to be respected and given the benfit of the doubt, some are there to waste time, lots are there for profit, but most are there for fun. I spent a lot of time wasting energies on negative qualities and hurting my game for a long time. Don't fall into the bitter, hateful trap that the grind will try and pull you in, rise above it. Trying to gain emotional control is an ongoing process that's nearly equally as challenging as the game itself, but remember this by becoming that person and player you envision, you not only improve your poker game, but you improve yourself, you improve your life. Have a passion to compete, try and understand your oppositions motivations for playing and truly respect the game, I see far too many young people disrespecting not only the game but other people. Our generation is far too talented and gifted to be unable to show respect, honor and promote a brilliant game. I hope that we don't leave that sort of legacy for poker in the future, we're too smart for that. I'll see ya at the tables. Good luck.