Poker Playing Attributes

What are the attributes needed to make a good poker player? It doesn’t matter how tall or short, fat or thin or anything else physical you are. Athleticism in poker seems not to matter one bit. The important attributes which do seem common are more to do with character and temperament plus a head for figures.

Good attributes to have are

Patience

Know your numbers

Self control and discipline

Controlling the ego

Aggression

Ruthlessness

Patience. For most poker is played at night. The bigger live tournaments can span several days with games extending into the small hours. The single most important skill is to be able to sit through hours of gamming with out loosing concentration or giving in to the urge to do something rash or reckless. This requires endurance. Impatience, irritation, tiredness and boredom have lost more hands and money than any other failings.

Know your numbers. You might not be the world’s best mathematician but this is certainly a skill which can be improved. With only 52 cards in a deck, the odds and chances of winning a hand can be calculated pretty well. Using mental arithmetic is what the best players do to reduce or manage the effect of luck.

Self control and discipline. A successful player will wait, and wait, and wait. Playing the occasional week hand to disguise the patten of his play but still waiting for a strong starting hand to put their chips to work. Whilst watching he will see the bad players become bored and risk their on poor hands and end up loosing. All this waiting takes discipline and immense resources if self control.

Controlling the ego. John Gollehan once said “Big egos and big losses go hand in hand” When a game is being played, many personality habits and traits are accentuated once the cards have been dealt. This means any psychological issues that a player may have will be exaggerated when a playing and may possibly prove very costly. He key is to spot a player with no understanding or control over theirs and then target them.

Aggression. In poker aggression should be regarded as a technique, a means of intimidating the opposition, not be showing your teeth and growling but by developing a style of play which is disconcertingly strong or unpredictable.

Ruthlessness. An inability to follow through and destroy your opponent’s confidence as you win their chipstack could prove a fatal weakness. Don’t think of opponents in a personal manner but develop the ability to view what you are doing for what it is – playing a game, a game you must win.

You might also like:

What is OmahaAlthough I know how to play poker I did find myself asking what Omaha is. I see it in the tournament schedules and it seems fairly popular so I wanted...

Poker Questions & AnswersWhen choosing starting hands to play which ones should you choose? Only those that have a sure probability. Check out Starting Hands for more information   Which hands loose in...

Playing Poker at HomeThe traditional boy's poker night has been around since the game was invented. So whilst they do their thing, why not organise a girls poker night. It doesn't have to...

Live Poker Tells and BluffingI wasn't going to write about poker tells and bluffing when playing live poker as I mainly play poker online. But I decided to touch on the subject (I say...

Mathematics and PokerA big question amongst many poker players is whether or not you need a good knowledge of poker mathematics to be a winning poker player. The simple answer is that...