How to Win at Poker
INSTANT EXCELLENCE
by: Lou Krieger©
Now you can become an excellent poker player in the wink of an
eye...in an instant...in a nanosecond. Just like that, and in less
time than it took you to read from there to here.
Is this a scam? Some kind of offering from an esoteric self-improvement
guru? Isn't excellence a long time in the making? Nope. None of
the above. You can do it right now. It's the real deal. Here's how
you can accomplish this wondrous feat. Like the Nike commercials
admonish us, Just do it!
Make the commitment, and it's done. Then, work your tail off every
day for the rest of your life to make sure it stays done. IBM founder
Thomas Watson said, "If you want to achieve excellence, you
can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent
stuff." Simple sounding? Sure, but like the Golden Rule, most
profound truths are simple.
A while back Mason Malmuth wrote about having "...a zero tilt
factor." That seemingly simple statement is really quite profound.
After all, here is a man who thinks deeply about poker, and whose
expertise is grounded in statistical theory -- some of which is
quite complex. Yet that statement about "zero tilt factor,"
which is nothing more than a commitment each of us could choose
to make, might just account for as much of Malmuth's own poker success
as all his technical knowledge.
Because his statement really touched a nerve in me, I consciously
committed to zero tilt factor (or ZTF, as I like to call it). I
simply made a commitment that I would never, ever go on tilt again.
Not for one session, nor one hour, or even one hand. That commitment
alone gives me an extra edge over any player who goes on tilt. The
money they throw off, I'll catch! How many of you can say the same
thing about your own game -- that you never go on tilt. Not sometimes,
not occasionally, but never.
The key to excellence is making a commitment. Wishing or wanting
to achieve excellence is not enough. Neither is it sufficient to
merely involve yourself in a a try for excellence. You have to commit
to it. Make no bones about it, there is a significant difference
between involvement and commitment, and it's like the difference
between ham and eggs. The chicken is involved; the ham is committed!
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Want to be a great poker player? Commit to greatness. Sure, you
won't be any better 10 minutes after you've made that commitment
than you are right now. But commitment is a necessary first step
down a long road. You'll need to read up, think about the game while
you're at the table and when you're away from it, model your own
game after players you respect, talk to winning players whose game
you admire -- and you'll need to keep on doing the things it takes
to guarantee yourself the best of it, until your deal is done.
Still, you can declare your excellence tonight, starting with the
first hand you play. How do you begin? Visualize yourself as the
greatest poker player ever -- and act accordingly. Sound silly?
Even embarrassing? It's not. A few years ago, before I started writing
for Card Player, the instructor in a writing class told me, "The
way to become a published writer is easy. Just put on the hat of
a writer, and you'll grow into it!"
Yup. Just do it. And you know what? It works! Someone, I'm not
sure who, said, "Ninety percent of success is just showing
up." That's what this is all about, showing up -- and showing
up every time you play for the rest of your playing life. Commitment
-- that unbreakable bond to excellence, while easily made, carries
with it this mandate: I will picture myself as the greatest poker
player ever, and always play accordingly.
Sure, you'll slide through valleys on your road to the heights.
So what! Life is not a kindergarten, and most things worthwhile
do not come without enduring struggle and adversity.
Here's a terrific opportunity. When you sit in your game tonight,
play like an excellent player. Don't delude yourself into playing
a less-than-quality hand because you "...have a feeling."
Don't play tired, and don't take the worst of it. Make the plays
a top player would. You already know much of what they do. You only
need to apply it, and apply it every time you sit in a game. Never,
but never, allow or permit yourself to play less than your best.
That's what commitment is all about. That's the decision you make
in the wink of an eye.
And if you don't know what a top player would do in a given situation,
that, too, is an opportunity. It's a chance to learn. To keep your
commitment you need to learn something new every day. And once you
learn it, go out and practice it. Making that commitment, and having
decided to do what it takes to achieve excellence as a poker player,
never do anything, no matter how trivial, inconsistent with your
commitment.
Here's the truth, and it's simple. It does not take long to make
changes. It takes forever to maintain change, but changes of the
most dramatic, fundamental and far-reaching sorts, can be had instantly
and made today. It's true with diets, smoking and becoming a great
poker player. Want to quit smoking? Just give up cigarettes! Want
to lose weight? Don't eat any fats and exercise aerobically for
thirty minutes every day! It will work for you when you work at
it. Want to be a better poker player? Commit to playing better.
Then do it.
But remember, it's all-or-nothing. You either commit to making
change or you don't. Saying you're going to change, and then doing
it -- except for five or six weak hands you decided to play because
you were tired, or you had a hunch, or whatever, just doesn't cut
it. You're either there or your not -- on the bus or off the bus.
No in-betweens allowed, and this is a bet you can't hedge.
You want to be a top-notch poker player? Great. Go ahead and commit
to it. Do it and it's done. You can reach excellence in a heartbeat,
and you can do it today. But if you do, there'll be no more talk
about bad beats, or that dealer who kills you. Once you commit to
achieving excellence and being the best poker player alive, you
can never again place the blame for your failures or fortune on
anyone else. Your results are your own. You own them and they own
you.
And if you decide not to make that commitment, it's no big deal.
Just recognize the truth for what it is. You're a recreational player
who cares more for enjoyment than results. Nothing wrong with that,
but you can't have it both ways. If you want to be a winning, excellent
player, go ahead and do it. It takes no time at all to achieve change,
but it will take forever to maintain it. It's that simple. Really.
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