Copyright 2005 Giorgio MaldiniPlaying poker and winning is a very difficult task to do,
you can lose most of the times specially if you don't know
the little dirty psychology secrets that anybody playing
poker for real has to understand.
1. Don't expect people to play like you.
Even good players have different concepts about how to make
a good game. Don't count on other good players to do what
you would do in a certain situation. There is more than one
way to be right.
2. Look your opponents in the eye.
See who they are and study their features. Get to know
them. This observation will make you fear them less.
3. Try playing in silence.
Silent play is an image play, sure, but here's something
else to consider: When you play in silence, you end up
holding more detailed "inner conversations" with yourself,
which improves your concentration, and also your play.
4. See things as they are.
Wishful thinking like fearful thinking leads to bad
decisions. Make your decisions based on real information,
not on what you hope or fear that your opponents hold. It's
bad enough to get bluffed by someone else but even worse to
get bluffed by yourself.
5. Keep it impersonal.
At the poker table it's easy to get sucked into our
opponents' personalities. When you're driven by the desire
to beat the player in seat four, just because he happens to
be a jerk, you're moving away from your good game and into
the dangerous teritory of personality poker. To keep it
profitable, you have to keep it impersonal.
6. Respond to change.
A poker game is not static. It's a dynamic, living organism
that changes from moment to moment. You have to respond to
those changes. Just because a player was bluffing an hour
ago doesn't mean he's bluffing now. Has he lost a lot of
money since then? Has he had a few bluffs? Be
up-to-the-second in your thinking or be prepared to go home
broke.
7. Beware subjective reality.
When the hand you folded an hour ago is the hand you raise
with now, it's time to get up and go home.
8. Serve your game, not your ego.
Serving your ego in a poker game is not your purpose and it
will harm you. It will only cloud your card sense with a
lot of irrelevant issues, and also alienate your opponents.
Be humble, act humble, and leave your ego at home.
9. Have a scenario.
When you're in a hand against one or more opponents, put
them on something. Make your best guess about their holding
in light of their betting. It sounds obvious, I know, but
so many of us get so caught up in our own hands that we
don't stop to consider, really consider, what our enemies
are up to until it's too late. If you have a scenario, you
may be wrong but at least you have a chance to be right. If
you don't think about what they have, then you have no
chance of being right.
10. Should you count your money at the table?
Ideally you have so much money that you can't count that
high, but try not to do this.
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Giorgio has been a Professional Poker Player for years, he
has won several small tournaments and has made a fortune
online. He teaches people how play poker and win big. Get
Free tips at: http://www.maldiniholdemsecrets.com
