Poker mind games

When playing poker, be it online or live, it is easy to not give it your all. Online, you could be playing multiple tables and not be able to give your full attention to any one game, or you could be distracted by any number of things, such as the world wide web, television, or even your un-potty trained toddler running around naked.

Live, you get could engrossed in conversation yeah, imagine that , get too into cocktail waitr… er… people watching, or be thinking about what route to take home. And even if you are concentrating on the game, very often it is all too easy to just focus on your cards and then tune out once you fold. But as we all know, skilled poker players are concerned with much more than just their own cards and chips.

The best players are able to get into the minds of their opponents. Of course this is easier said than done. While that may sound ludicrous, hear me out. By not looking at your hole cards, you naturally have to see other parts of the game in order to succeed.

And what other parts of the game are out there? Why, the other players, chip stacks, the community cards, and the dealer button, to name a few. What did that pre-flop raise just mean from the guy in Seat 3? What is Seat 6 telling me when she checks the turn?

What cards does the guy next to my left showdown after he has been betting the pot throughout the hand? If you can start figuring out the betting patterns and when playing live, possibly physical tells of your opponents, you can figure out when they are weak and make bets that will win you the pot, regardless of what pocket cards you have.

Examples of this in play:. Tells are traditionally associated with people's physical twitches in which one gives away the strength of his or her hand. Tells exist both in the brick and mortar and the online world. Here are some common tells:. Poker Club has special offers running all year round, with cash prizes, seats to the best live events and much more.

Qualify for the biggest live poker events in your region and around the world, with freerolls. Welcome to Poker Tips. Beginner Intermediate Advanced Expert Probabilities. Poker Psychology - Advanced Poker Changing Pace Note: This is only for shorthanded games 6 or fewer people and to be used mainly against other good players. However, the first thing you need to do is categorize each of your opponents you are facing: 1.

These guys are just playing their hand, not yours. If you bet big and they have a bad hand, they will fold. If you bet big and they have top pair, they will call provided you do not do something scary like put them all-in. They will not bluff much at you.

These guys also just play their hand, but will call less than the fish. They are not willing to lose all of their chips on top pair unless they think you are a maniac. Bluff these guys out of a good number of pots but not much so that they will attempt to trap you later on. The Sheriff. These guys are similar to fish but understand the game enough to where they know when the only thing they can beat is a bluff.

However, they often think you are bluffing and will call you down. These are your tactically sound players. However, their No-Limit ability differs largely based on how well they read their opponents. In general, they are much more eager to bet at the pot than call. Against these players, changing pace is necessary. You should occasionally trap these players with strong hands and occasionally go over the top at them. By continually changing pace, you may be able to bully them into becoming too 'weak-tight' or by becoming a sheriff.

Notice which direction they are going into and then take advantage of that strategy. These guys like to bet and raise. It's almost impossible to tell if they are bluffing or have the nuts a lot of the time. These players can be dangerous, but you need to make an effort to trap them. While it is good to 'test' them by raising them, do not always do this with a hand because it will become a clear signal to them.

Do not let these guys know what you have by raising. Play your hands differently and certainly trap them sometimes when you have a strong hand like a set. Tilting players.

Whatever set these guys off, these guys are on tilt. They're going to bet all of their chips in. Learn how to fund your poker account. Withdrawing: everything you need to know.

Invite your friends and reap rewards! Beat the Bots in Online Poker! Playing Cash or Tournament Poker Games. Learn to Play Poker Today. From the author of the two best-selling books on the subject, The Mental Game of Poker 1 and 2, we bring you an exclusive, all new, step by step guide on the Mental Game of Poker.

Poker is not a physical game. For the answer we can turn to science, since this is a well-researched concept. The graphic below is called the Yerkes-Dodson Law, and it shows the relationship between energy and performance.

On the flip side, the bottom right, your performance is equally poor because your energy level is so intense that it causes the mind to malfunction. At the top of the curve is that ideal balance, call it the Goldilocks of energy— not too much and not too little Of all the skill games, I have yet to discover one where players whohave a significant edge over their regular competition lose as frequently as they do in poker.

What sets poker apart from other games is variance. Poker is a game of luck and skill where the best players win in the long run, but regularly lose to worse players in the short term. When you think about games you played prior to poker, unless something crazy happened like a ref missing an obvious call, itwas easy to know who was better. The better player or team is the one that wins. Saying you are lazy is paradoxically a lazy thing to do.

While most of you would probably scoff at the idea of playing poker while drunk, many of you are playing in a way that is just as bad: distracted.