Nerdthusiast: Poker Player Traits

Poker Player Traits

Every good poker player and even most casual players understand the difference between tournament poker and cash game poker. Technically in a cash game you should always make the best +EV (positive expected value) decision whereas in a tournament that is not always the case as there is some value to maintaining your tournament life.

 Additionally in tournaments, there is what is called ICM (Independent Chip Model) which adds an additional layer of complexity to the equation.  ICM is a topic for another blog though. So, why should you always make the best +EV decision in a cash game?  Because you should look at a cash game as 1 big lifetime game and if you make the best +EV decision EVERY time, over time you will (ideally) make the most money. 

Basically, it’s math! That being said, we as poker players don’t always do what is best as there can be other outside contributing factors affecting our decisions.  These factors include the amount of money being played for, our current position in the game (being up or down money), our mood, etc. The best players in a game are always adjusting to how these factors are affecting the play of the other players at their table.

When someone says to me that they want to learn poker, I tell them what I think are the 2 most important qualities needed to be a good poker player.  Here are those qualities: you need to be half-way decent with people and you need to be half-way decent with math.  The rest is easy! (Not really, but that sounded like a good follow up line.)  

First off, you need to understand people and follow their logic in general because poker is a game of people. When you sit at a table you should always try to get a basic feel for each of the players at that table. 

Make sure to adjust that opinion if needed if you eventually obtain information that is contrary. As far as the math is concerned, it’s not hard math that you need to know.  You just need to be able to do some quick easy math and understand the basic mathematical concepts in poker in order to succeed.  It’s not Calculus!  It’s not even Algebra! 

I’ve seen some very (let’s call them) not so intelligent people succeed at a decent level of poker by understanding those 2 concepts.  I’ve also seen some very intelligent people consistently struggle in poker because of the inability to grasp those 2 concepts. 

Obviously, there is more to it then those 2 things, but in my opinion those 2 traits go a long way in helping someone become a decent player.

Nerdthusiast.com

Written By Frank DiRe

Twitter: @FLD15