AUTHOR: Jerry "Jet" Whittaker TITLE: Poker Psychology: Wisdom DATE: 2:40 AM ----- BODY: There is no definitive "correct" way to play poker. Read a dozen different
instructional poker books, and you are likely to find as many differing
ideas on how to play those questionable hands. Poker guidance from Doyle
Brunson is markedly different from that of Phil Hellmuth; both have
contrasts to Dan Harrington, which is nowhere similar to .... You get the
idea. It leads many inexperienced players to a point of frustration and
confusion. As we attempt to pour ourselves into reading we find ideas in
some books and magazine articles are oppositional to each other. We wonder
which expert we should listen to. There are poker authors without great
playing resumes, but who write excellent books and articles with seemingly
sound advice. On the other hand, there are poker world champions that have
written flimsy information. It simply is not easy to know where to turn.
Euripides stated, "Along with success comes a reputation for wisdom." It is
within our nature to automatically assume that those who have met success
are undeniably filled with wisdom and insightful information. We can witness
this on even the home-game level. The guy who seems to win the most cash in
your regular homegame will be asked questions such as, "Bob, I had bottom
pair and a flush draw. How should've I played that on the Turn?" The "King
of the homegame" will usually wear a wry smile as he dispenses his pearl of
wisdom. The assumption is that because he has a pattern of winning, he has
more wisdom than you. Imitation is often the natural consequence. We look up
to poker players that we witness winning, and we try our best to follow that
lead. We try to play like them. We try to think like them. I can recall more
than 20 years ago heading to Baltimore's Memorial Stadium to watch a young
Cal Ripken Jr. play baseball. A Little League player myself, I inspected
every single aspect of Cal's game. I spent hours in a batting cage
practicing the same goofy batting stance that Cal employed at the plate. The
bat flopped around in my hands. My balance was way off. Trying to mimic Cal
was not a successful venture. Similarly, I had the chance to get some
real-life poker instruction from Antonio "the Magician" Esfandiari last
year. Antonio is one of the most hyper-aggressive tournament players on the
planet. He talked about relentless pressure, and believes that a player
should either bust out in the first few levels of a tournament or be the
chip leader at the final table. While I respect his game and his
accomplishments, I knew that his advice would not fit into my mindset and
style of play. It is often true that those who've achieved great things
often do have great knowledge on a given subject. Passively absorbing
information is more harmful than taking on no new information at all. --------