21 observations about poker
I wrote this on June 5, 2010, which was 10 months before Black Friday. Too bad more people didn't follow #18....
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1) The absence of good players is more important to game selection than the existence of bad ones.
2) If you think someone is a bad player, yet they consistently put up better results than you, they either game-select better or you don't understand their style.
3) Most people typically want to play one level higher than their skill level belongs. If you're not doing as well as you'd like, step down one level and your results will probably improve dramatically.
4) If you play where and when everyone else is playing, follow the same strategies everyone else is employing, and go about your poker career the same way that most people do, you are probably a losing player.
5) If you think someone is a lot worse than you, they probably are. If you think a person is somewhat worse than you, they're probably only a little worse. If you think someone is a little worse than you, they're probably about the same skill level. If you think someone is about the same as you, they're probably somewhat better. If you think someone is somewhat better than you, they're probably a lot better.
6) The poker players who aren't broke aren't necessarily the best ones, but are best at handling losing.
7) If you significantly change your lifestyle when running well, you will go broke.
8) If your heart starts to pound during big pots, you're playing too high for where you truly feel comfortable.
9) If you have to think about the consequence of what will happen to your life or bankroll if you have a bad session, you are playing way too high.
10) You can only play your best when you are focused on the game and not the money.
11) The best tournament players don't care much if they bust from any particular tournament. That's why you tend to do the best in tournaments that are too low for your bankroll, where you don't care about the results all that much. Fear is a big enemy in tournaments.
12) Even with millions of hands under their belt, some people will be luckier than others in poker in their lifetime. Accept it.
13) Nobody at the poker table is your friend. If your goal isn't to take every last dollar off the table, you will lose in the long run, unless you're so good that you can overcome the additional handicap, which is unlikely.
14) Anyone who borrows from you has a MUCH higher chance to stiff you or slow-pay you than pay back as promised. The one exception is someone temporarily borrowing because they just don't have the money currently on them.
15) If you develop a reputation for generosity in the poker world, people will take advantage of you.
16) Look around during any tournament or cash game, and a large percentage of people are playing on borrowed money.
17) If you're on a long losing streak and don't actively change something, you will go broke.
18) Money in your online poker account isn't yours until it hits your bank account. Remember that. Never leave more online than you need for your poker play.
19) It's more important to win money than to have others think that you're a good player.
20) One of the biggest favors you can do yourself is refrain from dating other poker players.
21) There are a few people in the poker world who truly believe that everyone "is horrible" aside from a few top players. These players are almost always broke, because this means they have a completely warped view of game selection.
