Most people think of poker players as gamblers in a game of chance. It this were totally true, however, there would not be professionals who make their living by earning more than they lose and amateurs who lose more than they win. The difference here is that the pros have acquired the discipline involved in all sports of learning, understanding, and most essentially, practicing endlessly in their chosen field. They may have card sense, but above all they have the discipline to find a method that works for them.

Mozart was certainly a child protg of great talent, but even Mozart practiced his music relentlessly even as a child. Mozart knew that talent is well-practiced potential. But don’t depend on anyone else to impose discipline. You must impose it on yourself.

Amateurs play for the fun and excitement of risk against blind Chance. That is what keeps the business alive. Professional players leave Chance no chance: the pro knows what his basic chances are and takes advantage of every opponent’s slip, remembers repetitive patterns, and calculates the current odds. The serious player does not expect to have simpleminded fun: rather, his takes pleasure in efficiently emptying pockets as a profession. Chance only enters the professional’s world as one of the elements against which he matches his intelligence and skill. The idea is not to gamble half-blindly, but to pitch oneself against the strategies of another, and win.

It is vital to be familiar with the varieties of poker games and to know which of them best suit your abilities and predispositions; not only to realize what your weaknesses are, but to know also which game incites you to your best effort and best engages your intuitions. Players who haven’t the habit of self-introspection keep sullenly playing a game which doesn’t engage their best faculties. Sometimes a benevolent professional looking from the side may advise the person to try another game type and the player is surprised to discover that they are much more talented than they thought.

There is a big difference between limit and no-limit poker. A disciplined player will not yield to temptation and will prefer the game in which he feels in full, cucumber-cool control. In limit poker, disciplined players tend to play with caution, act cool, taking the time to covertly collect information about opponents, intending to milk them by small moves. They will play only the hands worth playing: the best ones play only about 20% of the hands dealt them.

A no-limit professional player also has discipline. He will, however, not appear cool and collected but will play aggressively before the flop, and will play hands that the limit player would consider as one of those 80% he wouldn’t touch. The no-limit pro while seeming to be reckless, is acutely aware of exactly what he is attempting to accomplish by every aggressive move he makes.

Whether limit or no-limit, of at least the same importance as the right move, is to not get so carried away that you don’t refrain yourself from knowing when to fold. If the situation is hopeless, or you feel a lack of control, which is certainly not uncommon, as a disciplined player aware of your performance, you will not continue with a game bringing only frustration.

You must never believe that your good fortune, on better days, will go on for eternity. Learn to leave while you are still hot, not when you cool off. During each session, you must not only have a cap on your losses, but also on your gains.

The author is a successful limit cash game player. He plays poker and receives Rakeback at Fat Bet Poker from Rakeback Solution.

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