The Felt is Like the Diamond … of Baseball

Imagine that you are a Major League all-star. You bat fifth and play right field. Over the course of any game that lasts between three and four hours, think about how many chances you will have to make a "play." Between your number of at-bats and your chances in the field, it will be fewer than 15. That means that you actually get to "do" something about five times an hour. You could argue that baseball is boring – both to watch and to play – and that it isn't a game of action.

You could make the same argument about poker. Just like baseball, you actually get to "do" something about five times an hour. And just as you are likely to get only one or two hits in five at-bats, you'll probably win only one or two pots in an hour of playing poker. It's those one or two pots or hits per game that are enough to make you a superstar. The hard part is being disciplined enough to wait for them.

So, am I saying the game of poker is boring? No. I am saying the game of poker is not for you if you seek action. If you're looking for a game in which money is on the line just about every second, try blackjack or craps. If you're looking for a mindless way to gamble, try the slot machines. Because you have a chance to win big on every spin of the reel, slots offer a lot of action – and a guaranteed loss if you play them long enough.

Back to a baseball game. Just because you are not directly involved in every play, your mind is working every second of the game – if you're a true professional, that is. When you're sitting in the dugout, you're trying to pick up tells from the pitcher as to how he grips the ball or what type of pitch sequence he has. You're watching how the fielders shift. You're trying to steal signs. When you're in the field, you're focused on every pitch, walking through scenarios as to what you'll do if a runner tries to steal a base, or to whom you'll throw the ball if it is hit in the gap. In other words, just because there isn't action on every play, your mind is always working.

If you need that adrenaline rush that action provides, you have no shot at the poker table. For all the strategy that is involved, most of your success, at least at a full table in a ring game, comes from patience and discipline. In very simple terms, if you can fight your desire for action and wait for the right cards and the right circumstances in which the odds are in your favor, you will be a winner.

As is the case in baseball, just because there isn't action in every hand, it doesn't mean you aren't involved every second you're playing. If Mo raises and you fold, it doesn't mean your eyes can wander to the ticker on SportsCenter to catch the scores of the games. You now should be trying to put Mo on a hand. Then, you anticipate how he will play it, and perhaps adjust your read as the hand unfolds. If you're good, you'll be able to figure out what Mo has. The best part is that you get plenty of action – mental action – for free. And because you don't have any money on the line, you're probably going to be better at it than the times you are in the hand. Like baseball, even though there isn't always action, you are always playing the game.

Having led your team to the seventh game of the World Series, you've been concentrating hard for nine innings. You've watched every pitch that the pitcher has thrown and even gone into the clubhouse to watch your own at-bats on video. With two out in the bottom of the ninth, your team is down by one run with the bases loaded as you step to the plate. You've noticed that whenever you get behind in the count, the pitcher tries to paint the outside corner. Since he knows you are a pull hitter, he has had success getting you out with that pitch.

Sure enough, you fall behind one ball and two strikes in the count, and just as you thought, the pitch comes on the outside corner. Because you were prepared, you go with the pitch and take it the other way, resulting in a rocket line drive into the gap in right-center field. The outfielder sprints after it, jumps as high as he can, and closes his eyes as he smashes into the wall. Somehow, he makes the catch. You're out and your team loses.

It happens all the time in poker. You can pay attention, pick up tells from other players, and put your opponent in a spot where he has only one out to beat you – and sometimes he will still get there, and you will lose. That's why the game of poker is such a grind. Just like your final at-bat in that baseball game, you don't always get rewarded for doing everything right – in the short run, anyway.

In baseball, a great team will win 100 games in a season. That means it wins only 62 percent of the time. Favorites in horse racing hit the board (win, place, or show) about 67 percent of the time. A professional poker player wins at roughly the same rate. If you're not prepared to lose, and if you can't deal with the frustration of doing everything right and still losing sometimes, you're not cut out for poker. It's a grind, and it's your ability to deal with temporary setbacks that will allow you to win in the long run.

Baseball can be a great metaphor for improving your poker game, as long as you don't bet the games – especially while you're playing!

Greg Dinkin is the author of The Poker MBA: Winning in Business No Matter What Cards You're Dealt, which is available through Card Player (see the ad in this issue). For a book review – plus a joker – send an E-mail to [email protected], subject heading, The Poker MBA.