It's a Great Party. But... Part II

Part I of this column argued that poker has always had Darwinian evolution. Some of the weaker players either quit or learn how to play better, making the competition continuously tougher. The poker explosion has softened so many games that you may think that evolution has been suspended, but it never stops.



When the party ends, some survivors will be more skilled and better bankrolled, and the new, higher house charges will continue, making the games tougher than ever. The critical question is: Will you just enjoy the party and have serious problems tomorrow, or will you prepare for future challenges?



Evolutionary pressures have four critically important implications:

1. Your survival as a winning player is not guaranteed.

2. Changes will certainly threaten your survival.

3. Your survival as a winner demands understanding, accepting, and adapting to change.

4. Your greatest enemies are your own attitudes.

Your Survival As A Winning Player Is Not Guaranteed

We all resist the idea of our own demise, either physically or otherwise. Young people almost believe they are immortal because death is so distant. We have the same sort of nonsensical beliefs about our skills. Since we don't see any immediate danger, we dismiss the idea that anything will become a serious threat.



A quick look around any large cardroom should convince you that your future is not guaranteed. People who used to beat larger games are struggling to survive in smaller ones. In fact, some formerly great players are now broke. If it can happen to them, it certainly can happen to you.



Changes Will Certainly Threaten Your Survival

All of history proves that change is inevitable, and that it usually wipes out something. The dinosaurs are the most famous example. After dominating the earth much longer than we have, they disappeared; so did every empire in history, and so did countless highly valued skills.



Talk to typesetters, tool and die makers, draftsmen, or members of many other skilled occupations, and you'll hear the same story: They spent years learning a complicated, highly paid skill, but technological and economic changes destroyed their worlds. Most of them were astonished; how could this happen to me? It also can happen to you.

Your Survival As A Winner Demands Accepting, Understanding, And Adapting To Change

All three steps are essential. You must accept that change is inevitable, understand the implications of whatever changes occur, then effectively adapt to them. Most poker players don't seriously think of long-term changes or of what they must do to adapt to them.

Your Greatest Enemies Are Your Own Attitudes

Machismo and complacency are probably the most important obstacles to coping with change. You may think that other people have to work on their games, but you're so good that you will always be a winner.



You also may have an extremely short-term perspective. Poker is a very "now" game. Because we play about 30 hands an hour live, and far more online, we naturally focus on short-term issues. Almost every poker discussion focuses on questions such as:

• How should I play this specific hand?

• How can I beat this kind of player or game?

• Should I choose this game or that one?



These questions are interesting and worthwhile, but they do not deal with longer-term, more general issues. In fact, discussions of long-term issues rarely occur, and hardly any poker players have a long-term personal development plan.

What Should You Do?
The critical step is to make a long-term personal development plan. It should include several elements:



1. Build your bankroll by saving some of your winnings. If you spend lavishly now, you may be unable to maintain your standard of living when times get tough. You may even find yourself on the rail, wondering, "What happened?"



2. Invest some of that money in developing your game. The following recommendations will cost you time and/or money, but they will prepare you for tomorrow's trials.



3. Learn new games. Draw and lowball players had to switch games not too long ago, and some stud players are now switching to hold'em. Jim Brier is studying no-limit hold'em because he sees its threat to the middle-limit games. Perhaps triple-draw lowball or some other game will attract tomorrow's weakest players.



4. Study the great new books, because your competitors are reading them.



5. Go beyond studying to active learning by joining a discussion group, posting hands and questions on forums, arguing with other players and experts, and taking the risk of being criticized. If you do get criticized, your embarrassment will be temporary, but the lessons can be permanent.



6. Go beyond the narrow tactical discussions you can get in these places and consider larger issues, such as:

• What are your personal strengths and weaknesses?

• How can you take full advantage of your strengths and overcome or minimize your weaknesses?

• Where and when should you play?



7. Get a coach. Some of my friends are successful pros. Instead of resting on their success, they spend serious money for personal coaching. If they can benefit from coaching, imagine how much value you would get from it. If you don't want to pay a professional, swap coaching with another player. By carefully examining each other's play, both of you will improve.



8. Experiment with something new and different every month. For example, tighten up before the flop, or become more aggressive, or change the time and place you play. Of course, your experiment may fail, but even a failure can improve your game. If you experiment and fail, you can try something else. If you never try anything new, you cannot develop your game.



9. Keep track of your results, and do it honestly and thoroughly. Keep the records that will show you how the changes are helping or hurting you.



10. Keep your mind open. Change is uncomfortable, even distressing. You naturally resist modifying your game, even when the data suggests you should do so. Accept that temporary discomfort is necessary for any kind of growth.



11. Accept that you must progress or regress. Poker is constantly changing, and you must adjust or move backward.



12. Do anything else that will improve your skills. Analyze your game, plug your leaks, and never, never, never think you know enough.



Darwin's "survival of the fittest" principle suits our game perfectly. We must constantly struggle, and our game and the competition are constantly changing. When the party ends – as it certainly will – the few who prepare now will keep moving forward, and many of the others will move backward.

Dr. Schoonmaker provides coaching only on poker psychology. He can be reached at [email protected]. Part I of this series can be found in issue Vol. 18/No. 17