Planning Your Personal Development Part V

My last column recommended comparing your knowledge, skills, and other qualities to your competition's. If you have more of a favorable quality (such as knowledge), you have an asset. A liability is exactly the opposite: less of a good quality or more of a bad one (such as going on tilt). That list of knowledge, skills, and so on can be found in Part IV of this series, "Evaluating Your Assets and Liabilities," at www.CardPlayer.com.



Psychological tests and other methods for assessing these qualities aren't very useful. They compare you to the general population, but you don't play against just anyone. For example, IQ tests are accurate, but your IQ can mislead you. If it is 116, you are above 80 percent of the general population, but I believe you are below the average poker professional.



I said "I believe" because there is no data about professionals' IQs. In fact, there is no solid data on almost everything in poker (except the math). Players and writers have opinions on many subjects, but nobody can prove that he is right. The qualities listed in my previous column came from highly respected authorities, but nobody really knows why players succeed or fail. In addition, the effects of luck and denial of our weaknesses make it very difficult to appraise ourselves objectively.



The methods used in this series have been adapted from my own and other people's work in business settings, but they have never been applied to poker; nor are there any validated tests for evaluating poker players. You should therefore regard your answers as suggestive only.



Why Bother?

If the method does not produce definitive answers, why should you do all of this work? This comparative process will help you to go beyond crude generalizations such as: "I'm a good player," or, "I'm better than Harry, but not as good as Barbara." It will suggest where you are stronger or weaker than your competition so that you can plan your development. Instead of just reading books or trying out various techniques, you can work on whatever will be most helpful.



I wish there were well-validated tests, and that the process took less time and effort, but we have to work with what we've got. If you're losing, it will suggest steps to become a winner. If you are winning, it can help you to win more or to move up. To reach your full potential, you have to work hard and examine yourself, and a poker balance sheet (PBS) can help you to focus and organize your efforts. It's far from perfect, but it's better than anything I have seen.



Procedure
This procedure divides all those qualities into three groups: assets, liabilities, and unknowns.



Because your assets and liabilities change for each game and level, you would ideally prepare a separate PBS for each one. For the moment, let's just do it for one group.



1. Don't guess! If you are unsure of how to rate yourself, don't call it an asset or a liability. Temporarily rate it as "don't know." If it is an important quality, get the information you need to rate it.



2. Use a computer, because you will cut and paste information as you change comparison groups or develop your abilities. For example, you may read cards better than $10-$20 players but more poorly than $20-$40 players. "Reading cards" would be an asset in one game but a liability in the other. If you improve your card-reading skill, it may shift from a liability to an asset. With a computer, you can easily edit information and move it from one place to another.



3. Lay it out like this:

4. Start by comparing yourself to the players you know best. You can't accurately compare yourself to strangers. Later, you may use the same procedure for every group you play or want to play against, but start by preparing the easiest PBS. Describe your competition briefly, such as "all the players in Bellagio's $10-$20 game," or, "the best players in Bellagio's $10-$20 game."



5. Rate yourself on every item that you believe is important in the lists of knowledge, skills, and so on. If you think an item is unimportant, just ignore it:

1 = Much worse

2 = Worse

3 = Equal or don't know

4 = Better

5 = Much better



6. Put the qualities rated 4 and 5 into the assets column, and the ones rated 1 and 2 into the liabilities column. Ignore the ones rated 3 or get the information you need to rate them.



7. Italicize the ones rated 1 or 5. Put them at the top of the assets or liabilities column for each category (such as knowledge).



8. Get a second opinion. Ask one or two trusted friends to comment on your PBS. Encourage them to be honest; tell them you want the truth, not some tactful soft soap. You may not enjoy hearing their comments, but – because you can't be objective – you need a second opinion. Doctors get them all the time, and they have much better tests and are more objective than you are.



Understanding Your Data

First, look at the important qualities that you could not rate because you lacked information. Do whatever it takes to make those comparisons.



Second, compare your PBS to your results. They should be consistent:

1. If you have more assets than liabilities, you should be winning.

2. If you have more liabilities than assets, you should be losing.

3. If your assets and liabilities are about equal, you should be breaking even.



If your results are not consistent with your PBS, look for the causes. Perhaps a few assets and/or liabilities have such huge effects that they overwhelm the pattern. Only a few assets can have that much impact. For example, if you read cards superbly, you can win despite having many liabilities such as limited theoretical knowledge or math skills.



Several liabilities have such enormous effects that they cause talented players to get poor results. For example, if you go on tilt easily, or if you love to gamble and to challenge superior players, your other assets and liabilities don't matter much. You are going to lose or barely break even.



If your assets greatly exceed your liabilities, the two most probable causes are:

1. You have overestimated your assets, which is extremely common. Most people do it. If you are losing or breaking even, you certainly have overestimated yourself, and it's time to stop kidding yourself.

2. If you are winning a lot of money, you may be playing below your level. You're not getting the full benefit from your talents. Of course, that conclusion depends upon your motives. Perhaps maximizing your profits is not as important to you as enjoying the game and winning frequently. Or, you may not have the bankroll to move up. If you have the bankroll and want to make more money, you should seriously consider moving up.



If your liabilities greatly exceed your assets, the three most probable causes are:

1. You are too harsh on yourself, especially if you are winning.

2. If you are winning, some assets are so important (such as game selection or discipline) that they overwhelm the liabilities' effects.

3. You are playing above your level. If you are losing, you should move down unless you don't care about your results. If your losses are damaging your life but you continue to play above your level, you may be a pathological gambler. Consult a professional before you ruin your life.



Your PBS also suggests where you should focus your self-development efforts. An excellent player told me that preparing a PBS helped him to realize that he was studying the wrong subjects. He rated himself well above his competition on every type of knowledge except game theory. He had been buying books on subjects he knew well, but did not study game theory. Once the picture became clear, he knew what to study.



Many people focus on precisely the wrong areas. For example, some players know a great deal of theory, but lose consistently because they gamble too much. So, what do they do? They buy more books and study more theory. That's not their problem. Don't follow in their footsteps. Work on your weaknesses, not on what you enjoy doing. My next column will discuss ways to use your PBS and other self-analyses to plan your self-development.

Dr. Schoonmaker ([email protected]) coaches only on psychology issues, such as controlling impulses, coping with losing streaks, going on tilt, and planning your poker career. Please send him comments about this series to help him improve his tools. Parts I through IV of this series can be found at www.CardPlayer.com.