Do What it Takes

"I don't have to be the best player in the world. I just want to make some money," said the struggling pro.

For years, Mr. Struggler has been a grinder, scratching out a living in the middle-limit games. A winning player, he can't quite create a quality lifestyle for his family. He was searching for some quick tips to improve his game, something to take him over the hump, improve his game from that of a marginal struggling pro to that of a big winner who makes the bigger bucks that he sees other pros making.

I had suggested books for him to read, but he didn't want to put in that effort. He was looking for "The Secret" - the simple key that would make him a big winner - which everyone obviously was keeping from him. He wasn't happy when I told him that no such secret exists.

A closed mind can be a fatal flaw, in both life and the game. Mr. Struggler was seeking a solution to his ineffectual poker game, but rejected the solution of approaching the game like a student. Tiger doesn't just show up and start swinging away. He has a practice routine of drives, putts, and chips, and he exercises. Eli and Peyton don't just step onto the field and start throwing bombs. They study film and constantly work on their skill sets.

Players dissatisfied with their results are always telling me how badly they're running. If, over time, other people are performing better than you, there is a reason for it. It's not the dealer and it's not the deck! You are being outperformed by your competition. That's the bad news. The good news is, there is hope. You can develop your game!

Reading, evaluation, and mental preparation are part of the game. It's easy to learn poker basics, and relatively easy to beat recreational players who are there just to have some fun. But the game of poker is incredibly complicated to play at a high level, requiring focus, concentration, analytical skills, and great knowledge - skills and knowledge that can be learned!

To take your game beyond basic hand-selection strategies with common-sensical hand-reading ability, you must learn difficult skills. You must understand game theory, know pot odds, and be able to read opponents, define their hand ranges mathematically, quantify how your hand plays against their ranges, and blend game theory and strategy knowledge in order to time plays effectively. You also must develop your competitive skills, concentration, mental endurance, and mental and emotional strength. Actualizing those skills proficiently requires much knowledge and personal effort. You need to be smart, competitive, and disciplined, and you can't become a great player without putting in a great deal of effort.

With the recent changes in Internet poker and current economic conditions, poker has gotten much tougher. Many novices from the recent poker boom have learned to play, some exceptionally well! Many other players have left the game. Additionally, the smartest and toughest are still in action. Everybody's edge against the field is down. Now more than ever, it is necessary to put your heart into the game if you want to make it.

In this environment, no longer do basic strategies create significant edge. If you want a large enough edge to make a living in today's games, you need to go way, way, way beyond the basic level of thinking. You need to understand how to beat people with hand selection and basic-strategy knowledge. You need to understand the game conceptually, and be able to take poker concepts and analyze effective counterplays to your opponents' hand ranges. You must grasp when it is conceptually correct to utilize certain plays and when it is not. Sounds easy, but it isn't. It's hard work.

Poker knowledge is easy to acquire. Many have studied, including many recreational players. Studying books and learning their contents is just the beginning. You must work to put what you learn into practice. To dominate, you need focus to learn your opponents' tendencies, so that you can effectively utilize your knowledge, discipline, and emotional stability.

I learned poker in several waves, and still try to add something to my game every time I play. I studied the books, and created a high level of strategy knowledge. Then, I worked on my ability to concentrate. From there, I worked on my problem-solving abilities. I analyzed situations from my sessions to see in hindsight if better plays were available or if I had read my opponents accurately. Performing those tasks improved my mental endurance and acuity, and my memory, and used my application of knowledge to increase the depth of my creativity at the table. It created edges that gave me positive expectation against solid basic-strategy opponents, and enabled me to use the game to build my life.

Mr. Struggler never will "be the best player in the world." Without hard work, he won't even come close to being the best player he can be. He might survive, but he won't create the winning edge that builds a positive life from poker. He won't be able to compete against the flood of smart players who are making a much stronger effort than he is. Those guys are tough to avoid these days.

If you're going to play, put forth your best effort. Scratching out a marginal existence with a marginal game is a lousy life. The rail is littered with bust-outs who didn't make the commitment to excellence. It's hard to actualize that level of excellence, but life is much harder if you don't!

I feel for Mr. Struggler's situation, but my advice is simple: Quit whining and start working - or give it up and get a job. ♠

Roy Cooke has played winning professional poker since 1972, and has been a Card Player columnist since 1992. He serves as a freelance consultant to the I-poker industry and has a successful Las Vegas real estate brokerage. His longtime collaborator, John Bond, is a freelance writer in South Florida. Their sixth book, How to Play Like a Poker Pro, features play-of-hand essays. Please see Roy's real estate ad on this page.