Mind Over Poker

A common analogy applied to someone who doesn’t keep up with the current competition is that he is like the general who fights the previous war. This means that he is using only past circumstances to define his current strategies. Of course, no two wars are identical, and neither are any two poker hands.

This is not to imply that experience isn’t important. Recognizing various situations and understanding how your opponent is likely to act in them is critical to success. There is no substitute for having played a ton of hands and situations in poker. The base knowledge that comes only from countless hours spent on the felt is crucial to building your competitive foundation.

However, competition in poker is more similar to a chess match than a barroom brawl. Even if you find yourself in an almost identical situation, your opponent will not necessarily act as he did before. All of us are constantly evolving. We learn from past mistakes and modify future behaviors. Many of our opponents are aware of our development, and adjust accordingly. Even if you are playing with opponents for the first time, the more astute ones will make adjustments to not only your play, but how they perceive you may be adjusting.

Your competitive success will be measured in relation to how well you can outplay those at your table. That environment will always be fluid. Staying ahead requires strategic thinking. Things constantly evolve, and the winners will be those who can both foresee and adapt to those changes. To remind us of this concept, I’ve created the acronym ACE — which is short for the principle of Adapting to a Competitive Evolution.

If you adhere to this principle, you will always have a leg up on your competition. The only constant in poker, as in life, is change. If you’re playing in a tournament, the blinds and antes increase. Chip-stack sizes go up and down. The texture of the table and the dynamics between individual players consistently change. Players get eliminated and new players come to the table. You may change tables. Your opponents make adjustments based on all of these factors, and they factor in their perceptions of your play.

While there are no absolutes in poker, one thing is certain: You have to constantly evolve your game, as the game itself is constantly evolving. No-limit hold’em tournaments are vastly different than they were 10 years ago. Not only are there so many more players, there are so many more really good, experienced players. The ability to play online and the tremendous improvement in resources have greatly accelerated the learning curve. Conventional wisdom and conventional play have changed; of course, so has the play of those looking to exploit what is now conventional play.

To apply the principle of ACE to your game, I would offer two broad-based suggestions. First, always reflect on your play and seek out the opinions of others on every aspect of both your game and the game in general. Get a wide range of opinions, from trusted friends to various online forums. Those are the things that you can do away from the table. At the table, stay completely focused on every aspect of the game and how it is evolving. Be proactive in your anticipation of all of the different changing factors, so that you can stay ahead of the curve and be ready to fight the next war, not the last war.

You can’t be a successful poker player if you are not first a successful competitor. Competitors constantly evolve. Think about a competition outside of poker, be it war, football, chess, or anything else. No matter what the endeavor, what it takes to be successful has evolved dramatically over the years. Poker is no different. You must apply the principle of ACE. If you do, no matter what cards you are dealt, you will always have an ACE in the hole.

David Apostolico has written several books on poker strategy. His most recent book on how to compete effectively is Compete, Play, Win: Finding Your Best Competitive Self.