It’s All About Your Judgements

Playing poker well requires a great deal of knowledge and effort in order to make your decisions all they can be. Not only must you amass the highest possible level of information by accurately analyzing what is happening, you also need to possess the strategic knowledge to make the best decision. Poker also requires that you consistently maintain the mental clarity to process these thoughts. It ain’t easy putting it all together! And it’s a major part of why poker is such a simple game to learn, but an arduous game to master.

Humans have varying degrees of judgment. Some are smarter than others, their brains having the capacity to process information at a higher level. In computer terms their “hardware” is superior to their opponents. Others make sounder judgments because they have better knowledge of the subject, or know how to formulate answers. Their “hardware” may be worse than their opponent’s, but they make better judgments because their “software” is better.

Also, humans’ levels of judgment often changes due to external or internal factors. Personal issues, psychological disorders and “tilt” impair their decisions. Those who maintain their mind at a consistently good judgmental level have a huge edge over those who cannot!

You don’t have to be an Einstein to play poker well, but you do need a combination of better knowledge, decision-making skills, powers of observation and emotional stability than your opponents. That said, if you want to be a world-class player, you’d better develop and become great at all four.

The complexity of poker decisions varies greatly. Some are automatic, such as folding 7-2 offsuit before the flop. Other judgments are mostly straightforward. Some decisions are very close, and you can delve deeply into an equation in which your conclusion will have little effect on your equity in the hand. Other decisions have a subtlety about them, one answer may appear clear, but a better answer lies in the cards. This is the reason you need to analyze all your non-automatic poker decisions thoroughly, even if your first thought intuitively appears correct.

Much has been written about the poker strategies and strategic knowledge is a huge part of every decision. But, in the end, your judgment is a combination of your strategic knowledge and the specifics obtained from your awareness of the current situation. Once you advance into the middle to high limits, most of your opponents will have a solid understanding of general strategies. In order to create a large edge over your opponents, you need to be aware and accurate in your observations at the table. Once you have developed an understanding of strategic concepts, keeping your mind on the game, paying attention to details, and maintaining a sound judgment mentality will separate your ability from those knowledgeable competitors.

Most players clog up their mind with focusing on the wrong information. I divide my observations into three categories for better recall and processing. I recognize I have limited “disk space” and cannot mentally recall everything I’d like to. By categorizing my observations in this manner, I’m playing within myself and am in tune with my capabilities.

Category one is things I must remember: Observations that create a large edge for me, either by situations that occur frequently or situations in which I can obtain extra dead bets or cause me to win a pot I otherwise wouldn’t have won. For example; an opponent might continuously raise my blind, requiring me to widen my calling range. Or I might notice a situation in which a player lays down and plan to bluff the next time I perceive a similar situation. Making the extra mental effort to plant these thoughts into my instant recall increases my edge significantly.

Category two is things I want to remember: Observations that don’t create large edges for me, but do create small edges over time. These plays don’t occur often, nor have a significant edge when they do. That said, there are many of them to remember, which is what makes it so difficult to memorize them all. An example might be noticing a infrequent situation in which a player bets and never bluffs and you can save a bet. Players gifted with great recall can add significantly to their hourly rate remembering all these issues.

Category three is things not worth remembering: Observations that have little to no value or are obvious whenever they occur such as situations where the information wouldn’t change your decision anyway or tells that are effortlessly observable. Putting observations in this category clears my “disk space” for observations that matter.
Utilizing this “filing system” allows me to remember what’s important and not clog my mind up with useless information.

As humans we don’t always consistently make sound judgments. Loss of confidence, emotions and psychological issues come into play. These emotional factors destroy judgment! Going on tilt causes a multitude of errors from playing too loosely and aggressively to playing scared. Similarly, a loss of confidence often results in playing too defensively or a highly related issue, paying off too much. Their natural narcissism causes players to rationalize that they made the right decision, so they make the same mistakes over and over. Letting these issues cloud your judgment will terrorize your bankroll!

Being in tune with yourself mentally, recognizing your mental strengths and weaknesses and adjusting your approach to the game accordingly will grow your abilities sharper and faster. Don’t try to emulate those different from yourself; it’s unlikely you can ever be them. Accept your abilities for what they are, work within your capabilities, and don’t try to be something you’re not. Take that approach and it’s in the cards that you will become all that you are capable of. And that is all you can ever ask of yourself! ♠

Roy Cooke played poker professionally for 16 years prior to becoming a successful Las Vegas Real Estate Broker/Salesman in 1989. Should you wish to any information about Real Estate matters-including purchase, sale or mortgage his office number is 702-396-6575 or Roy’s e-mail is [email protected]. His website is www.roycooke.com. You can also find him on Facebook or Twitter @RealRoyCooke