Focus

As I have mentioned in previous columns, I am a big fan of major league baseball. One of my favorite players is Boston's ace pitcher Pedro Martinez. Pedro is not only the best pitcher I have ever seen, he may be one of the best pitchers in the history of baseball. I originally liked him because he throws hard and has complete command of all of his pitches. Sure, he is dominating, but he is only 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 170 pounds. That's small compared to most of today's pitchers. So, what makes Pedro so good, and intimidating? I finally saw it for the first time at the end of May when Pedro was pitching against the World Champion New York Yankees. Of course, Pedro is in good shape, has a strong arm, and has many good pitches to chose from, but this is not why he is in a league of his own. It is focus. Pedro was pitching at a sold-out Fenway Park in Boston in front of screaming, Yankee-hating fans. Not once did I see Pedro look up, smile, make eye contact with the cameras, or even have a conversation. After each inning that he pitched, he stared at the ground as he walked back to the dugout. He didn't even blink, and when he sat down, he sat by himself and didn't talk to his teammates. I have read that Pedro is a very social person when he has the night off, but when he is working, it is strictly business.

Oh, shoot, I am writing this for Card Player, not a baseball publication. Well, the point is the same. There are thousands of great poker players, and each has his own special style. Some people play few hands, some play aggressively, and others play for fun. If you really think about it, there isn't too much difference between the best players and the great players. In my opinion, it gets back to focus. Yes, poker is a social game, but there are times when it may be in your best interest to sit there and pay attention to the game instead of entering conversations. You may want to think about why a certain player is raising and what has happened in the past few minutes instead of thinking about the bad beat you took an hour ago. I know that I am focused only about 5 percent of the time when I play poker. I play to have fun, but I am competitive and like to win. I enjoy talking to my neighbor when I play, even though I should be studying the table. The fact is, the longer we play poker, the more familiar we become with our poker peers, and it becomes harder to have 100 percent focus at the table. The trick is to be focused during the hands and to chat after the hands. Erik Seidel is someone who is very good at being focused. If you ever have the opportunity to play in an event with Erik, watch what he does during breaks. He walks away from everyone, sits in a corner of the room, and shuts his eyes. I used to think he was tired and had sleeping issues. Now, I understand that he is just focusing on the moment.

Editor's note: Focus is so important that I am going to spend a few articles writing about it in the future.