In order to determine the thought processes of your opponent, it would help to read their minds. But not being a mind reader, are there any seminars or classes offered on the subject? Not really and even if there were you are not going to learn the psychology of your opponents neurosis from a class. If you were able to, this is still no guarantee of winning.
When thinking of poker, one would think of it as a game of strategy rather than one of psychoanalysis. Strategy is only one of the components of winning play, however. Getting into your opponent's head is the essence of smart play. This does not mean that you must suffer while he goes over the details of his life story ad nauseum.
Once thing for sure about great artists and great players is they did not reach this status by reading an instruction book. They got there by trusting their intuition, an intuition borne out of a natively keen talent of observation which they rehearsed and developed individually over a long period of time.
Good technical manuals on poker psychology are rare. This is at the very crux of the matter. Whatever tips and advice you may find off the net or in the bookstore, you can not practically or successfully put them into real play. You must have that inexplicable talent of intuition that puts your own creative mind processes over the limit of your opponents.
Most players will lose more than they win because they depend on strict models of play, much like computer programs, or simulations that present themselves as predictions to be used robotically by the savvy player. This could be quite simple depending on the number of variables involved in the prediction.
The talented player, on the other hand, disdains crude cribs. Instead, they make their own observations about their own play and about that of others. Guided by their own intuition, they then combine those observations into principles according to their own whim and fancy. The resulting strategy is known only to them. The more talented the player is, the more complex (or ingeniously simple, which is basically the same thing) and idiosyncratic his secret strategy, making him less vulnerable.
You will never find a great artist or a great player divulging his secrets. They may write books, give lectures, advice and tips, but not on the really good stuff. It seems like a great service they perform by letting us mere mortals in on such tidbits. But don't be fooled. They did not rise to the top of their professions by reading and heeding someone else's great tips.
It would seem that the most vital element in becoming a master artist in any genre is commitment to study and practice to develop one's own observational skills and imagination by engaging in the activity in which you want to become great. In this way you will be independent in your thoughts and actions and master the ability to do your thing in a way that is uniquely your own. Only you are privy to the minute details of your "thing."
Everyone is familiar with the common concept of bluffing, for example; but the best bluffers are those who do it consistently in a way which other players, no matter how smart or experienced, have no way of "reading." And the only way to be able to do that is to employ a well muscled intuition which only you have access to.
While hard work and persistence are involved here, they are of little benefit unless you have the courage and independence to use your imagination in some cases that make you seem less than sane but are innovative and demand a curious nature and the soul of an explorer which puts you way out in front.
One could now proceed to elaborate on the processes of intuition, or suggest where to start or what not to neglect, but even that would be too much. Everyone is blessed with intuition; not everyone has the drive to aggressively hone and use it. If the results of your unique intuition are to be unique, you had better start on your own.
What I have written about here calls for a lifetime commitment. Nobody who was ever considered a master at his craft, whatever that may be, was given that title. They worked long and hard and on their own and they earned it.
When thinking of poker, one would think of it as a game of strategy rather than one of psychoanalysis. Strategy is only one of the components of winning play, however. Getting into your opponent's head is the essence of smart play. This does not mean that you must suffer while he goes over the details of his life story ad nauseum.
Once thing for sure about great artists and great players is they did not reach this status by reading an instruction book. They got there by trusting their intuition, an intuition borne out of a natively keen talent of observation which they rehearsed and developed individually over a long period of time.
Good technical manuals on poker psychology are rare. This is at the very crux of the matter. Whatever tips and advice you may find off the net or in the bookstore, you can not practically or successfully put them into real play. You must have that inexplicable talent of intuition that puts your own creative mind processes over the limit of your opponents.
Most players will lose more than they win because they depend on strict models of play, much like computer programs, or simulations that present themselves as predictions to be used robotically by the savvy player. This could be quite simple depending on the number of variables involved in the prediction.
The talented player, on the other hand, disdains crude cribs. Instead, they make their own observations about their own play and about that of others. Guided by their own intuition, they then combine those observations into principles according to their own whim and fancy. The resulting strategy is known only to them. The more talented the player is, the more complex (or ingeniously simple, which is basically the same thing) and idiosyncratic his secret strategy, making him less vulnerable.
You will never find a great artist or a great player divulging his secrets. They may write books, give lectures, advice and tips, but not on the really good stuff. It seems like a great service they perform by letting us mere mortals in on such tidbits. But don't be fooled. They did not rise to the top of their professions by reading and heeding someone else's great tips.
It would seem that the most vital element in becoming a master artist in any genre is commitment to study and practice to develop one's own observational skills and imagination by engaging in the activity in which you want to become great. In this way you will be independent in your thoughts and actions and master the ability to do your thing in a way that is uniquely your own. Only you are privy to the minute details of your "thing."
Everyone is familiar with the common concept of bluffing, for example; but the best bluffers are those who do it consistently in a way which other players, no matter how smart or experienced, have no way of "reading." And the only way to be able to do that is to employ a well muscled intuition which only you have access to.
While hard work and persistence are involved here, they are of little benefit unless you have the courage and independence to use your imagination in some cases that make you seem less than sane but are innovative and demand a curious nature and the soul of an explorer which puts you way out in front.
One could now proceed to elaborate on the processes of intuition, or suggest where to start or what not to neglect, but even that would be too much. Everyone is blessed with intuition; not everyone has the drive to aggressively hone and use it. If the results of your unique intuition are to be unique, you had better start on your own.
What I have written about here calls for a lifetime commitment. Nobody who was ever considered a master at his craft, whatever that may be, was given that title. They worked long and hard and on their own and they earned it.
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