Quote of the Week

Maybe the month, and possibly the year. Just depends on how long it takes me to see another paragraph that just nails a great thought.

We had a new member on our poker forum start a thread about tilting, and he made this observation after discussing a session that he lost $325 in just a couple of hours, tilting it away. In his own words:

The more poker I play, the more I begin to understand that what makes a poker player able to succeed and win in the long run is not understanding odds (though it helps,) having great luck (because it always ends,) or even being able to read hands (I wish I was better at that,) but having self control and discipline.

I guess the only thing he left out that players "over focus" on is bluffing. You ask a newbie what makes a successful poker player and they'll say something like "math geek" or "iron balls. He can shove it all in with 72o and take down the pot without flinching" or "uncanny reading ability. It's easy to play when you can see through the other guys cards"....

Hogwash. Those things do tend to separate the superstars from the rest of us, but what makes an every day, grind it out, winning player is self control and discipline. If a player can't master those two qualities, he'll never win over the long haul.

All of the poker strategy and bankroll management theory in the world won't help you if you don't have the discipline to apply it at the table, and the self control to stay on even keel when things don't go your way, (or at least enough sense to know when you've lost your self control and pack it up for the night).

I guess we're lucky that most players don't really listen to "discipline" and "self control" advice. They just keep donating to Dylan's Diaper Fund. :)