The most valuable poker skill

Being the game of skill that it is, poker will always give a long –term advantage to the player who is skilled over the one builds his play based on luck.
As such, there are several skills one has to master, in order to beat the game on various levels. Some of these skills are more important than others, nonetheless you have to bear one thing in mind: all of them have to work in unison like a well-oiled machine, in order that results should start flowing in. Each and every one of them is an essential part of the “big picture” that makes things happen.
There is one skill however, without which all the other ones lose their purpose and utility: some call it discipline, some call it patience, it’s basically the same thing, namely, the ability to reach correct decisions under pressure.
If you’re patient enough, you can be a winner online, without patience though, you’re better off playing blackjack.
A good poker player knows that streaks occur. Good or bad, he knows how to ride them out in style. When you stop to analyze what makes him better than your regular Average Joe, you’ll see it all comes down to patience.
Professional poker players are all extremely patient. it helps of course to know how the game works and how the short-term luck variance will make fish come back to the tables over and over.
Indeed, one of the biggest mistakes a poker player can make is to become impatient, yet this is exactly what most rookies are doing. Sometimes a beginner will happen upon what they call “newbie’s lucky streak” and double or triple up in no-time at a cash table. Naturally, he’ll begin pondering whether he is the next Doyle Brunson or not. That kind of attitude is the last thing you need as a beginner, and if you get to that stage, your bankroll’s fate is already sealed. As soon as you start to lose (which will come about believe me) you’ll become impatient, and you’ll start piling mistake on top of mistake.
You will inevitably fall into one of the two most common types of impatience: you’ll either become very loose, or you’ll bet a lot on rags, or – worst case scenario – both. Playing to many hands, is either the result of an impatient player who begins chasing after losses on a tilt, or it can be simply attributed to boredom and exhaustion. Boredom often sets in after a good few hours-long session, the best way to tell that you’re bored, is to notice that you’re no longer interested in bringing your best play.
The answer in this case is simple: shut down the client, take a nap or go out or do anything that takes your mind off poker for a while. One of the basic principles of winning poker says you should play as much as possible when you’re in peak shape, and you should minimize the time you spend at the table when you’re not on your absolute best.
Pouring too much cash into hands that are beat, is another way of letting impatience spoil your play. After tens of hands of waiting for the “goods” to arrive, people do tend to get a little over-excited when something does indeed land in their pocket. If you raise post flop on pocket kings, there is an A on the table and you get re-raised, you need to think about folding that hand, even if it feels difficult to do. Keep your stack out of trouble as much as you can, but do commit hard on hands you know you’ll win.
All articles written by (c) James West.