In Alan N Shoonmaker’s book, The Psychology Of Poker, he takes time explaining to the reader the importance of understanding individual motivation in order to accurately answer the question, “Why do you play poker?” In the previous article we took a look at a number of possible reasons, broadly categorized into Making Money, Fun, and Challenge.
Many players will tell you, when asked that question, their primary motivation is to Make Money. While that can certainly be a big force, it is important to find out how much of a driver making money is to you. It’s time for a brief exercise. Get a piece of paper and something to write with, and make a list similar to the one below:
Make Money
Socialize
Relax
Excitement Challenge Self
Pass Time
If you had read the previous article and done your homework, you may have come up with additional reasons to add to the list; if so, go ahead and add them now. If not, take a few moments to see if there are any other possible reasons not already represented above, and add them to the list.
Once you have your finished list, assign percentages to each item. It is all right to assign zero percent to an item, but your total cannot exceed 100%. When you are done, your list might look like this:
20% Make Money
00% Socialize
10% Relax
50% Excitement
20% Challenge Self
00% Pass Time
100%
Once you have your completed list, take some time to grasp what it is telling you. In the above example, “Excitement” is half the reason this player plays poker. What can this tell you about him? Likely this player is a “loose” player, being in a large percentage of hands in any given game. He loves the excitement of the game; it is more important to him than any other factor, and it drives his behavior.
Are you starting to get the idea? By categorizing your motivation you begin to reveal the kind of player you are. As you begin to understand where you are, you can begin to either capitalize on it, using your strengths to your advantage, or even begin to change if you are not satisfied with your game.
In the next article we will explore how understanding the results of the above exercise can help you be more successful at your poker game.
