Poker Lesson 14: Playing With Discipline

When most people think about stern discipline thoughts of military boot camp come wafting across their consciousness. Of course just as many start thinking about large women in leather teddies holding riding crops and thumb screws. I guess your thoughts on the subject of discipline have much to do with your past experiences.

There is a difference between the disciplined player who wins and somebody who just exists to feed the pot and borrow money after a game is expectations and advantages. I good player will look for any advantage they can get during a game, leaving as little to fickle fate as they can. The advantage may come in the form of breaking down the opponents betting habits, finding tells, calculating pot odds on every hand, etc. Remember, a disciplined player expects to walk away from the table with a profit. A fish hopes to lucky. The only feelings most good players have about luck is that they hope the opponent doesn’t get lucky. They would prefer to play skill vs. skill.

Good poker players recognize that not all games are the same. Someone who is rather successful at no-limit games may find themselves looking very foolish when they sit down at a limit table. A disciplined player knows their strengths and weaknesses alike, and avoids the trap of setting themselves up in a vulnerable position.

There is a big difference between a disciplined limit player and their no-limit cousin. The disciplined limit player is very stack conscious. They avoid throwing away chips in aggressive charges, opting for the “slow and steady wins the race” philosophy. They are very tight preflop. Playing only the hands they have a very good chance of winning with.

Discipline in the no-limit game does not look like restraint. They can be very loose and aggressive pre-flop, playing hands that would send a good limit player sprinting for the antacids. Despite the appearance though, the trick of the no-limit game is knowing when to toss away a hand that will get you in trouble.

The player who has mastered self-control also knows when to quit. They can feel when they are tilting or when they have just had enough and are quitting while ahead. When they lose, they learn. They take note of their own personal mistakes and don’t cry about what happened. If you master discipline and self-control, you will hold an edge in most games.