Good Poker Players vs Great Poker Players

So what is it that makes great poker players great and good poker players… well, not so great? Or to put it another way, what’s stopping good poker players from moving up to higher levels or increasing their winrate at their current level? Perhaps with the help of Daniel Negreanu poker training videos? Sure, that can be helpfull but consider the following…

I don’t believe that there are any simple answers like “double barrel more” or “3bet light often”. However, there are a few things that I think really separate the truly successful poker players from those that find themselves restricted by their current ability.

Great poker players know the “why”, not just the “what”

Why is it that you raise with hands like AK before the flop? Why do you continuation bet so often? Why can semi-bluffing be effective?

It’s all well and good knowing what to do in certain situations, but unless you know why you are making those plays you will never be able to understand how you can improve your game further in other areas. I would highly recommend that you stop for a moment during a game and try your best to understand the logic behind every play you make.

Sure, knowing what to do can get you quiet far, but knowing why you are doing what you are doing will get you further.

Great poker players table select, good poker players think they’re too good to table select

Every poker poker players knows about the importance of table selection. “You win money by playing against worse poker players than you” and all that stuff. You know it all by heart. But do you actually actively select tables that you think will be profitable before you start your session?

Great poker players are aware that they stand to make so much more money by hunting down the fish and playing as many pots with them as possible. Good poker players are also winning poker players, but they think that they are too good to table select as they can win money at any table they decide to play at.

I don’t care how good you think you are, I still think you’re an idiot for ignoring an incredibly easy way to increase the amount of money you win from your sessions. Great poker players don’t let their egos get in the way.

Great poker players value bet well

It’s a lot easier to check back mediocre hands on the river rather than attempting to bet for value against poker players that could call with worse hands. I’m all for being cautious and all, but if you are checking back decent hands on the river for fear of getting check-raised all the time you are not playing as profitably as you can be.

Learning how to value bet well on the river is an easy way to improve your winrate. The problem is that many poker players are too afraid to value bet when they really should be, and as a result they are missing out on…. you guessed it, value.

Even the best poker players have the constant will to learn

You might be happy top open up 8 tables and grind away for a few hours at a time, but are you really learning anything from this? Are you checking up on hand histories to see where you could improve? Are you constantly reading through Texas Holdem strategy articles for more tips? Are you getting involved in poker forums and learning about ways in which you can improve your game?

As a poker player you should always be prepared to learn, regardless of how good you think you are. You are never going to become a 100% perfect player, but the closer you can get to 100% the better.

Great poker players are never satisfied with their current game. It sounds like quite an unfulfilled lifestyle, but the moment you become comfortable with your game is the moment that you stop progressing as a player.

Great poker players avoid playing on tilt like the plague

Stop tilting – sounds easy enough right? However, no matter how many times you are strongly advised to stop playing on tilt it all comes down to your will power at the end of the day.

It’s amazing how quickly you can lose money from tilt. You might not care at the time, but severe bouts of tilt can take days to recover from, so try not to put yourself in spots where you jeopardise the progress of your bankroll through substandard play.

If you want to become a great player, you should never, ever play a hand unless you are 100% confident that you are playing it to the best of your ability. If you feel your game is deteriorating due to frustration, get up and come back later once your head has cleared. Online poker is going to go anywhere whilst you’re taking a break.