Math Skills
Math skills are the bread and butter of any poker player’s skill set. All good players know the general percentages of certain hands (e.g., when holding a pocket pair, there is a 1 in 8 chance of hitting the set). Pros know the importance and percentage of outs. To figure out your odds of hitting a hand, count the number of outs, multiply this figure by 2, and add 1; there’s your rough percentage. Good players know how to calculate pot odds. Knowing your outs is useless unless you can turn that knowledge into solid, calculated betting. Once you know the odds of hitting and winning a hand, you can calculate and compare pot odds. Suppose you have a 20% chance of hitting a hand. Divide the size of the pot at the river by the amount of your bet to figure out pot odds. If the bet to you is $10 and the pot is at least $50, pot odds are 1:5 (20%) or lower, so go ahead and call.
Discipline
Discipline involves making the right decision at the right time, ignoring bad beats, and recognizing when you are on tilt. Disciplined poker pros learn from mistakes and get better. In Limit Poker, a disciplined player plays tight before the flop. He or she will play hands that have a good chance of winning. However, discipline to No-Limit players allows them to play a lot of blinds, but means avoiding getting trapped in bad situations. He or she can play loose and make bets before the flop with statistically weak hands.
Psychology
Poker pros work on empathizing with and knowing opponents. Not only are they trying to figure out their moves, they are trying to think about what their opponents will do. Players with an understanding of psychology will ask themselves: What does my opponent have? What does he/she think I have? What does he/she think that I know about his/her hand? Once you understand how your opponent thinks, you can work on manipulating them. This involves changing your style of play so that your opponent cannot read what cards you have or guess what they believe that you know what they have in their hand. Psychology also involves being able to read other players’ poker tells and then making betting decisions based upon those tells.
Understanding Risk vs. Reward
Pros will take big risks when the rewards are potentially higher than the risks. However, good poker players understand risk vs. reward when it applies to their bankroll and life outside poker. When playing poker, every chip in your stack has an equal value. The poker player wants to make the right plays. Good poker pros will risk half their stack when there is a greater than 50% chance of doubling up. However, they understand that they can lose half their stack, although there is less than a 50% chance of this happening. However, the good poker player is more risk averse when it comes to gambling with his or her overall bankroll. You want to protect your bankroll so that it will not affect your overall level of play. Worrying about losing will affect your play, and cause you to make mistakes. Be prepared to walk away so that you have the bankroll to play another day. |
