The Art of Poker Psychology – Tips to Help Your Mental Game – Gambling Sites

Bring me any person who doesnt value poker psychology, and Ill show you someone who doesnt understand the game.

We know that discipline is a key trait for any successful poker player to adopt. From not playing every hand to making decisions that will serve the bigger picture, its essential to be well-drilled. This sentiment applies to life in general but is something that you will need to work on in the context of poker.

This is just one area that we will be looking at today. From basic poker psychology tips to more advanced pointers, Ill be helping you understand the mental side of the game a little better.

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Psychology Tips for Playing Online Poker

Is poker psychology necessary when playing online? Or is it best to completely disregard using your brain at all when hitting up the tables on the top online poker sites?

And the winner for the best question that answers itself goes to

If you have played even a couple of hands online, youll know mastering psychology in poker is not exclusive to in-person games. Almost all web-based games you will play will be somewhat anonymous you wont be able to see anyones face nor smell their hair gel. But that doesnt mean that you should let down your guard and abandon critical thought.

As it happens, many of the same tricks, traps, and pitfalls of playing also apply when youre sitting behind a computer screen. If you are to become adept at grasping the mental side of poker, you will need to understand that tells and reads are as much of a part of the online game as they are in person.

Clearly, they are not going to be as comprehensive.

Youre mostly looking for patterns and involuntary concessions to pounce on. Sometimes, these are easier to spot, as many players slip into a false sense of security when playing at home.

And dare I say it, there does seem to be a lot of fish to shoot in the online barrel shortly after kick-out time at city bars. It should be obvious that playing poker drunk will get you into trouble. Its one to avoid if you are to use the mental side of poker to your advantage.

Mastering the skills of good poker psychology relies on cutting out the bad stuff and replacing them with good habits. The following tips are an excellent way to cultivate good practices that will make you a better player.

The number of good and bad habits associated with poker are legion, with good and bad mixed in relatively equal measure. In fact, every good poker habit is the natural obverse of a bad poker habit. For example, keeping a poker face throughout your play is a...

Poker Psychology When Starting Out

If you are thinking about how to get better at poker mentally, youve already won half the battle.

Psychology in poker is omnipresent at the top tiers of the game. The earlier one works on the basics; the faster any committed player will move up the ranks. If you dont have a strong mental game, the chances are that you will be picked off well before you get anywhere near a decent level.

The basic tenets of poker psychology can be found in any competitive sphere. From a cutthroat office job to pro sports, the ability to artificially enhance your stature or give the impression that you are in a position of control is vital. Sometimes, the opposite applies.

Inviting aggression by appearing weaker can often be advantageousmore on that a little later.

The first step toward improving your poker psychology is to understand your mindset. What do you best? What are the attributes you can amplify to make you a better player?

If you have a fidgeting, energetic, and expressive personality, dont try to be the enigmatic sulker. If you are quiet and modest, being an overbearing asshat is typically not the way forward.

Your real personality will eventually surface to undo your ruse; that will leave you in a place of confusion. And thats never a good idea. You need to develop your poker personality on the core strengths you possess.

You know that bluffing in poker is not just acceptable; its an essential part of the game. If we are to break through the euphemistic barrier, bluffing is essentially lying. Its deception. Mendaciousness. Its an art in itself and one that is totally acceptable at the tables.

Sure, you wouldnt lie to your friends, spouse, or boss. Doing so will destroy any relationship you have in the real world. But all is fair game when playing poker, so mastering this dark art is essential to your progression.

Practical Poker Psychology Tips

We have established that an understanding of poker psychology will improve your game.

Lets take a look at some of the top basic tips you can use to aid you in this department. By adopting these directions, you will begin to create a robust yet adaptable mindset that will spur you on to greater achievements.

Owning Your Mistakes The Key to Discipline

The key to evolving as a player is to own your mistakes. If youve screwed up, accept it.

Sometimes, you just cant win, but you should always consider what you could have done wrong. If you blame another player or bad luck, you are losing a great opportunity to examine multiple potential scenarios that could hold some crucial lessons.

Discipline in poker can also include mastering the arts of patience, bankroll management, mental fortitude, and your reactions to things that are out of your control.

Become the Master of Your Emotions

Jealousy. Anger. Rage. Complacency. Greed. Fear.

We wouldnt be human if we never felt any of the above. You can bet the last hair on your head that every player you encounter will have felt almost all of the same emotions you have at some point in their lives.

What sets a great poker player apart from the others is how they control such emotions.

For instance, none of us will be humming a happy song in our heads when we are heading for a showdown with a poor hand. Much so, we wont be jumping for joy when we lose a big pot. But the best poker players dont celebrate when they win big, either.

Practice the Art of Focus

Im not going to suggest you meditate or take a trip to Tibet to practice the art of focusing.

Not everyone responds to the same stimuli. Psychological fads are ten a penny, while many believe practicing yoga makes them a better person. But what works for some people will be utterly useful for others. Again, it would help if you found what aids your ability to enhance your qualities.

You could take up boxing to help you improve your ability to concentrate. After all, one slip-up in a sparring session might leave you with a sore jaw for a few days. In poker, a similar lapse in judgment or disregard for consequences might leave you down thousands.

Which would hurt most?

Work on Brain Optimization

Imagine a world where everyone had the same brain.

Well, not the same organ. But a mimeographed version that was universal among all humans. The world would look much different. It would be boring, too. I mean, this poker mental game stuff would be redundant for a start.

When optimizing your brain, you should try to understand how yours works.

There is no point in using maths to aid your development if you suffer from dyscalculia. I could suggest long runs to help optimize your brain. But if you have mobility issues, thats not going to work.

All we can do is try our best to eat well, hydrate, get adequate sleep, and avoid taking mind-altering substances. This will help to improve cognition and proper brain function.

From here, you can devise your own way to practice making that computer inside your eyes run at its optimal level.

Advanced Poker Psychology Tips

Are you looking for tips on improving mental strength for poker beyond the basics?

The good news is you can never stop learning. There is always something to consider or digest. It would help if you always started with the fundamental points, but seeking higher knowledge is a good idea.

The basic poker mental game is based on factors such as focus, discipline, emotional management, and the bigger picture. These will all combine to put you on the right path. One that is only attainable when you look within yourself for answers, as the great Daniel Negreanu put it.

But once you have mastered the qualities above, there is plenty of room to examine the finer details.

First Impressions Count

Whether its a first date or your first game on the best online poker app, youre getting sized up.

When it comes to live games, other players will look at things you probably didnt even consider. These include what you are wearing, how clean your fingernails are, and how you stack your chips. These can all give a little insight into your personality.

For instance, if youre dressed in a fresh suit, have a crisp haircut, and have great posture, youll likely be considered a threat. Turning up in an old hoodie with a scraggly beard and smelling like something that fell out of a tree might see you underestimated.

How you appear to others might intentionally throw the competition off, of course. But always keep this point in mind.

Create an Aura of Unpredictability

There are multiple ways to consciously play with how others perceive you.

This could involve dressing and talking to impress from the get-go or purposefully creating an image of someone who should be looked down on. Perhaps an even finer art is to do both, within reason. To be unpredictable. The last one, of course, is the most difficult to pull off.

If no one can predict your next move, it creates a sense of uncertainty. One that could make you a nightmare to play against.

Just make sure that any changes you bring to the table are sellable; being eccentric for the sake of it will likely blow up in your face. The smartest poker players will see through your ruse much quicker than you are comfortable accepting.

Learn From the Masters

Just as coaches tell young high school quarterbacks to study the greats, you should be hitting up videos of the top poker players.

Youll learn a lot from observing how the top poker players of all time controlled themselves in high-pressure situations. That includes everything from pulling major wins off against the odds to their reactions when suffering poker bad beats.

If you know what youre looking for, you will find plenty of patterns by watching such videos.

Furthermore, you could always consider reading some of the books and articles that great players have written. But dont expect them to give away all their secrets, especially if they are active!

Bonus Poker Psychology Tip Suggested Reads

You might find it a little troubling for me to suggest such a thing.

But if you think the top poker players on the planet arent adept at this stuff, youre dreaming. There is so much to learn about human psychology readily available to glean from both ancient and modern literature.

Here are a few book suggestions to get you started.

The books above will all help you better understand key psychological factors you can use to your advantage in poker.

They will come in handy if you have an advanced yearning to learn the ins and outs of poker psychology. For instance, Machiavellis quote, Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you are, hits upon some of the stuff we covered earlier.

Or how about the following quote from Greenes Law 8: Make Other People Come to You Use Bait if Necessary?

When you force the other person to act, you are the one in control. It is always better to make your opponent come to you, abandoning his own plans in the process. Lure him with fabulous gains then attack. You hold the cards.

If youre looking to play from a true position of strength, Id recommend playing poker at the best online casinos.

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The Art of Poker Psychology - Tips to Help Your Mental Game - Gambling Sites