Can You Be Naturally Good At Poker? Top Traits Of Successful Players – Casino.Org News

In the past couple of decades, many people have turned to poker as a career.

Almost limitless potential to make money coupled with the free lifestyle has been one of the main reasons behind this phenomenon.

However, while there are dozens of thousands of people playing poker for a living today, its quite clear that a select few have been a lot more successful than others.

Players who manage to turn the game into aprofitable endeavor spend a lot of time learning the ropes.

Most go through many ups and downs beforefinally finding their comfort zone, but some seem to skip this whole processalmost entirely and go from learning the rules straight to winning.

This naturally brings up the question of why.

What is it that makes these players master the game with such ease? Are they somehow naturally predisposed to excel in poker?

Is the game somehow a part of their being, and, more importantly, is poker in your DNA?

If youre a poker fan of any kind, you musthave pondered at least once or twice what it would be like to play the gameprofessionally. Even for the calmest and most rooted of spirits, the idea hassome appeal to it.

But, there is always the big question thatcomes from these thoughts. Do I have what it takes?

First and foremost, poker is a game of numbers.

Youll hear many different opinions on the topic, but the bottom line is that if you dont understand the math behind the game, you wont do well in the long run.

Have you always had a knack for numbers,graphs, and percentages? If yes, there is a good chance you could do well inpoker.

Many of the players who you see on TV and who built their bankrolls from scratch enjoy numbers more than most people can fathom.

Its one thing to understand how percentages work. Reveling in them is a different matter entirely.

If youve read the last few paragraphs shakingyour head, dont worry: Not all is lost. Being crazy about numbers can be agreat asset for a poker player, but its not essential.

That said, if you hate math and dont want tobe anywhere near it, poker probably isnt in your DNA.

One of the things that makes poker a game of skill and strategy is its mathematical aspect. Without it, it would just be another game with cards in which the luckiest person wins.

Another personality trait that could indicate poker might be in your DNA is good instincts.

Now, all of us have instincts, but not everyoneis as confident about them.

If youre someone who has very good instincts and intuition, you probably know it by this point in life. Youll have been in situations where you relied upon them, and they helped you out of some difficult spots.

At the poker table, good instincts can be trulyinvaluable.

As much as the game is about odds and stats, yourarely have the full scope of information to work with. A part of it isguesswork.

Of course, math wizards rely on complex GTO calculations to figure it out, but good instincts can also be very helpful.

So, if youre good at reading people,i.e., figuring out when someone isnt honest with you, youll find that thisskill will be of great use, especially in live games, where people often canthide their emotions or do a very poor job of it.

At the end of the day, poker has a gamblingelement to it in the short run.

Even the best of the best have often been inthe position where they came close to busting their entire bankroll (oractually did), either due to really bad luck, poor bankroll management, or,usually, a combination of both.

But when you listen to them talk about it, youcan almost hear the excitement in their voice. You dont get the feelingtheyre talking about something unpleasant.

This is because people who have poker in theirDNA have a much higher tolerance for risk and dont see this aspect of the gameas tragic.

If youre truly naturally predisposed for thegame, youre going to enjoy every aspect of it in some way even thenot-so-pleasant parts.

Youve probably heard poker players refer to themselves as degens (abbreviation of degenerate gambler, meaning always broke because of gambling).

Now, you might think, in what world can this word have any positive connotation?

The answer is in the poker world.

You dont want to be a degen or reckless,but, at the same time, you kind of do.

Playing poker isnt just about making money.Its about having fun and experiencing everything it has to offer. The good,the bad, and all that comes in between.

You might be reading this and thinking thatsnot right, there are so many great players who dont behave like that.

Youre absolutely right!

This isnt a mandatory personality trait toexcel at the game. There are many great players who observe it purely as abusiness and have had consistent results for decades.

These players have usually built theirbankrolls over long periods of time, and theyre very unlikely to go bust.Their calm, calculated, and systematic approach to the game has served themwell over the years.

Those who made their seven-figure bankrolls in a matter of months are also much likelier to take big risks in the future and bust. Just think about someone like Isildur1.

He could go through seven figures in a matterof hours without blinking.

And when hed bust, hed go back to grindinglower stakes and rebuilding his roll, just to do it all over again.

This isnt what youd call normal behavior, but up until recently, poker hasnt been considered a normal profession, either.

Given the fact that poker is still not thatwidely accepted, to fall in love with the game, you probably have to thinkoutside of the box.

In a society established this way, how do youcome up with the idea of playing cards and shuffling chips for a living?

What happened to good, old-fashioned hard workand ambition?

What most people outside of the poker worlddont understand is that playing poker seriously is hard work. Its not justabout learning to play well.

Its hard to put your best effort every timeyou sit down at the table and to repeat it session after session.

It seems easy to someone looking from theoutside, but its anything but easy, even if poker is in your DNA.

Considering all these things, you have to bethe kind of person who feels comfortable stepping outside traditional socialboundaries.

Unless youre very fortunate, your loved oneswill be at least mildly shocked by the idea you find poker a viable careerchoice.

It takes a special kind of a person to resist all the negativity and stand their ground.

But, if poker is something you truly love and enjoy and if you feel naturally good at it, it wont matter as much.

Its weird, really, but its one of thosethings youll probably know after playing in your first cash game or atournament.

Even with very limited knowledge about exactstrategies, the game will just make sense to you.

You will feel like you belong at a poker tabledespite being surrounded by players much more experienced than you having afeeding frenzy on your stack.

Youll know that there is a way to get betterand return the favor, and youll be eager to learn about the game.

If you find poker boring or not too exciting, you might still become a very good player, but youll never enjoy it as much as someone who cherishes every moment of it in some way, including mandatory bad beats and coolers.

Ive said repeatedly throughout this articlethat you dont have to be naturally talented at poker to succeed in the game.

Like with most things in life, a naturalinclination is a good starting advantage, but it doesnt guarantee you anything.

Having poker in your DNA alone wont make youone of the top players, especially in this day and age.

In fact, it can even be a bad thing sometimes.

Naturally talented players often experience adegree of success at the start of their careers. Combined with some good runs,their talent is enough to make them winners at lower stakes, where thecompetition isnt as fierce.

As they move up the stakes, though, they come across much tougher opponents, and find that talent alone is no longer enough.

Its at this junction where poker players are made or broken.

Players who realize that they need to put theirtalent to good use and apply themselves to studying the game to keep growingwill thrive and go on to achieve success more often than not.

Those arent prepared to put the hours in willeither abandon the game or become the reg fish type that games are formedaround.

Hard work beats talent 99 percent of the time in the long run, and we all know that poker is all about the long run.

The fact that youre reading this articlesuggests that you have some degree of love for the game.

Otherwise, I dont see how youd stumble uponit, let alone get all the way down to these final passages.

If youve recognized yourself in some of the points Ive made here, the odds are that you have at least a bit of poker in your soul.

Whether its just traces or a serious part of your entire genome cant be determined without further testing.

On a more serious note, you shouldnt focus toomuch on this idea.

You dont have to be a genius to be a greatpoker player. If you enjoy the game and dont mind learning about it, yourealready halfway there.

The biggest pitfall you can fall into isthinking youre too good and too talented to take advice from anyone.

If you arent beating the games consistently,it doesnt matter if you have poker in your DNA or not. Its a clear sign youneed to improve and you wont achieve that without putting in serious work.

Take every opportunity you can to study and getbetter, and it wont be long before youre watching all of the talented kidsin the rearview mirror as you move up the stakes!

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Can You Be Naturally Good At Poker? Top Traits Of Successful Players - Casino.Org News