Defining the Qualities of Good and Bad Poker Players
Once upon a time, a Soviet satirist of renown wrote a book satirizing a con man who set out to make some quick rubles. He was able to convince a small town chess club that he was a traveling chess professional wanting to organize a tournament. This went over big in the township and our man charged entry fees to those gathered about in eager anticipation to let the games begin. He structured the tournament with "twelve identical matches" and began the play knowing very little to absolutely nothing about the game of chess, this being only his second attempt at it.
He managed to move the pieces around in a somewhat normal and convincing manner, greatly impressing the gathering who were awestruck by such a "professional" in their midst, reading glory into every play. Alas, the maestro lost all twelve games, but maintained his good humor. By the end, enough time had elapsed for him to run off with the fees he collected at the onset of the games. So, while he didn't know squat about chess, he came out a winner.
The novel is The Twelve Chairs of which there are both English translations and film adaptation DVDs actually available from Amazon.com. The first film adaptation of the book was actually a Mel Brooks comedy, which is a loose adaptation, recommended only for Brooks fans. The best Russian adaptation is the 1976 mini-series by Mark Zaharov, one of the greatest Russian directors of all time, though he may not sound as familiar as Tarkovsky.
At the crux of the matter, a good player is defined, whether in poker or some other area of life, by his purpose. The chess conman was a good player because he effectively used his wiles to achieve his goal of making a fast buck. An important side story though is that he knew his skills well enough that he could not endure much scrutiny and had a plan for a hasty escape route.
Now, a surprisingly large amount of poker players are reluctant to admit their less than average abilities. Ego is often central with poker players, it seems, perhaps because of the peculiar aura around the game. How they fail to realize that poker is a complex game one spends a lifetime learning is something of a marvel, but these pros-in-denial are exactly what makes poker a profitable game for the serious and talented players.
There are also the players who have simply learned a set of rules they strictly follow without applying much thought or trying to improve radically. They conceal their inferiority carefully enough to convey the impression of competence and mostly win in terms of overall profits. If that is their sole purpose for playing, than they may be called good players.
For those players to whom poker is an art, the above types are not true poker players, not really bad, just not real. They are in the clubs but are not the stars. The good player is looking for growth and more and more insight to improve his already good game. He or she understands that the game is a complicated mix of skill, theater, and perception. They know their weaknesses and work hard on improving their good points while lessening their bad ones.
About the Author:
The author is a successful limit cash game player. He plays poker online and receives Rakeback at Betfair Poker and Rakeback at Red Star Poker.
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