Six Characteristics of a Great Poker Player

February 05 2010, Andrew Robl

First off, I’d like to say that I don't think I'm a great poker player. I have been outplayed thousands of times, and some of my opponents constantly outplay me. I tilt, play in bad games, gamble too much, drink too much, and make countless other bad decisions. But I am blessed to know some great poker players. Here are traits they all share.

Experience

This is by far the most important attribute in becoming a great poker player. It is impossible to become a great poker player without putting in thousands of hours at the table and seeing millions of hands. Due to the nature of online poker, with the ability to play hundreds of hands an hour, it’s possible to get experience faster than ever before. You have to play at least 10,000 hours of poker before you have a shot at becoming a great player.

Intelligence

At the highest levels, everyone’s experience level and knowledge of the game will be near equal. Whoever can adjust to an opponent faster and out-guess what adjustments the opponents are making will come out on top. This is sometimes referred to as "leveling."

Desire and Willingness to Learn

No matter how much you play, you will not improve unless you actively think about what your opponents are doing. Beyond this, you also need to seek other poker strategies from players better than you are through books, training videos, coaching and discussing hands with friends.

Ability to Control Emotions

In poker, it is always important to have a logical analytical reason for what you are doing. Our emotions are not equipped to deal with probability and randomness, which are two defining elements of poker. The ability to control your emotions and make the correct logical play time after time is one of the hardest things to do in poker.

Social and Networking Skills

Having a strong poker network is key to becoming a great poker player. It will allow you to get into the best games and allow you to make friends with the strongest players who can help you further improve.

Having a "Sick" Amount of Gamble

To be a truly great player, you have to have a lot of gamble in you. You have to be willing to take on players better than you at stakes higher than you’re used to. At some point, it is the only way to improve. But be warned, it’s also a good way to go broke.

Andrew Robl plays at Victory Poker.

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Comments

Horoeschio
02-06-2010 14:24

There's a lot of truth in what you're saying, but the part in which you state that a great pokerplayer needs to have a lot of gamble is plain BS to me.

How so?

wvttk
02-06-2010 13:05

please start off by defining what you think is a "Great Poker Player"

There's a lot of truth in what you're saying, but the part in which you state that a great pokerplayer needs to have a lot of gamble is plain BS to me.

And another thing: It's emotion that makes that you can trust on your reads. Rationality prohibits this very effect.
Great players have great timing using both.

DrudReport
02-06-2010 07:51

The ability to control emotions and/or an ability to control compulsiveness are the most difficult things about poker. Emotion almost always overrides reason, which can screw up your perspective on what's happening at the table.