Maintaining Discipline in a Poker Game

As any Poker player will tell you, discipline and self control is something that you will need in order to have any degree of success in the game. However, it is one thing to practice it, and another to apply in an actual game. To help you maintain control, keep the following in mind.

First, you must remember that discipline in Poker begins with playing with good hands. By playing selectively, you will avoid situations wherein you try to play K5 and miss the flop, and then go on to the turn hoping to hit a miracle draw. You should never play weak or garbage hands, no matter how long you have been sitting down and folding. If the table is tight and you think that you can play this hand, make certain that you know when to exit the hand.

If you find yourself folding a lot of hands, you will often be tempted to play with weaker hands, just to get a piece of the action and avoid boredom. Here playing online will help. You just join another table.

You will not only keep yourself from playing trash hands, but you might also win some money on the other table too. If you are playing in a live Poker room, just watch how your opponents are playing. You will not only keep your mind focused on the game but you will be able to garner a lot of information that will help you when you do get the big hands.

Boredom is one of the problems that Poker players face; once they sit out a lot of hands, their minds wander and lose their momentum when they finally get a chance to play. This is something that you can avoid by resorting to any of the methods suggested above.

If you find yourself fuming after you fold your A5 and see A55 on the flop, remember what disciplined Poker players always do: the math: do a quick mental calculation of how much you will win on this hand compared with how much you will lose if you keep playing them repeatedly. Of course, you will lose more often in the long run if you keep playing weak off suited hands, low pairs and the like.

Discipline is a Poker strategy that you will always have to put into practice. If you find yourself slipping and reverting to bad habits, you should remember the possible consequences. Always be aware of the repercussions of your actions, and you will always be on the path to success in the game.