The 14 Virtues of a Winning Poker Player: Overview

What you are reading is the introduction -part 1-of an ongoing 15 part series where I will examine different attributes that winning poker players possess. Yes, I know it will be a lot of reading and waiting for new entries, but it will be worth it in the end, especially for new and struggling players who think memorizing a starting hand chart and knowing how to calculate pot odds will turn them into a poker superstar!

With that in mind, I have disregarded anything at all to do with strategy, instead focusing on traits that deal with the mental side of poker. In all I will discuss 14 different characteristics of winning poker players:

1. Patience
2. Focus
3. Mental Toughness
4. Motivation to Succeed
5. Confidence in Their Skills
6. Single-Mindedness in Their Approach to Poker
7. Likeable
8. Perform Well Under Pressure
9. Detail oriented
10. Self-Critical
11. Competitive
12. Manipulative
13. Have a Positive Outlook
14. Perceptive

Examined separately, there is not a single entry in this list that will make you a decent poker player. However, when you start to add these traits together their impact on your poker game grows exponentially. Who cares if a player is patient; or patient and focused; but, if they are patient, focused, motivated, self-critical, and mentally tough you start to have the makings of a winning poker player, and a strong adversary.

For each entry in this series I will outline the following:

• What it means
• The Flip-side of the coin
• How it specifically applies to poker
• How to deal with it
• What you can do to improve

Obviously some of these traits are considerably more important than others, but in the end each trait can be either a detriment or a benefit, depending on the situation -like so many things in poker the situation usually dictates what is important and what isn’t. The key is to be aware how each trait applies to the game of poker, because in poker ignorance is truly bliss, and will get you felted quite often.

Hopefully when you have finished reading this series you will not only have a new outlook on how mentally challenging poker can be, but will also have a clear understanding of your strengths and weaknesses as a poker player; which should allow you to choose the best situations for you, and avoid situations that highlight your particular weaknesses.