Poker State of Mind

I can not stress enough how important it is to be in the right frame of mind when you sit down at a poker table, whether it be online or at a live game.

I don't care if you are the greatest poker player who ever lived, if you are not 100% focused on the task at hand, you are destined for failure.

Now if you play poker soley for the social aspect and don't care about actually winning , then you can skip this section entirely.

But if you are looking to make some money while having a good time, these are some important considerations you need to take.

1. Give yourself time: Make sure you set enough time for each poker session. If you're rushing to get as much poker in as possible in 30 minutes, chances are you'll be playing to many hands and will end up losing. Allow yourself enough time, so you can sit back, relax and play well.

2. Don't drink alcohol while playing!: I cannot stress this one enough, only because yours truly has been guilty of it in the past. You're sitting in front of your computer sipping a beer, time is going by, your having a good run. One beer turns to three, three to six, you get my point. Your visions a bit blurry. Next thing you know you're pushing all your chips in with pocket Aces. BUT WAIT! Those aren't pocket Aces, it's actually A4 offsuit! I could have sworn that 4 was an ace. (Yes this is a true story that happened to me).

Bottom line, I enjoy an ice cold beer as much as the next guy. And to be quite honest it takes the edge off. So if you absolutely need to have a drink before you start playing, my suggestion is to have one and then switch to water for the rest of the night. Trust me, your wallet will thank you for it!

3. Don't play tired: As much as we like to think we can play 24 hour sessions everyday, we are only human and need rest. If you are physically or mentally exhausted, you are not going to be as sharp. Hey, don't get me wrong, you'll think your playing great, but you will end up missing so much going around you that by the end of the night, you'll be asking yourself, What Happened?

4. Don't play angry: As much as poker is a game of skill, there is some luck involved. People will chase their ridiculous hands to the river and catch that miracle card to beat you. Learn to deal with it! The worst thing you can do is get angry and try to get revenge on that one player. You will start playing really loose and the other 8 players are going to pounce all over you. If you find yourself going on Tilt , get up and walk away. There will be another game to profit from tomorrow.

5. Don't play catch up: The one thing that you need to always remember is that poker is one long session. You are going to have days that you win and you are going to have days that you lose. It's a fact of life. So if you are having a day when nothing seems to be going your way, just stand up and walk away. The last thing you want to do, when you are on a losing streak, is to try to break even for that session. This is another recipe for disaster. Your play will get really lose and you will play hands that you normally wouldn't to try and "break even", for the night. Just remember, if you are up $500 for the week and you are down $50 today, are you really having a bad session?

6. Avoid all distractions: Yes, I know most of us have other things going on in our life. Whether it by wives, husbands, signifigant others, children, we cannot play poker 24 hours a day. (It would be nice though, wouldn't it?)

My advice is this. We cannot ignore the people in our lives, otherwise we are not living a complete life. What you need to do is set a time in your day when everyone knows that you will be fully focused on poker, that way there are no hurt feelings. Make sure everyone gets the quality time that they need and then put on your poker face. Shut off the cell phone, turn off the television, and focus on the task at hand.

The great thing about online poker is that the majority of online players do not follow these guidlines, and that's a good thing. In poker you always want to have the upperhand, so you want to play against undisciplined opponents.

The best place to find these loose, drunk, angry players, I believe, is on PartyPoker. PartyPoker is one of the biggest online poker sites and with good reason. They advertise extensively, so when all those people who are watching the World Series of Poker on ESPN or the World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel, they are being exposed to the PartyPoker message. And guess what happens next? You have a bunch of players with no "focus or discipline" logging on to PartyPoker.com just waiting to give their money away. It's a beautiful thing.

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Recommended Sites __________________________________________________

(Non USA Players)

1) PartyPoker.com - Use Bonus Code " MYBONUS " on Registration.

2) BetfairPoker.com - Use Bonus Code " BF600 " on registration.

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1) FullTiltPoker.com - Bonus code specially integrated into THIS LINK for easy use. Maximum current available bonus guaranteed.

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