I’m sure we’ve all faced our fair share of tough opponents at the poker table over the years. Whether that be battling with the best players in the world in high-stakes poker tournaments or just that player you can’t beat in your local low-stakes cash game, we all can relate.

However, I want to talk about the most meaningful opponent of them all: the one sitting in your own seat. Because if you cannot manage to control yourself and conquer the opponent within, then the rest of the table doesn’t matter. 

Self-Reflection Is Key

Talk to any serious poker player after a losing session or busting a tournament and ask them where things went wrong. While you’ll find a few that will blame their luck or shift responsibility off themselves in one way or another, the majority of them will take ownership of their play. 

“I should have folded.”

“I shouldn’t have 3-bet that hand.”

 “I knew he was bluffing”.

“That one was my fault.”

 “I didn’t want to be there”. 

In reeling after a loss, player phrases like these are a dime a dozen. And while self-review and objective reflection on your play are incredible tools for improvement, we shouldn’t be feeling this way after most sessions we play.

Regardless of the results, there should be sessions where we are content with how we played and executed. The percentage of these sessions where we execute well is what separates winning players from losing ones in the long run. We should all strive to have a certain expected level of execution in any given session.

And while this level of play may look vastly different depending on what sort of poker you’re playing and the journey you are on, the concept remains the same. Set the bar for yourself that you will execute at a certain level and let the chips fall where they may.  

Accept That That There Are a Lot of Variables When Playing Poker

Obviously this is an idea much easier said than done. Just play good right? How do we do this? Strangely enough, the key to playing well is discovering what’s happening internally when you are playing bad.

Personally, I’ve always had a very hard time executing at a high level if I didn’t want to be playing poker at that moment. If I had other things on my mind, or would rather be somewhere else, uncharacteristic mistakes would start to creep into my game. Early in my career during these types of sessions, I would take higher variance lines looking to push the action, or make tenuous leaps of logic to justify losing plays. Ultimately, I was beating myself. 

Check In With Yourself

For me, this was a relatively easy fix. One of the first things I did to keep this at bay was to check in mentally before and during sessions. I did my self-assessment of sorts and simply did not play poker if I was not 100% committed to playing that day.

If I was playing a cash game, and felt like I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue playing, I packed up. This led to becoming a lower-volume player compared to many of my peers. And while I may have left money on the table by playing fewer tournaments or quitting good lineups, when I did play I brought a higher level of execution and could sleep most nights content with my play. Dealing with this quality versus quantity struggle was the crux of the issue early in my development as a player. 

However, every player has their own unique struggles in managing themselves. Some players have emotional control issues and can’t help but tilt off their chips. Some players have poor game selection and constantly put themselves in games where they cannot win. Some players burn themselves out but continue to play through it, bringing a lower level of performance at high volume. Some players have all the answers during study and preparation, but have trouble executing in the actual game. A positive poker mindset really matters.

I urge all players to do a bit of introspection. Uncovering the secrets of what’s happening when you are not executing well can be monumental in your development as a player.  

To play legal poker cash games and tournaments online, register with BetMGM Poker. Don’t forget to use the online poker welcome offer, valid for new users.