The Learning
Mindset in Poker
If you want to become a truly
skilled poker player, it’s important that you
have a learning mindset. There are too many
poker players out there who either don’t take
the time to learn or they aren’t honest with
themselves about why they have less than stellar
results at the tables. The learning mindset is a
frame of mind in which you humble yourself and
dedicate more of your time to becoming a more
skilled poker player.
Honesty with Yourself
The most common hindrance to
poker players’ success is probably the fact that
poker players often have a hard time admitting
they need to improve. These are the players that
you hear constantly saying they caught a bad
beat or that some idiot always gets lucky. These
are also the same people that say small stakes
games are hard to beat because everyone just
calls everything.
If you fall into any one of
those categories, there’s no shame in that. In
poker, there is never shame. There is only money
or no money. If you admit that you are
performing poorly, you open the door for more
money to come in your direction. It doesn’t
matter what your past results are or what you
told yourself – you are now able to improve from
here on out.
One thing players learn is
that it’s actually not as painful admitting they
had it all wrong as they thought it would be.
Their minds are then free from frustration
because they have consciously accepted the fact
that there is room for improvement and the
possibility to become better. Instead of poker
being some murky, stressful idea, it now becomes
a tangible game that can be beaten given enough
time.
Even the best players in the
world admit that there are areas in which they
can improve. That’s the secret to their success!
They know they mess up in certain areas but they
are fine with that because that honesty gives
them the opportunity to work on those weaknesses
and earn more money.
Humility plays a large part in
becoming a better poker player. Players who
think they know it all quickly fall by the
wayside as newer, more dedicated players keep
the learning mindset. Being able to admit that
there is more to learn requires both humility
and honesty but it’s the best thing you can do
to open up the door to success.
A Desire to Learn
Learning requires effort so
there must be a desire to learn for you to
actually improve your poker skills. There are
many resources out there that you can take
advantage of to improve your game. Poker
strategy sites such as this one are all over the
place, there are poker forums in which you can
discuss strategy and hand histories with other
players, there are books you can buy, videos you
can watch and training sites you can join. The
opportunities are all around you. All that’s
required of you is a desire to learn.
It requires a little effort to
learn but once you start to see improved
results, you’ll soon find an insatiable desire
to keep learning. After a while, learning
becomes almost as much of a hobby as actually
playing poker. The more you continue to learn,
the better your results at the tables.
