Some Questions to Consider Before Getting Started

Before I really begin going down the path of introducing my thoughts on poker, I wanted to briefly go through what I feel are some fundamental questions to consider. The answers to these questions will define your outlook on the game.

"Who Are You?... Who, who... who, who?"

So the heading did Roger Daltry no justice, but still his poignant question stands... "Who are you?"

Your background and makeup as a person will tend to flow naturally into your style as a poker player. If you are a quiet, calculating person in everyday life, your natural tendency when sitting at the poker table will be to default to a style that's in line with your personality. On the contrary, if you're a fun-loving, free-wheeling, outgoing type, you will be that type of player. In the end, it's very hard to reverse who your natural tendencies as a human being. In fact, what makes the best poker players good is they are capable of transforming their play at will to keep their opponents off their trail.

You can also expect that your opponents will also have a difficult time betraying their natural tendencies as well. One of the finest examples I can give is the Old Lady. While it may sound like an over-exaggeration, every older woman I have ever played with will only put money in play when they hold the strongest hands. Hence, most times you have much to lose when going up against them, but not much to gain. It's advisable to avoid Old Ladies like the plague!

So, for a moment, if you're just starting into the world of poker or if your a veteran player, I urge you to think a little bit about who you are. These are not questions to be answered just based on poker. Think about how you are in your everyday life and come up with your answer.

Are you patient? Are you impulsive?
Are you quiet and introspective? Are you jovial and outgoing?
Are you reserved with your image? Are you flashy and extravagant?
Do you budget your money and know where every penny goes? Do you spend your paycheck and not know where it went?
Can you take a loss with restraint? Does a big loss send you over the edge (pissed off, throw things, etc.)?
When you lose, do you quickly forget about it? Do you steam on it for hours?
Do you treat opponents with respect and dignity (after you beat them down, you lend them a hand to get back up)? Are you absolutely ruthless... when you're done stabbing them in the back, you twist the knife around?

You will probably find yourself falling somewhere in the middle of the "bookends" presented by these questions. Think about which side you favor more. If you were to think of it as a scale from 0 to 10 where 0 would be the first of each question and 10 would be the second, where do you score? Total up your numbers. If your score is less than 20, I would say you have a good makeup to be an excellent poker player. If you are over 40, you can still be a winning poker player but I think you will have a more difficult time holding yourself back and keeping from flying off the rails.

Why Play Poker?

I don't mean to go all philosophical on you, but it definitely is a question that needs to be asked. We all have things in our lives that demand our time and attention. Relationships, kids, work, school, that list of things your wife wants you to do around the house, ... or whatever else is important to you. If you take up poker, its going to pull time from those other things in your life and, if those other things are indeed important to you, there has to be some reason why you want to devote time to playing poker and not to those other things. After all, our time is finite; your poker time has to come at the expense of something else, right?

So, look over the list below. Give yourself 20 points. Assign points to the items on the list which represent your reasons for playing poker. Give more points to items which you agree with more than others. Use all 20 points.

- I play to meet new people.
- I play to pass the time.
- I play because the casino gives me free drinks.
- I play to win money.
- I play because my friends play and I like hanging out with them.
- I play to enjoy myself and have a good time.
- I play to understand the game deeper and improve.
- I play to beat my opponents.
- I play to get away from life and relax.
- I play to [insert your own reason here].

Where did you place your points? I'm going to tell you straight out that if a significant amount of your points are not in "I play to win money", you're going to have issues becoming a good poker player. I'm not the only one who says this...

"When we play, we must realize, before anything else, that we are out to make money."
- David Sklansky

This shouldn't be the only reason why you play by any means, but it should be the biggest. After all, there's other things you could be doing that won't have a risk at your bottom line. Go play a video game if you need to unwind. Play a sport if you need competition that bad. But, if you want to take a buck and make it more, this might be a good place for you.

In the end...

All the strategy and mathematical knowledge in the world will not help you if you can't help yourself from getting distracted by a horrendous loss or if you're sitting at the table sucking down free drinks and throwing away money. If you're like that, hey, go play roulette or craps. At least it will separate you from your money faster and you can go on abouts your life! You have to be able to look at yourself and know precisely what you are and what you want to be as a poker player. If you can't do that, you just might be the sucker that the rest of the table is waiting to prey on...