Every day thousands of people decide to learn Texas Holdem no limit poker and once they have a couple of winning sessions many of them will dream about becoming a professional poker player, living the life of luxury from the comfort of their own homes.
Unfortunately for these dreamers there are only a select few that possess the correct skills to become professional in this field. Whilst many may actually develop hand reading skills and general poker skills that could rival some of the world’s greatest players, the vast majority of players simply do not have the mental toughness to rise to the top.
The biggest problem poker players face is preventing themselves from going on tilt, that is allowing their emotions to creep into their game and make them play less than optimally. Most of the money won in poker comes from players being on tilt, be it from them playing too tight and passive or from going crazy and playing hyper aggressively. Whilst it is almost impossible to completely eradicate tilt, the very best players are able to control it to some degree or at least be able to recognise the signs of going on tilt and stop playing before it take a grip of them.
Another mental aspect of the game that prevents players from being amongst the game’s elite is trusting ones instincts. How many times have you been playing and made a call despite knowing you are beaten or vice versa and folded a hand even though you were almost certain you were being bluffed. Professional players always trust their instincts and act on them, even if the stakes are high and they stand to win or lose thousands of dollars in doing so, if they feel they are ahead or behind they will make the play that reflects that, regardless of the consequences.
Which brings us onto the money side of the game, a massive stumbling block for all but the very best players on the planet. When it comes to money everyone has a breaking point where they feel uncomfortable playing with that particular amount on the line. For some players it may be a mere $25 and others may not be bothered even if they stand to lose a hundred times that but to succeed you need to be able to not attach monetary value to your chips and instead see them as purely weapons you use at the table, which just happen to be worth money at the end of your session. The vast majority of players simply cannot do this.
That said, many online poker players without the mental toughness to become a professional player do go on to have long and profitable careers but if you are thinking of becoming a poker pro be aware that they saying “its a hard way to make an easy living†was one of the truest sayings of all time.
