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Posted by jgreenspan | Filed under Uncategorized

We all know that poker is about analysis – you win by making the best decisions you can with the information that’s at your disposal. The pros, the people who make good money at the table, can do so because they’re better able to parse the actions they witness and react according. But, of course, no one is perfect. Given the thousands of decisions poker forces on a player every couple of hours, even the best are going to make mistakes. Some of the errors are going to be… well … donkey-like.

The top players know this. When they discuss hands, they don’t sugarcoat their self-appraisals. They’ll say things like, “I played that one really bad” or “That was such a donkey play.” Erik Seidel, who doesn’t like to spend much time talking poker strategy, said that when he talks about hands with John Juanda, the conversation usually starts, “Listen to how badly I played this one.”

John D’Agostino added, “When you listen to the general public you hear ‘I got so unlucky.’ Generally, all the pros talk about is how they played a hand poorly. We understand we make mistakes and we try to get better from them.”

Chris Ferguson noted that humility – the willingness to note your deficiencies – is vital to winning poker. “To improve, you have to know you’re making mistakes,” Ferguson said. “There are a lot of hands I don’t know how to play. There are a lot of situations I don’t know how to handle. If I thought I knew everything, I’d never improve.”

And how often do the pros misplay hands? D’Agostino says, “[We] make mistakes almost every single hand. They’re small mistakes, but maybe I could have gotten paid off a little more or avoided a bluff.”

In lectures, Howard Lederer tells his audience to forgive themselves for every mistake they’ve ever made and all the mistakes they’re going to make. Because if you fail to put the bad plays behind you, you won’t be in the moment – ready to play your current situations as well as you’re able.

In Poker, as in other areas on life, an objective, self-critical nature will inevitably lead to growth. So take a cue from D’Agostino, Seidel and Ferguson and acknowledge your inner donkey.

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