Wednesday, January 21, 2009

You have to lose to Win

By Eddie Parker

It is inevitable that at some time while playing poker you will lose. If you go into a poker tournament believing that you will always win the only thing you will end up being is wrong. To be a good poker player you have to realize that losing is just a part of the process, and in order to win at poker you will sometimes have to lose.

Losing is part of the game, and there are many reasons why you may lose at poker. You are not always going to have the best hand, and sometimes you will lose to a competitor who has a better hand than you. The sooner you accept this, the sooner you can move on to becoming a better player.

Some of us get unhappy if we are on a big losing streak. At this point we have to remember that a losing streak may be necessary in order to get on a winning streak.

In the long run, if you are winning more money than you are losing then you can consider yourself a good poker player. Don't think of your winning and losing on a hand-by-hand basis, or even a game-by-game basis, take a few steps back and look at the overall picture.

There is no player out there who wins every single hand, it is a statistical impossibility. Ultimately poker is a game of chance, which is why the most experienced player doesn't always win. If the best player always won then you would see the same person win every single tournament, and that would get tiresome. Instead, different people win all the time, because every game is unique.

As long as you look at poker from the standpoint of your overall winnings, instead of an individual game, you will be better able to gauge your progress. For example, you could lose $50 on a game, which would be disappointing, but if over all you are up $500 then it is really no big deal, just a minor setback and you can try to do better next game.

There is a lot you can learn by losing. For example, if you and your opponent square up and are forced to show your hands, you can learn about that person's betting style based on the hand they have. The next time they bet the same way, they probably have a similar hand and you can outsmart them.

Losing a hand or a game is no big deal, and it can teach you an important lesson, or it can give you insight into another player's playing style. Use the information to your benefit and the next time you can take all his money.

Poker is a very in the moment type of game, so sometimes it is hard to remember that it is all part of a grand scheme. One game may feel like the world when you are playing it, but after it is over it is time to focus on the next game, and to take what you have learned and apply it. In your next game you will be more prepared and focused than ever before, and winning will start to come naturally. - 20785

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