Confidence and Psychology in Poker
Category: Poker
Most of us know, that much of what makes poker what it is, revolves around the mind, and making correct decisions with confidence.
This has always been the case, but there are other psychological aspects of the game which are just as a important. With any game or sport, I feel there will always be a level of faith in yourself, which when knocked back by failure, can hamper your successes in the following games. I certainly felt a sense of this a few weeks ago when my poker was not going well, but there will always be a catalyst somewhere down the line which gets your confidence back on track. I think that poker is one game which is affected more than most in this regard, although I can only really say that from my own personal experience.
The catalyst for my resurgence of confidence, was picking up some good cards early on in a big tournament, when I really hadn’t expected to be there long when I turned up to play. As the cards fell in my favour I began to play better poker, eventually taking my good result in that tournament and the confidence it brought, on to the following one. I played without fear of failure and trusted my judgement 100% and went on to win. This just shows what a spark of success can do for you when you are feeling like you are losing no matter how hard you try.
Sometimes trying too hard in itself can be counterproductive, a better approach can sometimes be to turn up simply to enjoy a game, without any real expectations. Everyone is different of course, and the main thing is that you do not give up on the game entirely. When everyhing seems to be going against you, as I found out, it will always turn around sooner or later.