To be good at poker “psychology” – to effectively predict your opponent’s likely thought processes – there is no need to take a seminar on Card Games and their Relation to the Unconscious. Your opponent is not your patient, and even if he/she is, no matter how well you apply Jacques Lacan to their neurosis, you are still not guaranteed to win.
While strategy is a real and important element of poker, and is certainly more basic than psychoanalysis, it is still only one important tactic. Mindreading would certainly be an asset to wise play, but is this possible? It is in a way.
Once thing for sure about great artists and great players is they did not reach this status by reading an instruction book. They got there by trusting their intuition, an intuition borne out of a natively keen talent of observation which they rehearsed and developed individually over a long period of time.
You have probably noticed a dearth of technical manuals dealing with the psychology of poker. That brings us right to the crux of this issue. Whatever tips and advice may be out there for you to read up on, you cannot put them to practical use without your own sense of intuition that is achieved by putting your own thought processes to work beyond the grasp of your opponent.
Most players will lose more than they win because they depend on strict models of play, much like computer programs, or simulations that present themselves as predictions to be used robotically by the savvy player. This could be quite simple depending on the number of variables involved in the prediction.
A talented player will spurn any computer-spun model and make their own decisions on how to play their game and their opponents’ game. They are led by intuition into observations that they then combine into rules of play according to their creative imagination and wit. The strategy that comes out of this is distinctively their own. No matter how complex or how elegantly simple their secret strategy is, it makes them less vulnerable.
Artists and good poker players do not reveal their secrets. They may give advice or even write books on their art, but they will never reveal what really sets them apart. Remember this, they did not achieve their lofty peaks by relying on someone else’s tips.
It is then most vital to commit yourself to the intense study of personal observation from your own practice to develop your observational skills as well as your imagination. Do this and you will independently create ways of acquiring a manner of play that is unique to you in its every detail.
Use this individually developed strategy to get under the skin of bluffers. You can only do this by letting loose of your robust intuition to which only you have access.
You will have to work hard to develop your unique manner of play. Even more difficult though is to have the courage and independence to use your carefully developed imagination in successful ways while sometimes appearing idiotic. This personal quirk will lead to a spirit of discovery and innovation that will set you ahead of the pack.
At this point, a look into the processes that make up intuition might be in order. In fact we all have intuition. Few have the initiative and guts to tune it up and make use of it. To get results, you must develop and work on your own unique intuition. It doesn’t fall from the sky and it cannot be taught.
Which brings to mind the old vaudeville routine: “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?” Practice, practice, practice.
The author is a successful limit cash game player. He plays poker and receives Cellsino Poker Rakeback from Rakeback Solution.