Grundy On Poker: Part 1

I know a lot of poker players who are able play the game well enough to profit in the long run, but don't. It isn't because they're calculating the odds wrong or even misreading the opponents, it is because of their lack of discipline.

Playing a friendly game once a month for low stakes is one thing, but to make a living from the game is another. It's because playing at your best in the short game is far easier than stretching that amount of focus over a day-long tournament, a week-long tournament, or a multiple year-long professional poker career.

Next time you have a string of bad beats, and you will if you haven't already, stick to your game. You can do everything right and still loose in the short-run, but in the long-run the best player will be known. It takes patience, focus, and a little humility to stay off the tilt that will loose the day.

I leave you with a passage from Robert Service's poem "Carry On!"

It’s easy to fight when everything’s right,
And you’re mad with thrill and the glory;
It’s easy to cheer when victory’s near,
And wallow in fields that are gory.
It’s a different song when everything’s wrong,
When you’re feeling infernally mortal;
When it’s ten against one, and hope there is none,
Buck up, little soldier, and chortle.