Mastering fundamentals, controlling emotions, using volume to minimize luck, unpredictability to avoid exploitation, and choosing profitable tables are keys to poker success.
Poker unavoidably involves luck that will affect short-term results and cause variance. However, with intelligent play and putting in volume, the effects of ongoing bad luck statistically diminish over time. All poker players must endure bad luck swings and short-term variance.
It is advisable to track and chart hourly win rates over a large sample of 500 hours before concluding that bad luck alone is the core problem. Persistent losses and negative win rates after accruing that volume of play strongly suggest fundamental strategic weaknesses and leaks unrelated to luck or variance.
Even highly skilled poker players will steadily lose money over time if they are consistently playing in tougher games against more skilled opponents. Selecting the most profitable, beatable games and avoiding tougher pro-heavy lineups is just as vital to your overall win rate and bankroll growth.
It is prudent to periodically swallow one's ego, exercise humility, and objectively assess whether the players you are routinely playing against are demonstrably better than you and more skilled on average. Finding weaker competition where you have a skill edge is a key factor for long term poker success.
A lack of poker fundamentals is common reason for players consistently losing and struggling to beat the games, even at the lowest stakes. But the good news is that learning core poker theory, concepts, and strategies as a beginner or intermediate player does not have to be an difficult process in today's information age. It is as straightforward and smooth as studying quality training materials, books, videos and working on expanding your technical knowledge base every day.
It is advisable for players to focus intensely on truly mastering the proven basics and fundamentals first, and only once those are locked down, then incorporate more advanced tactics and nuanced play.
Becoming predictable and one-dimensional can become highly problematic if you were once a solid winning player against the same opponent pool. This suggests that a simplistic, easy-to-read playing approach has led to opponents catching on and actively exploiting holes in your strategy.
The solution is to take your poker game to the next level by mixing things up, becoming more balanced, and selectively incorporating deceptive plays that make you harder to predict. For instance, if observant regular opponents have realized that you play an extremely tight and passive style, rarely bluffing, then that likely signals it is an appropriate time to strategically mix in some well-timed, creative bluffing and aggression at the right moments against these players.
Many players lose their cool, go on monkey-tilt, and soon after their entire bankroll follows suit and is busted. Taking some bad beats, cooler hands, or unexpected suckouts is unavoidable no matter how skilled one becomes. The major difference maker that separates big winning players from losing players is how minimally those unavoidable instances of bad luck and gross variance negatively impact their mindset and decision making.
It is essential to never go on tilt and start spewing chips by chasing losses. It is also pivotal to avoid becoming impatient and playing suboptimal junk hands that should be easily folded. If a player realizes they simply are not yet able to handle the mental stresses, then the recommended course is to learn to quit.
