Defining The Qualities Of Good And Bad Poker Players
- Filed under: Poker
- Date: Jul 11,2010
A very clever Soviet satire is written about a con artist set out to win a bunch of money from a small town chess club. He convinces the avid members that he is a traveling master of the game and wishes to organize a tournament for the assembled group. He, of course, charges an entrance fee from all the players and proceeds to play “twelve identical matches” without a clue as to what he is doing. This is the second chess match he has ever played, but he manages to place the pieces somewhat correctly and makes his moves to the awe of those surrounding the board. Like lots of folks when in the presence of greatness, they read a lot into the moves and pay close attention. Soon after beginning the games, he loses all of them but still keeps his sense of humor. The town is utterly amazed, but by then he has had the required time to run off with the entry fees. So, our traveling maestro may be a lousy player, but he is a winning one.
The Twelve Chairs is the title of the satiric novel. It has been translated into English to become both a book and film adaptation on DVD readily available at Amazon.com. A Mel Brooks comedy was the subject of the film and unless you are fanatical about Mel Brooks, stay clear of this one. Mark Zaharov, a brilliant director, not as well known as his compatriot Tarkovsky, adapted it into a Russian mini-series in 1976.
The point is that the definition of a good player, in poker or otherwise, depends on what that player’s purpose is. As far the fictional con artist was concerned, he was an effective player since his strategy precisely achieved his goals – quick money. It is a subtler point, however, that he was a good player also because he knew he couldn’t play solid chess for more than the first five or so moves and because he prepared an escape route.
There are numerous poker players out there who do not recognize their lack of ability. Poker players are blessed with an overactive ego, possibly due to the riskiness of the game giving the players a certain bravura. Unfortunately for them and fortunately for the good player, they didn’t get the concept that poker is a complicated, demanding game which requires education and hands-on experience to succeed at all. For those who are clear on the concept, the game can be most profitable.
Then there are those who play by rote, repeating a learned set of rules and strategies with no cognitive activity to gum up the works. No point in improving because they win more than half of the time and are therefore good players – they have met their goal.
In poker as art, however, all of these people are not real players (to avoid calling them bad). They are on the set somewhere, but theirs are not exactly the leading roles. A good poker player is one who is eager and grateful for yet another insight which might still improve his already nuanced game of thought, skill, showmanship, and perception. He or she admits his weaknesses and strives to have as round a set of skills as possible.
The author is a successful limit cash game player. He plays poker online and receives Rakeback at Full Tilt Poker and competes in the monthly Races and Rolls Freerolls.
