1) Do you agree that if poker ever becomes like work, it's time to quit?
Playing poker on a day to day basis for the purpose of earning money to pay your bills is work and should be treated with all the conscientiousness and tenacity as any other money-making endeavor.
2) Do you play more carefully when you get ahead?
Think of all the playing you have done and will do as one long poker game. Being ahead at one particular time in one particular session has no significance when viewed in this way. It's most important to play your best game all the time--ahead or behind.
3) When you are losing a significant amount, do you tend to play more aggressively?
This would be a lack of self-control. Playing more aggressively should depend on the way the game is going, not on your emotional state.
4) Have you ever chewed-out a dealer for bringing you bad luck?
Kill the messenger because you don't like the message?? Luck, good and bad, just happens; no one "brings" it to you.
5) Do you think a lot of players take the game too seriously?
A lot of players depend on the money they win to support their lifestyle. If you aspire to do the same, you had better take it seriously.
6) Do you view a poker session as primarily an opportunity to have fun?
It's great if you can have fun while earning your living, but don't count on it.
7) Do you try to avoid heads-up confrontations?
You will be getting heads-up with an opponent quite often. It's a fact of the game. Concern yourself with playing well in these situations. You must play heads-up reasonably well to survive.
8) Assuming you can continue to feel good, and the game stays about the same, do you think your edge increases the longer you play?
The longer you play the more you should learn about your opponents. As a good poker player, you should then use this information to gain more of an advantage.
9) Would you say that you play more hands than most other players at the table?
Weak players, both the passive and the aggressive kind, should be playing more hands than you. Poker is one game where patience is a virtue. Wait for the right situation--only then should you act.
10) Do you ever run a bluff just for advertising purposes--knowing you have very little chance of pulling it off?
You simply don't have to do this. If you are employing a viable bluffing strategy, you will get caught often enough. Only bluff when you think you have a reasonable chance of picking up the pot.
11) Are you the big winner in a game about as often as you are the big loser?
If you are, you're probably gambling too much. It should be a rare occasion, indeed, when you are the big loser.
12) Do you take it personal when someone check-raises you?
A check-raise is part of the game. It should be a part of your arsenal. Although you may view it as being underhanded, you should be gratified to know that it's legal for you to do the same thing.
13) Do you find yourself playing more hands when you are losing a significant amount?
Patience and self-control are what it's all about. You cannot expect to win when you deviate from what you know is the right way to play.
14) If you are really stuck, will you play as long as it takes to get even, or at least close to even?
There is nothing sacred about one session of poker. It's the long-run that counts, not what you did on any particular day. What does count at all times is whether you are employing a winning strategy-and that's it.
15) Have you ever had to depend on your poker winnings to pay your bills?
It's good to have felt the pressure, the urgency, to win, at one time or another, before doing this as a profession.
http://pokermag.com/managearticle.asp?c=150&a=5346
Playing poker on a day to day basis for the purpose of earning money to pay your bills is work and should be treated with all the conscientiousness and tenacity as any other money-making endeavor.
2) Do you play more carefully when you get ahead?
Think of all the playing you have done and will do as one long poker game. Being ahead at one particular time in one particular session has no significance when viewed in this way. It's most important to play your best game all the time--ahead or behind.
3) When you are losing a significant amount, do you tend to play more aggressively?
This would be a lack of self-control. Playing more aggressively should depend on the way the game is going, not on your emotional state.
4) Have you ever chewed-out a dealer for bringing you bad luck?
Kill the messenger because you don't like the message?? Luck, good and bad, just happens; no one "brings" it to you.
5) Do you think a lot of players take the game too seriously?
A lot of players depend on the money they win to support their lifestyle. If you aspire to do the same, you had better take it seriously.
6) Do you view a poker session as primarily an opportunity to have fun?
It's great if you can have fun while earning your living, but don't count on it.
7) Do you try to avoid heads-up confrontations?
You will be getting heads-up with an opponent quite often. It's a fact of the game. Concern yourself with playing well in these situations. You must play heads-up reasonably well to survive.
8) Assuming you can continue to feel good, and the game stays about the same, do you think your edge increases the longer you play?
The longer you play the more you should learn about your opponents. As a good poker player, you should then use this information to gain more of an advantage.
9) Would you say that you play more hands than most other players at the table?
Weak players, both the passive and the aggressive kind, should be playing more hands than you. Poker is one game where patience is a virtue. Wait for the right situation--only then should you act.
10) Do you ever run a bluff just for advertising purposes--knowing you have very little chance of pulling it off?
You simply don't have to do this. If you are employing a viable bluffing strategy, you will get caught often enough. Only bluff when you think you have a reasonable chance of picking up the pot.
11) Are you the big winner in a game about as often as you are the big loser?
If you are, you're probably gambling too much. It should be a rare occasion, indeed, when you are the big loser.
12) Do you take it personal when someone check-raises you?
A check-raise is part of the game. It should be a part of your arsenal. Although you may view it as being underhanded, you should be gratified to know that it's legal for you to do the same thing.
13) Do you find yourself playing more hands when you are losing a significant amount?
Patience and self-control are what it's all about. You cannot expect to win when you deviate from what you know is the right way to play.
14) If you are really stuck, will you play as long as it takes to get even, or at least close to even?
There is nothing sacred about one session of poker. It's the long-run that counts, not what you did on any particular day. What does count at all times is whether you are employing a winning strategy-and that's it.
15) Have you ever had to depend on your poker winnings to pay your bills?
It's good to have felt the pressure, the urgency, to win, at one time or another, before doing this as a profession.
http://pokermag.com/managearticle.asp?c=150&a=5346
