Back To The Trap House

I took an Anatomy and Physiolgy class just a few years ago. Actually, I took it twice because I failed it the first time….

The thing I remember from the first time I took the class was a video we watched in our lab. It talked about how the brain adapts or adjusts to situations when stimulated. the human brain is very adaptible in that it can change to fit the task at hand.

This isn’t instantaneous by any means it takes time. your brain must process the information first, over and over again.

The example used in the video was with London cab drivers. I wasn’t aware of this but apparently london has some of the most confusing streets to navigate in the world. There is no organization whatsoever. The only way as a cab driver to get from place to place is to use your memory, or I guess maybe GPS, but bear with me here. At this time they weren’t using GPS and I’m not sure if they are today.

Anyways, They did brainscans on veteran cab drivers, new cab drivers and the average person and found that a certain area of the brain for the london cabbies was enlarged. It was hypotrophed to accomodate the loads of memory they needed to take in to get from place to place.

They had incentive as well. Do a good job or get fired. I think this is important because without incentive, stress or fear then your brain may not adjust.

I don’t think this is any different in poker or any other profession for that matter. in poker there is incentive to outsmart your opponents so there are more and more creative ways to do this all the time.

After a while though, if you continue getting the same stimulus constantly your brain will autopiolot. That is why when we drive to and from work we can see everything but do we remember everything we saw? Nope, that stimulus was exciting to us the first few times, the lights, the taco bells when hungry, the fire hydrant, the nudie magazine store, etc.

So, if this is the case then as a poker player it is our job to continue our education. To learn new games and more advanced play. Don’t become a mindless short stacker or a 20 Table button clicker. Sure, it is somewhat profitable but you are advancing at a much slower pace than those who take the time to think through everything and give extra attention to every little detail.

Don’t become a poker zombie….