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Qualities of a good, winningPoker player:

I believe and I'm sure there's a lot of evidence and research that can back it up, that they're many traits a Poker player must naturally possess to be a successful wining player. Alan Schoomaker have stated many in is psychology of Poker books. I feel all the experience and Poker study in the world may still leave you with shortcomings... At best you may only become break even or small winner in the long run.

Here's my list:

1. Must be educated and/or naturally gifted
- you must have a thinking brain. A brain that can analyze, put pieces of info together like a puzzle, good with numbers. Also enjoys to read, study, learn... A love for knowledge!

2. No chemical imbalances... Such as depression, ADHD, ADD, any mental disorder or addictions... Even if you're getting treatments, there's never a cure and its something you'll live with forever

3. Strong confidence, ego, self esteem, secure with self, strong relationships with family, friends, lovers, positive attitude, optimistic, love for life, active living, enjoy hobbies, physically and mentally fit.

4. Decisive... Make decisions with confidence and feel good about it... Any second guessing will hurt you more than help over long hall

5. Competitive... Loves to compete and must win... Gets high off the lure of the game, eye of the tiger, passion for game

6. Disciplined, control, knows when to stay/go, yes/no, patience, will power, inner strength, motivation, determination, intestinal fortitude, time management.

7. Life in order... satisfied knowing where you are, where you're going, little regret.

8. Total disregard of money or anything that has value

This is just what I think...

You pretty much have to naturally be super human. Most of us are not, that's why I believe only 1% of all Poker players are long term winners. Most possess most of these qualities... Obviously the stronger you are in some still make up for the ones you're lacking in.

I feel if you are lacking in most of these areas, you will continue to bleed $$.

Are there solutions to most of these? I'm sure there's many. Feel free to suggest. Add other weakness to.

So, what do we all do if we don't have these qualities? Give up on the game? Give up on life? No and no, but we must be aware of the truth, of who we are. Some things just can't be changed, but there is Hope. You just have to dig deep inside, find it, grasp it, never let it go!

We can only preform at our full potential and Hope for the best... Till then, we'll continue to give!

Yours truly

A Losing Player

I am sure most of what you listed helps to be good at poker, but the reason why only 1% of people are long term winners is simply rake: Without rake it would probably get close to 50. And I really dont think that you need all those qualities to win at poker. For example someone who has the brains only REALLY needs the property of discipline, to make money online. If someone really lacks point one though, he probably does need all other qualities to be somewhat winning.

Your post limits the human spirit, and I refuse to agree, though there are valid concerns/food for thought listed here.

Luck is also a huge factor.

People are incapable of being automatons devoid of all negatory emotions while still in grasp of the good characteristics. If that was reality the way in which we define the term "success" would be devoid of meaning as all would be equal to pursue everything the same. The world luckily does not work this way, we are flawed and those flaws make us the individuals we are in the present and the person we will become later. Life is a process and there is nothing wrong with trying something and realizing that your time could be better served doing something you are more productive with or could enjoy better. Good luck in finding that thing Op.

I think if you're intelligent, love the game enough to study, and have decent emotional control, you can beat the game.

All the other skills you need can be learned.

Lets be honest.....you dont really need any of those qualities to succeed at poker...confidence and control may be the important ones...which both come from practice....what you do need is dedication and the will to succeed

Confidence is less important that people think, it's more important to be making the correct plays without confidence than it is to be making the incorrect plays with confidence...

I think of those things listed self discipline is most important.

You don't have to be super human or anything you just need to be very realistic and understand how adult learning works and have a good work ethic. It's the willingness to work on both your technical and mental game that will be the main factor in succeeding in this game.

All you need to be a huge winner is to be intelligent, and have a strong desire to win. Nothing more. Stu Ungar should be proof enough that most things on your list have nothing to do with your ability to play poker.

Also.. binking a tourney for a couple of hundred thousand back in 2004, deciding you're awesome and quitting university to study the game full time with a couple of friends you've met on the circuit who have also binked tourneys lately and now have time and money to study/talk/debate/improve........that can be helpful...

you dont need all those qualities, granted lots of them greatly help. But for example you dont have to have a big ego, and confidence in other things to succeed. Some might even say that having a big ego can be detremental to someones game, and just becuase there are some pro's who behave that way doens't mean its the only way.

Mental strength is the biggest thing to deal with all the factors of poker, and the constant fact of playing better than people yet still losing which for me was very hard to get through (not that im a pro or anywhere near one), but everyone has thier own journey and things can often get too generalised especially in the vast world of phsycology. You cant just say you need a list of things like you could in something like tennis where you need a solid backhand, forehand etc.

What about having enough time to play poker? If you have a job, it can be pretty hard to play good poker in the evening after a hard day's work.

personally, i think i had 1 item from that list when i started playing poker (maybe still only have 1 thing), but despite that, i eventually became a consistent, winning player at micros. not a crusher by any means, just a lowly grinder.

all of the things that you think has to come naturally can be learned, albeit some more difficultly than others. before you dismiss your possibilities, actually get all the experience and poker study in the world.

Also... things like "talent" and "natural ability" are grossly misunderstood concepts.

An extremely common error in judging that someone possesses natural talent for something is in the observation of someone's ability after they have become good at something, and illogically concluding that they were somehow either started out good... or were somehow predestined to become good.

While some people's minds do seem to be wired better for certain kinds of activity, and so some concept come more easily to some than to others, there is no doubt that the people who have become awesome at something worked their asses off to become awesome.

I experience the same thing in music. At a time when I was learning piano at a high level and would play for someone, the most common comment would be something about talent. Which is nice, sure, they're trying to make a compliment and I always appreciated the thought... but inside my head I was always a little pissed about that... because what they're really saying is that I was somehow built differently and that all I had to do was sit down at a piano and I'd just get good without effort... whereas the truth was thousands and thousands of hours of practice and thinking and listening and learning and studying and playing millions and millions of notes. So after 25 years yeah I'm pretty good at it. It's what you'd expect.


That's why I really believe in the hard work theory for success... the 95% perspiration thing. If there are smarter people out there who are working as hard as you then you're gonna have trouble keeping up with them... but you sure as hell can beat smarter people who aren't working as hard as you.

Stanmore, that is the difference between learning a skill which requires time/ practice such as playing a musical instrument and being "gifted" which is usually seen as an external perception of ones skill as they lack the first hand knowledge to know what you did too require that "talent. It's still a compliment.... albeit a little misguided.