One of my favourite shows on TV in recent years has been Mythbusters. In the show they take popular myths, misconceptions and urban legends and put them to the test seeking to “bust” those that are wrong. There are more than a few misconceptions that some players, particularly beginners, and outsiders have about the game of poker that bear little relation to the reality of the situation and this articles seeks to dispell some of those myths that propogate and to shed some proper light on the reality of the game.
Myth #1: The best players are all very aggressive
This one is not completely false but is certainly not true. There have been some very successful players who prided themselves on unrelenting aggression as their means of getting to the top. The late, great Stu Ungar was a great example. His unique style constantly put players to the test but it was his superior reading ability that pushed him over the edge. Modern day aggressive players such as Gus Hansen and Tom Dwan also find aggression crucial but there are plenty of their contemporaries who are more cautious and consistently generate great returns. Dan Harrington and Donnacha O’Dea are just two examples of tighter players who have been marvellous competitors over many years. Unless you have a range of skills to back it up, hyper-aggression will send you nowhere but the poorhouse.
Myth #2: Great Players are Born Great
This one is applied to all types of performers and sportsmen. Many people will tell you that a great tennis player is born and not made or that the best pianists are just born that way. The same is not true about poker. You may believe that Phil Ivey is just a genius freak of nature who was born with the ability to read a poker hand but he served his apprenticeship in the cash games in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, spending hours upon hours at the table, learning all of the poker disciplines and honing his skills. There really is no substitute for experience and table time.
Myth #3: “I can’t beat these players they’re just too bad”
This is an extremely popular myth that is almost entirely propogated by losing players, who seek to put the blame for their lack of profit or ability squarely at someone else’s door. Most of these players need to understand that at low stake levels and limits, the style of poker played but the majority of players is a vastly different creature than that played at higher stakes. Loose passive players can be difficult to adapt to but players need to grasp quickly that you only need to be thinking at one level higher than your opponents to turn a profit. Avoid fancy play against those players who clearly wouldn’t understand what a particular line means and stick to simple ABC poker and you should be fine.
Myth #4: Changing poker sites will change your luck
As with all superstitions, this is entirely false and will help you in no way, shape or form and should be ignored. Any such pointless superstition like using cold curreny to bring good luck in video poker machines are as based in fact as most wive’s tales. If these superstitions, like placebos, give you some psychological benefit, that’s fine but don’t give any genuine credence to them.
This article was written by meshuganater.
Tags: online poker, poker, Poker Myths, superstitions