<: Introdution :>

<: Our Story :>

Poker's Playing Within Your Comfort

If life is best lived in a zone of comfort, which I most certainly believe it is, then, assuredly, poker should be, too. My comfort zone may not be yours, in fact, it almost certainly isn't. I play a gentle game. I let the cards do most of the talking. Position is paramount. I bluff, but not all that often. My game is "tight with a twist." When I play this way, I am comfortable. Win or lose, I like my game.

But my game is not for everyone. I know players, good ones, who would go absolutely freakin' nuts trying to play like I do. They crave; they love the tension of playing on the edge. They hammer tables, intimidate people, raise on a prayer, and do pretty damn well. I know others who seem as soft as a newborn baby's bottom. They sit there quietly and fold, fold, fold, fold. Their game is built around mathematics, and they won't risk a plugged nickel without a statistical edge. These guys think that watching paint dry is exciting. I know one who claims he can sit in his garden on a warm spring day and watch the petals of a rose unfold. He's a winning player.

Bill Gates plays poker, which is a very interesting tidbit. I am told that he plays in poker rooms around Seattle and loves hold'em. He also has. To my knowledge, never played for stakes higher than $10-$20, a fact that, if true, is nothing short of wonderful. While the richest man in all of creation plays for barely roasted peanuts, down in Vegas "The Big Game" goes onstage almost every night. There, the top-of-the-line crowd hunkers down and plays a rotating game of stud, hold'em, and a couple of split games at anywhere from $2,000-$4,000 to $20,000-$40,000. Bill Gates could sit down in this game, lose every bloody hand he played for six months, and never even notice the impact on his financial state. Sheesh, the guy could play $1,000,000-$2,000,000, and it would have the same negligible impact on his bankroll.

Gates plays $10-$20 because he is a very smart poker player, and he knows where his comfort zone is. Doyle Brunson plays in the big game because he is a very smart poker player, and he knows where his comfort zone is. And for every poker player, there will be a different, very personal comfort zone. Sometimes it will be dictated by money, sometimes by ego, sometimes it gets pushed in novel ways by the people at the table. Sometimes it is just what feels right, right now.

If we understand this, will it help our game? Sure, but there are a couple of things you need to do before it all makes sense. First, you need to find your own personal comfort zone. This sounds easy, but it isn't. You really have to play for some time before you can appreciate how your emotions swing back and forth at the table. It will take a lot of experience before you come to understand what is going on inside your head. My advice: Look for a sense of satisfaction. Try to find in yourself a feeling that you do, indeed, have a decent grip on the game in front of you.

This sense of well-being should be independent of whether you are winning or losing at the time. I know this sounds a bit odd, but I am serious. Your sense of comfort at the table should come from the knowledge that you feel like you are making good poker decisions. When you make the right decisions, the results will take care of themselves. If you focus too much on short-term outcomes, you're doing it all wrong.

Second, learn to sense when you're not in the zone. Practice turning your own radar in on yourself. If Gates were to play a game as pedestrian as $50-$100, he would not be a happy camper. He would not feel comfortable. Money is beside the point. Brunson has stated on several occasions that he simple cannot drop down to play at levels as low as $400-$800. It just doesn't "do anything" for him. It bores him. He does not feel comfortable. Money is beside the point. Neither of them would be making a good poker decision under these circumstances: Gates would be feeling tense and uneasy; Doyle wouldn't be paying proper attention to the nuances of the game and his opponents.

Remember, when you find your style, the one that makes you feel good about yourself and the game, you've gone a long way toward becoming a solid, winning player.