The poker game is one of the most played ones worldwide. Since people got the chance to play the poker game online through many different legit and reliable gambling sites such as 22bet, the amount of poker players is growing more and more by each day. Poker is one incredibly thrilling and entertaining game, so it is not strange to hear that people adore playing it. However, this game is not included in the category of easy ones. Why, do you ask?
There is no professional poker player who would allow himself to play the game without a strategy development. Unfortunately, there is one more important factor included in this game that you need to pay attention to, aside from developing strategies that will bring you profit. More precisely, many poker players do not think about the human side of the game and the importance of the psychology factor in poker. You can not just set at the table, be focused only on your cards and not on the people you are playing with and their behavior. Primarily, you need to understand and recognize how your thoughts, feelings and overall appearance is influencing the way you are playing and how you behave.
Not only that you can take advantage of that, but you will also be able to use the same psychology observation on other players. When you understand the psychology of the game, you will be able to read your opponent’s thoughts and get a deeper awareness of everyone’s personality and nonverbal communication.
Know Yourself First
The truth is that all expert poker players are considered the most delusional type of people. They always know what they are doing, even though it can seem like they are mistaking. However, they did not raise at the wrong time, or they did not fold without the reason why they are supposed to. You primarily need to establish your own tactics and strategy. And then see how you can delusion people. Your good hand will not have a chance if the other opponents realize how happy you are. You need to learn to be cold at any time.
What About Competition and Ego?
Competition brings out ego in every player because logically, everyone has the desire and interest to win and beat others. However, it is even harder to lose in poker than it is in any other game. The reason for this is because if you lose, you are not only losing your money, but additionally, you are losing your pride. Every poker player feels that his pride is at stake when he is playing. In other words, this means that other players have been smarter, stronger, and better than you. However, you should focus better on your confidence. You need to be confident enough to never show any sign of weakness because your opponents will feel it and use it against you. That is why you need to have faith in yourself. We understand that losing hurts, however, do not blame yourself. That is why you need to practice a lot and invest huge patience and effort to look and feel confident while playing. In that way, no one will know will consider you as the weak one.
Find your Own Playing Style
To dive deeper into your poker psychology, you need to pay attention and think about your own playing style. More precisely, you should start asking yourself why are you even playing a poker game in the first place. For instance, are you playing this game to have fun and interact with other players, or do you enjoy the thrilling of competition and unknown outcomes? Maybe you are playing it to prove something to yourself? You need to realize that whatever your reason is, it will be reflected in your own playing style. You can read books as much as you want, learn different strategies, calculate the percentages, but nothing of that you learn will make you a professional poker player. Only you can do it! You need to find your own playing style that works for you and does not reveal it.
You Always Need to Know Your Opponent
There are so many different types of poker players, from those who do not want to lose any of their money, those who just want to have some fun, and the ones that are indifferent. If you want to play the poke at a higher level and approach it as a professional poker player would do, you need to be able to read people you are going to play with. Once you realize their psychologies and their interests, you can put a range of hands and create specific decisions from which your gameplay will benefit.
Understand Basic Poker Playing Styles
There is a saying that the psychology of reading people you are playing with is both an art and a science at the same time. There are generally four crucial categories of players:
- Tight-passive ones (rock)
- Loose-passive ones (calling station)
- Tight-aggressive (TAG) ones (shark)
- Loose-aggressive (LAG) ones (maniac)
This guide can be a good starting point. Logically, there is much more to understand about other players than just putting a label like this on their forehead. However, you should start with realizing which of your opponents weigh in on the passive-to-aggressive and tight-to-loose scales. Everything an individual does, whether it is a move, speak, it reflects on his personality. For instance, aggressive players will tend to force every aspect of their lives, from the way they are dressing, to speaking loudly, to use harsher language, and to placing a large amount of money as well. These players are considered as a type of people who want to intimidate and they love to be in the center of attention. Therefore, you will easily spot a person like this one. However, even though they are easy to spot, it is not very easy to play against them since they have the talent to put their opponents on tilt.
When it comes to passive poker players, you can notice them since they are always the ones that avoid conflict. They are also social by nature, and they are not really good at taking the opponent’s money. Tight players are always very conservative. This counts for all the things they do and how they act. For instance, they will put chips neatly, talk rarely, and dress moderately. When it comes to loose players, you can notice them by their impulsive temper. They are not patient, instead, they are very chatty, freewheeling and they do not really care about anything. However, you should be aware of the stereotypes.
