Its been awhile

I had planned to try to write and post at least every other day so that I could learn more about myself. Writing is such a powerful tool. I wish I could get back to where I was constantly writing, it allowed me to put my thoughts down without seeming silly or troubling anyone else. It was my own little world on paper and the possibilities were endless. To put yourself out there, to lay everything down for someone to see, it takes strength.

Anyways what does this have to do with poker? A lot. If I am constantly learning, if I am always honest and open with myself, then I can apply that to my game, information is power and once you know yourself, once you know your tendencies, your purposes, your complexes... you're able to know and understand everyone else. That's why I want to write more, observe more, so that I can continually improve. I never want to stop approaching things with a humble, willing to learn attitude. How you view yourself and others, affects the way other people view you too. That's what poker is all about. Its not the cards, its the people. Its always the people, how you react and deal with each individual, but most importantly how you react and deal with yourself.

Sigmund Freud once said "A man should not strive to eliminate his complexes but to get into accord with them: they are legitimately what directs his conduct in the world"

If we could get into a rhythm with our intricacies, with ourselves, it would make finding the rhythm of other things and manipulating that so much easier. To get into someones head and predict how they will react, what they will do, wouldn't seem so hard if we could first be able to know and react to ourselves completely. This is what I want to strive for.

Then we could take this idea a step further, and take all this knowledge that we have and get creative. To use your imagination with sound logical knowledge.. I believe that is the most powerful concept that needs to be fully understood. Knowledge is limited, so putting that together with your imagination.. you can create a whole world of possibilities, you can reach so many levels that you never thought possible.

Basically its just using your right brain and left brain together. Your left brain to process information and come to logical conclusions, and your right brain to push the boundaries that your left brain has set, to think of all the outcomes, to see all the possibilities that your single action can create. To always have a purpose with your actions, by using sound principles, facts and observations ..you then take that action further by stretching it with your imagination, being able to create so many possibilities for your single purpose. Then you use the process of elimination to find the perfect action, the correct method to accomplish your purpose for the specific situation.

Poker is a combined art and science. Knowing what to do, which is the science, is part of it, but the most important part is knowing how to do it at the exact right time and that is the art. To bring two generally conflicting things together. To use both your left and right brain. Knowledge and Imagination. Logic and Intuition.

Consider this: If you're taking in everything possible versus your opponent, and considering all the variables in the current situation you must be using all the levels of thinking. Meaning, you're not only thinking of what you have and what you are doing but you're thinking of your hand in relation to other hands, you're taking into account the possibilities of what your opponent has. Then you take that information and ask yourself what do they (meaning your opponent) think that I have, what am I representing? Next comes, What does he think that I think that he has, what does he think that he is representing and making me think. What does he believe he is trying to portray for me to believe? And yes, it even goes a step further. What does he think that I think that he thinks I have? Its quite hard to explain. When you accomplish all this, you're thinking at the highest level possible. You're playing world class poker. You're getting inside your opponents mind. You know him almost better than he knows himself. That is the level I want to achieve.

But it all starts with yourself.

"Poker is so much more than a game where one set of cards is compared to another with the better hand winning. It is a game of personalities. Unless you know yourself better than anyone else does, you will be at a disadvantage."


"At the table, your worst enemy is yourself"
-Stu Ungar


I guess I just wrote my first psychology article. There is just so much to this game called Poker.

-Sydney