The Tao of Poker

I found a post by someone who goes by the handle of Demilano in the General forum of mASF about inner game. In the thread, he talks about something called “The Tao of Poker” by Larry W. Phillips, and how there are some similarities between the concepts in poker and the concepts in pick-up. I found it to be rather interesting, especially since I like to indulge in the occasional hand of Texas Hold ‘Em every once in a while. =)

“The Tao of Poker” by Larry W. Phillips

Rule #1 – Don’t dig yourself into a hole when you first sit down.
“Start slow, observe for awhile. Give yourself time to watch the texture of the game unfold and see how players are playing in order to get yourself into the feel of it and the rhythm of it.”
“Money you don’t lose is just as real as money that you win.” – Roy Cooke

Rule # 5 – If you do make a mistake, correct it as soon as you can.
“Correct yourself at the next available opportunity in the hand. Don’t just keep throwing good money after bad.”

Rule #12 – If you find playing poker is thrilling, adventurous and exciting, there’s a good chance you may be playing it wrong.
“One little-mentioned aspect of poker is that, when played correctly, it can be slightly boring. Not boring in the sense of the word, but in the choice of one’s responses. These responses are pretty scripted. You get a certain hand, you do a certain thing. Stray too far outside this predictable script, and the odds will turn against you.”

Rule #20 – Concentrate on how you are playing, not on whether you are winning.
“The idea of winning money is a false goal. You can actually be playing quite poorly and be winning quite handily. Give yourself a pat on the back every time you make a correct play, not every time you rake the pot.”

Rule #27 – Get a bigger bankroll.
“Failure to have a big enough bankroll is a common failing in poker. It can lead to all types of adverse effects. The feeling that every hand is a life or death matter, overly-emotional play, temper tantrums, mood swings, and so on. Having an adequate bankroll allows us to suffer the natural swings of fortune that take place, and it lets us do so with composure and equanimity. One ought to try to get one’s bankroll to a large enough amount so that the outcome of any one hand has no effect whatsoever on one’s play.”

Rule #36 – One of the main ways we improve in the game of poker is by getting certain lessons pounded into our head.
“Books, seminars, and other kinds of advice are all well and good, but nothing instructs us in certain lessons like experience. Lessons learned through painful experience tend to form a deep groove in the brain.”
“You can close your eyes to reality, but not to memory.” – Stanislaw J. Lec
“When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.” – Folk saying

Rule #54 – Retain your ability to control events at all times, in increments.
“Control is control. Very few people seem to know this important truth. The rule is to keep control of the joystick at all times. The joystick of control means to be able to go forward or back at all times and on a moment’s notice. This is what control means. (And it is what the pros do.) There isn’t any excuse like I was already committed or I had developed my own momentum by that point and couldn’t stop. The true professional in anything has control at each increment. He can turn on a dime. There is more to his control panel then stop and start. There is a whole incremental range in between. Control means the ability to think at each new moment.”

Rule #79 & 80 – In the whole poker process, the least stable part is the player. Master yourself.
“The true glitch in the system is the human element. The weak link in the chain is us.”
“The nature of the gambling experience drags our emotions and fears to the surface and forces us to deal with them.” – Miron Stabinsky, Zen and the Art of Casino Gaming
“To play at the top of your form, you cannot be emotionally involved in the results.” – Anrold Snyder, Card Player Magazine

Rule #215 – Poker is a life-lesson on how to make mistakes.
“Poker teaches us many lessons. One lesson that it teaches is how to make mistakes. Make them with composure. Make them without putting a lot of emotion into them (both during and after). Make them without denial, blame, self-blame, or second guessing. Don’t make them in a way that extends them or exaggerates them, so they lead to even more problems. Confine their area of influence. Correct them, learn from them, move on.”

You can find the original Tao of Poker post on the some day trade forum here.