Tournament Strategies
After receiving pocket cards, you are immediately faced with a choice: play your cards and either raise or call the blinds, or fold.
Practice Matters
Some of us are much better
Some of us are much better about controlling our emotions and ego at the table, but most of us, no matter how good we are at this, could make dramatic improvements in learning how to re-center ourselves, and be FULLY in the moment. The reality is, the day's events, the current bad beat you took, the horrible fight you had with your partner, the cat you ran over on the way to the casino, are all going to affect every decision you make at the table. And, as you should fully understand, playing your most profitable poker has to do with making the BEST decision possible as consistently as possible over a long period of time.
So, consequently, your current state of mind
So, consequently, your current state of mind when you sit down at the table is a crucial factor in determining how successful you can really be at poker. This is poker at an even higher level; this is the game you'll be playing against yourself your entire life. It should make a lot of sense then that not only do you have to learn how to play against an array of different personality types on the felt, but you have to learn how to play against your ego, while balancing your emotional state.