Why You May Not Be As Good a Player As You Think You Are, And What You Can Do Today To Become a Better One by: Lou Krieger from Royal Vegas Poker.

 

Ask any poker player if they consider themselves to be good at the game, and to a man or to a woman; after all, they're not exempt from poker ego either they'll assure you that their skills range anywhere from good to great. I don't know about you, but when I hear "good to great" spouting from the lips of just about every player I run across, I'm assuming that nearly everyone at the poker table considers himself or herself to be " better than average." But that can't be. Average, by definition, places one squarely in the midst of the pack, and if everyone were a "good" player, the definition of average would simply be a bit higher on some overall scale of poker skills than most of us would be prone to place it. It's an interesting phenomenon, and one you won't run across in many other endeavors, particularly in competitions where the skills are visible and on display for all to see. Try this if you don't believe me. Pick a tough lineup of poker players. Tournament champs, cash game players, it doesn't matter. Then ask any local amateur player perhaps he's a guy who plays small limit games at his golf club or once a week in the back room of the Elk's Lodge how he'd fare against a tough lineup like that. "I can hold my own," or something similar, is probably what you'll hear in response. But if you'd ask that same guy about his expectations playing one-on-one against a professional basketball player, or what his chances would be in a round of golf against any touring professional, or how many rounds he'd last with a professional boxer, he'll probably offer a slim-to-none assessment. Look forward to more in the next issue...