 Importance of self confidence in poker, by Marcus Bateman, Betfair Poker
'All it takes is confidence' - Bryn Kenney, professional poker player and winner of over one million dollars in online cash games and tournaments.
OK, maybe you need a little more than just confidence (sorry Bryn), and you will need to learn about the ins and outs of the game to a high level, but what Bryn is saying is actually very close to being true. Confidence is a huge part of any poker players game, and if you start to lose it you will quickly start losing that other all important part of poker - money.
This is particularly true in 'big bet' games such as no limit hold'em and pot limit Omaha, where your confidence levels have to be consistently high due to the razor edge decisions you frequently have to make. If you are not confident in your game then you will not feel able to make those all important big bluffs and calls which separate the winners from the losers and break even players in these games.
When your confidence is running high it can feel like any game on earth is beatable, with a player able to consistently bully and read their opponents with an aggressive and confident style. When you lose your confidence the opposite is usually true - you feel like a fish at every table you sit down at, seem to lose part after pot when you lack the courage to fire that last bullet or make that key call, and generally just haemorrhage money in every direction.
The hardest thing to deal with about confidence is that is extremely hard to get back. Sports psychologists in all fields of sport are paid millions and millions of dollars each year by managers and sports stars in ana attempt to help the regain confidence and form - and still no single coherent answer has been found. In poker, probably the first step to regaining confidence is to take a break. Losing lots more money will simply make the problem worse - by moving your mind and your money away you will often be able to start regaining your confidence immediately.
Once you have taken a break one of the best way to regain confidence is to study. It may be that your confidence is down because a leak has developed in your game and your not winning at your usual rate - by reading as much as possible or using any other of the myriad of resources available to improve your game you may well be able to not only regain your confidence, but also plug a leak in your game. Never stop learning, take a break when things are going badly and let your confidence levels rise as high as possible.
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