Intangible Attributes

"You cannot survive without that intangible quality we call heart. The mark of a top player is not how much he wins when he is winning but how he handles his losses. If you win for thirty days in a row, that makes no difference if on the thirty-first you have a bad night, go crazy, and throw it all away." Bobby Baldwin

Individuality. It’s what makes us unique. Other than physical characteristics, there are intangible qualities that exist among many individuals because in the end we are all human. I have identified several of these intangible attributes as distinct weaknesses that refrain players from being consistently profitable. If you've played poker seriously for any amount of time, you've probably hit a downswing & downswings can be completely demoralizing. Downswings cause frustration & frustration develops into tilt that will cause you to adjust to a less than optimal strategy that will eventually lead to mistakes. Downswings are inevitable, but what separates the great players from the good players is their ability to adapt during these unavoidably brutal episodes.

If we strip poker down to its core, it’s essentially a constant emotional struggle for superiority based upon mathematical computations & interpreting the significance of intrinsically incomplete information. Thoughts determine actions & actions determine results, although past results have no direct relationship on future outcomes. I believe that poker psychology is the defining characteristic that is the ultimate difference between breaking even & profitability. Truth can be our most deceptive psychological asset, while lack of emotional control over an extended period of time can only lead to downswings & lack of profitability in our win rate.

Living in the shadows of ADHD & Bipolar disorder, it becomes increasingly more difficult to control the emotions in turn which control me. Impulsivity is merely a lack of consciousness which I happen to experience quite often, but can often lead to the never-ending pursuit of satisfaction for attaining material possessions or exaggerated sense of self-importance. Fear & negativity can only lead to further detrimental behavior that embodies an extreme lack of self-control. The fact of the matter is that it is imperative for me to recognize the situation & react accordingly. The only way for me to take control of my emotions is to develop self-discipline & make rational decisions to rise above the adversity that was created by my unconscious thought process.