It is true for every sport that discipline is a key factor in consistent success. Despite the common understanding that poker is a gambling game of chance, you have to realize that if one day you are to become a profitable pro, you will have to establish sportsmanlike discipline of learning, understanding, and incessant practice. “Talent” is certainly essential, but even the greatest talent needs a method, and method is acquired from careful study.

In fact, there is no such thing as spontaneous talent: music did not “just made sense” to Mozart – where would he be if he hadn’t spent his childhood practicing? One could say that talent is well-practiced potential. But don’t wait for a freaky father to hit you with a rod over your fingers every time you play the wrong card; impose your own discipline.

The fun of the game to most amateurs lies in the excitement of pitting themselves against blind chance. Poker is popular because of the adrenaline rush that comes with taking a risk. The professional knows his basic chances at poker, but rather than having a pleasurable time, he studies and takes advantage of opponents’ mistakes, remembers them and uses them against them while calculating immediate odds. Chance is only one element to challenge his skill and wits. The pro is not playing a half-blind game of chance, he is playing a strategic game of matching himself against another’s method and besting him.

Because of the many varieties of poker out there that are regularly played, you must learn them all. You must find the one that is best suited to your intuitions, likes and aptitudes. The one that engages you most fully and keeps you focused is the one to choose. Not having this self-imposed introspection, players find themselves plodding soddenly along in a game which is not turning on their best instincts. A professional will tell them to try another form of the game. They are probably amazed at what a talented performer they have become should they take the pros advice.

There is a big difference between limit and no-limit poker. A disciplined player will not yield to temptation and will prefer the game in which he feels in full, cucumber-cool control. In limit poker, disciplined players tend to play with caution, act cool, taking the time to covertly collect information about opponents, intending to milk them by small moves. They will play only the hands worth playing: the best ones play only about 20% of the hands dealt them.

A disciplined no-limit professional will evince the opposite of reserve, will be aggressive before the flop, and will play hands that to the limit expert would seem reckless stunts, always knowing, however, what precisely he is trying to achieve by every aggressive move.

No matter which type of poker the pro is playing, he knows when to fold up his tent, quit the frustration, and move on to other things.

You must never believe that your good fortune, on better days, will go on for eternity. Learn to leave while you are still hot, not when you cool off. During each session, you must not only have a cap on your losses, but also on your gains.

The author is a successful limit cash game player. He plays poker online and receives Fat Bet Rakeback as well as Aced Rakeback.