Ask yourself this, "Why do I play poker?" What is your motivation for sitting down at a poker game? Is it for the entertainment value? Do you get a thrill from being in a big pot? When you get pocket rockets and a ton of callers and an ace hits the flop; does your heart race as if on a monster rollercoaster ride? It's exciting, isn't it? There's nothing wrong with this. As long as you can afford the disposable income, there's no reason you can't treat poker as any other recreation or hobby. But...

Maybe you have loftier ideas. You might think you have what it takes to be a winner: to actually create a source of income from your recreation. This goal requires a whole different approach to the game: a different mindset. No longer can you be a gambler and chase the thrill of the game. Chance can not be the determining factor whether or not you win. You have to set aside the thrill of the ride and become a player.

A player uses knowledge of the game to develop successful strategies. The first step is to become a student of the game. There are many books that teach strategies to beat the game. Additionally, there are magazines, newsgroups, seminars, websites, veteran advice, observation, etc. All of which have the potential to improve your game. But, knowledge alone will not suffice. Knowledge of the game is like the difference between being in a strange house and fumbling around in the dark vs. navigating your own home in the dark. To be truly successful there is another hill to climb.

The last hill is the ability to execute the winning strategies. I mean always execute. Not just some of the time or most of the time: but all of the time. This is the most challenging issue a successful player has to face. You can have all the knowledge of the game possible and still be incapable of applying it. Most people can't get past their number one enemy - themselves.

To win at playing poker the one person you have to consistently defeat is yourself. You have to fight the pitfalls that are the cause of bad play.

Although it is satisfying in its own way, playing winning poker is not generally exciting; it is a frustrating and boring affair. Waiting for the good starting hands can be maddening. It can literally drive a person to drink. The temptation to widen your hand selection is incredible: just to relieve the monotony. To make things worse, the whole time you are tossing away hands, you have to pay minute attention to what the other players are doing. You're trying to pick up 'tells', betting patterns, player types, etc... Distracting you is your chatty neighbor, the cute waitress, the TV. Can you, after what seems to be a hundred hands of rags, throw away that A7 suited; and still keep your head in the game with the NBA finals on the TV overhead? The ability to do so is a mark of a pro.

Here is a scenario to observe. The next time you get into a new game that is just starting; watch the other players. Something like the following will happen. At first the game will be very tight. With the start of a new session the players have the resolve to play good. This resolve won't last long. After a few hands, no longer than a half a hour, the players will get bored and the game will loosen up a bit. Awhile longer and there is bound to be a bad beat and someone will go on tilt. By this time, a couple of players will be stuck. Getting a bit frantic, they will start chasing their lost money with bad hands; hoping to quickly get even. Maybe, a player or two will suggest potting for a drink, then order cocktails. A drink or two in a person almost always results in bad play.

Do you have the mental fortitude to avoid not only the above pitfalls, but also the many more that I haven't mentioned? This is the ultimate demon that separates the players that win from the rest of the population. A winner has that unique quality that most lack: self-discipline. Total control over what they do regardless of the environment. None of their decisions are made from emotions or moods. Reasoning, knowledge, and maybe a little intuition are what guide their game. So, ask yourself, do you have what it takes.