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Improve Your Online Poker Play - Control Your Emotions

Expect to feel every emotion in the book during a session of poker, from the thrill of victory to the agony of defeat. I like what Lyle Berman, a founder of the World Poker Tour and an extraordinarily successful businessman and poker player, said: "In one session of poker, you can experience every possible emotion and learn a lot about a person. You see him during his good times, and you see him during his bad times." He's right. You truly can get to know people by watching them play poker.

You can learn a few things about yourself, too. I know poker players who are quite skillful at poker and should be very successful at the game, yet they don't win at the tables. How can that be? It's because they don't have the right temperament for poker. They get too frustrated with the bad beats and become aggravated. And even when they do win, they're miserable! My advice is this: if poker makes you feel miserable, why play it? If it frustrates you to the point that you slam your fists on the table or bang your head against the wall, maybe poker isn't the game for you.

Make no mistake about it, folks,you're going to face frustration when you play poker. Maybe you couldn't have played a hand more perfectly, yet you still lost the pot. You're going to take bad beats— that's poker! And until you accept them as a part of the natural flow of action in poker, you won't be able to tolerate the emotional swings that you ultimately will have to endure at the poker table.

Tournament poker can be even more frustrating than cash games because when you run out of chips, you're out of the game. In a cash game, you can reach into your back pocket and buy more chips; but when you're playing in a tournament, you can't do that—you're history, you have to wait until the next tournament to get back into action.

Believe me, it can be maddening when you're in a pot in which you couldn't get your money in any better. Suppose you couldn't be in a much better situation—you've got your opponent between a rock and a hard place, and he has to draw to a two-outer with one card to go in order to beat you. All your money is in the pot when bang! He hits his dream card, a 20-to-l shot, and it's bye-bye, birdie for you. It happens—and it's going to happen to you when you play poker. I don't care who you are, what stakes you play, or how big a tournament you're playing in—it's going to happen from time to time.

If you can learn to deal with that kind of adversity, poker can make you a stronger person. Poker is about competing with your opponents, as well as—and perhaps even more so—yourself. Remember this: you can't control luck, but you can control how you react to it. If you can tolerate the ups and downs of poker and learn to keep your emotions in check when you suffer a bad beat, it will help you deal a little better with stress in the rest of your life.

The world of poker expands by the day. The most recent innovation is a mobile version of Texas Hold 'Em played on cell phones. This exciting new variation allows you to play against other players for fun and sometimes prizes and also allows you to practice your skills without lugging around a computer. You can learn more about the World Poker Tour Texas Hold 'Em wireless game at PokerGTA.com.

Online poker is fun and exciting, but it can also be addictive. Be careful about playing too much and/or losing more than you can afford. Enjoy playing poker, but don't let it rule your life. After all, it is just a game.

Online gaming may not be legal in certain jurisdictions. Make sure to consult with the appropriate authorities in your area before you play for money online.