Leave your ego at the door

A common trait amongst winning poker players is they all seem to have bags of confidence but very few of them have an over-inflated ego. There is a reason for this and that is there is no place for an ego at the poker tables and tilting withstanding, egos have probably busted more players than any other factor in poker.

Poker is a game where you sometimes have to swallow your pride, accept you are not good enough and move down in stakes. Failure to do so can and will result in your completely decimating your bankroll. How many people have you read about who burst onto the online Texas Holdem scene, win hundreds of thousands of dollars on a heater but then continue to play in games they clearly have no edge in and lose all their money plus more besides? They simply refuse to believe they are not good enough for these stakes and that their constant losing is from bad luck or poor play from their opponents. They let their ego take control.

Sometimes you simply have to admit defeat and either quit a particular player, leave a table if it becomes too tough for your skill levels or even drop down a level of buy-ins until you have rebuilt your bankroll, skills and confidence. Imagine you decide to play a series of poker cash games against Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Patrik Antonius and Doyle Brunson. Even if you considered yourself one of the best in the world, why would you want to play against this quartet as your edge would be so small it would be insignificant. You would be better off not trying to massage your ego and playing against some weaker players where you have a greater edge and have the potential to make more profits.

To some poker is about becoming the best in the world and playing against the best opposition available but in reality success in poker is measured by how much money you make from the game and if that means playing lesser players then so be it

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