PokerPlasm.com

Card playing isn’t for worriers. It’s not for the drama kings and queens, and it’s not for the emotional.

If you want to be a good card player, you’ve got to be tough. Unflappable. As cool as the Fonze, in a swimming pool, on a sweltering afternoon.

Let those around you sweat, while you remain cool. That’s your edge.

“You called with Jack-seven offsuit? God, I hate amateurs!”

The above speaker is definitely not being cool. Moreover, that statement could be infuriating, or it could be hilarious. Let’s say it’s directed at you. Specifically, you’re in a tournament, the speaker pushed all in, you put her on a small pocket pair, and the pot odds, the amount of chips you have (significantly more than the speaker) and the timing of the tournament lead you to call. She turns over 6-6.

Your call, based on the totality of the circumstances, was pretty good. Now let’s say your opponent’s done quite a few things over the course of the tournament that were much more questionable than your call (which is why she had fewer chips than you in the first place). In short, you know she’s not as good of a poker player as you are (and certainly not as good as she thinks she is). But she’s bitching about your play, she seems to think she’s the second coming of Annie Duke (or, hell, she might be Annie Duke), and the bottom line is, she’s annoying. To make matters worse, you’re playing in a tournament with a $20 buy-in, in somebody’s basement. So she’s not exactly a pro, but she’s making snide comments about what she perceives as ‘amateurish’ play.

Her comment could have a few different effects on you.

1) You get pissed off. This is completely understandable. On the other hand, it’s the wrong way to react, and it can only hurt your chances in the tournament. This isn’t really a street fight, where anger can give you a surge of adrenaline that aids you in defeating your enemy. In poker, anger only hurts. It never helps.
2) You feel the need to defend your decision. This is even more understandable. It’s human nature to want to defend yourself when you believe that you are right. This is where poker goes against human nature. Defending yourself is human nature, but bad poker strategy. NEVER do ANYTHING to educate your opponents, and NEVER, NEVER, NEVER give them insight toward how you play a hand! Smart players will pick up on your style, to some degree, and you can’t avoid that, but to tell people how you play is simply foolish.
3) Laugh. Her statement was funny! Here is this second rate player, who thinks she’s Annie Duke, playing in some idiot’s basement, making questionable moves all night and then sneering at your correct play as ‘amateurish.’ It’s funny on more than one level, and when something is funny, you’re supposed to laugh. It’ll piss her off even more, and it’ll allow her to continue to see you as an inferior player, to continue to be blind of your strategies, AND THAT’S WHAT YOU WANT.

Poker is fun. It’s relaxing. But it’s competitive. And competitive events can get people riled up.

To stay ahead of the competition, AVOID getting riled up. Keep your emotions in check. Your emotions will NEVER win you money. Your cool, clear minded strategies will.

Grifter Jim is a senior writer for PokerPlasm.com.