Everybody has an opinion about what attributes that a good poker player must possess. If the question were just about an ability to play the game as in athletics, it would be elementary. For example: Question; "Why is it that on any given session anyone can win for a period of time?" Well, the answer lies in the theory that poker requires more than just an ability to play certain hands, read certain tells, playing position, and the like. No, poker is more closely related to who you are at the time. Poker brings into play the question of self, where you are at that time of your life - as it relates to job, relationships, ambition, ORGANIZATION, and FINANCIAL STANDING. On many occasions - while you are playing this fickle game of poker - you'll notice that one or two of all the nine players have most of the chips, particularly if you are playing limit poker where "folding" a hand is not optional! If you are the kind of player that is committed to playing the strongest game possible, then observe the winning player playing the weakest game possible but still winning all of the chips, it will test your resolve! If there is any leakage in your life - forget about leakage in your game - you can succumb to the powers to be, that is, Luck and random occurrence.

This information is well documented through the many thousands of hands that I dealt on the green felt. Once this recognizable, unfair occurrence, kicks in full bloom, are you the kind of player that gets rattled, upset, fighting the -to lash out, vent, rage, when a seemingly unbeatable hand gets beaten - particularly - by the luckiest guy at the table. Only to find him trying to explain away his good fortune by some sort of poker logic! Sheesh man, you got lucky playing every hand because you've got all the chips and this game is just not fair. When this kind of thing is what you're experiencing at the table then you know it is just about YOU and what are YOU going to do about it.

Life is about OPTIONS and so is poker. People can write as many books as they want, but someone please tell me how to deal with SELF - in the moment. There is only one constant in the world as it relates to life; that's self, as in by ones self. Life - as in poker - is a learned behavior. Many times I would see really good players self-destruct behind the pressures and expectations that life and poker would somehow be fair in the end. No such luck! This is the part that's not in the book. The self-preservation, self help, self-starter, self-analyses, all rolled into one at the same time pitfalls that consume all but the ones rooted in the good soil.

I was saying that I loved to gamble right after work in the last article. I remember one casino I was dealing an 8- table rotation - after having been up playing, then dealing for 3 days. That's right, 3 days without sleep - some rest at the table when I was playing but that's it. While dealing graveyard shift every table was in the rotation, so having just dealt the biggest game in the house I was now dealing the smallest -1-2 stud. After delivering the last card I fell sound asleep holding the deck of cards. The nice players at the table let me actually sleep for several minutes while the winner of the hand reached over scooped up the pot while the others talked amongst themselves. I woke up to find out my first lesson in poker and life: There are some really good people right at the table!