Relax Your Way to Winning at Poker

There was a book that came out a number of years ago, Zen and the Art of Poker, that took more than a dash of Eastern Philosophy (specifically Zen) and applied it to the game we love. Taking more of a pop culture view of things, getting Zen with your poker would be more along the lines of relaxing, letting go, and being in tune. When faced with huge swings of money and pride, relaxing your way to winning at poker is key.

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Poker is a game that can drive a person to drink. While it only takes a few minutes to master the basics, true mastery is a life time away. Many people don't have that kind of time to spend becoming superior masters of Texas Hold'em, and so they spend hours playing a game that invariably frustrates them as some subtle nuance escapes them and they lose.

Here is the advice to counter that situation: relax.

There is more to it than just that, of course, but relaxing will get you there. A mind in a state of relaxation will be more open to possibilities – both those going on in the game before you and those you can learn from the game after the fact. A closed, agitated mind is not conducive to growth.

You are going to lose at the game, much more often than you win. You are going to have concepts that you thought you understood turn and bite you, leaving you hurt and flummoxed. You will play perfect games and still lose due to luck. Through it all you will get angry, sad, frustrated, hurt, wounded, annoyed – sounds like a fun game, doesn't it?

You will have all of these things happen to you regardless of how well you play – but if you play well you will win as much as you can. To play well you have to minimize these emotions, which have a negative impact on your all-important decision making ability. To maximize your potential… just relax.