Five New Year's Resolutions for poker players

Barry Carter ends the year with suggestions for new poker habits in 2018, whether you are a recreational player or a professional.

Start a conversation at the poker table (or at least don’t stall)

I was really encouraged in 2017 to see how poker players are taking the speed of the game and the overall enjoyment of it seriously. We have seen lots of innovations to make the game faster and more sociable including shot clocks and device free tournaments. We also made a hero of John Hesp who reminded the poker world that this game is supposed to be fun.

If I could encourage a micro habit for everyone in poker to start doing in 2018 it would be to simply start conversations at the live poker table (or occasionally reply to people in the online chat box). Not to ‘get reads’ or create an image, just for its own sake. Everyone knows it is important to make poker sociable and I think it is simply habit that makes live poker less chatty than it could be.

If you are not the sociable type or really like to focus, at a minimum stop the tanking and take the headphones out. You don’t need to be a raconteur but you can certainly stop contributing to the problem.

Learn the basics of Bitcoin

I’ve written about this already and I certainly am not suggesting you invest in Crypto, but you are going to get very bored, very quick, in 2018 if you have no idea what everyone is talking about. The poker community already spend a lot of time chirping about Bitcoin and it will happen a lot more in 2018.

Like I mentioned in my previous article, it’s important to keep an eye on it because not only will a major surge or crash impact the poker economy, it is almost certainly going to impact deposit methods and maybe even security in the future of online poker. Arm yourself with that knowledge now so you are not lost later.

Use poker to learn something new

If your life is all about poker it can make for an existential crisis if and when you fall out with the game. A lot of professional poker players find they are unsure about what to do if they ever want to get a ‘real’ job and a game with so many swings can burn out the best of us.

The people I have noticed who are most energetic about poker also use their enthusiasm for the game to broaden their horizons. Using it as an excuse to travel is perhaps the most obvious example, but there are lots of ways you can use poker as a proxy for learning something else.

Creative poker players have used the game to create content and YouTube channels. Players like Lex Veldhuis have reinvented themselves as Twitch streamers and de facto broadcasters. Many poker players have used the game to become good at other pursuits like eSports and trading. Then you have perhaps the most obvious current example, using their poker skills to learn about Cryptocurrency. It even helps if you are interested in improving your basic maths. 

There is so much more to poker than just poker, make the most of it.

Remember a poker room is just a product

Time to vent. In the last year or so I have noticed a certain ugliness in the way people talk about poker rooms, the people who work for them and sponsored players. The language in which I am seeing people talk about online poker rooms or live tours they dislike reminds me of the ugly tribal rhetoric we usually only see in politics. Because poker players invest time and money in a poker room, they sometimes feel betrayed when that same room makes changes they do not like.

So in 2018 I would hope poker players stop taking poker operator decisions so personally. If PokerStars get rid of a promotion you enjoyed or the WSOP remove an event you wanted to play, this is not something you should be consumed by. If a poker room literally stole money off you (like Absolute Poker did) that is, of course, different. But a poker room is just a product like your iPhone or your favourite brand of beer. If you like what they are putting out there keep buying, if you don’t, vote with your feet.

If you have found yourself calling a poker operator you don’t like obscene names, or called them a ‘cancer’, or anyone who endorses them a ‘shill’, take a step back and reevaluate whether this is really how you want to spend your year. Poker is just a game and customers fortunately have a lot of choice these days, there is no need to make a major issue of it.

Talk poker (in our forums and beyond)

On a positive note, and I suggest this every year, the best way to learn is just to talk about poker. I have interviewed pretty much all the top players and want genuinely unites most of the interviews is they all cite discussing poker with likeminded players as the best way to improve. You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with, so if you rub shoulders with top players, you will unconsciously do the things needed to move closer to them in ability.

A great place to start, though we are obviously biased, would be forums like the ones we have here at PokerStrategy.com. Get your hands ripped apart, get important concepts explained in a more personal manner and share a few cat memes along the way.

Whatever your goals in 2018 and beyond, all the best from everyone at PokerStrategy.com.

What are your resolutions for 2018? Let us know in the comments: