Unlike casino gaming, where luck has the final say on who walks away a victor, in poker, skill, strategy, mental fortitude, and other attributes determine outcomes. Below, we supply five characteristics that have led individuals to success in this game, or the industry built around it, and the lessons newbies to poker can draw from these players.
Learn How to Read People – Daniel Negreanu
Kid Poker is one of card gambling’s most famous figures ever. He has two WPT (World Poker Tour) championships and seven WSOP bracelets on his mantle. At the time of writing, he ranked seventh all-time concerning live tournament winnings and has earned a reputation as a man with the uncanny ability to tell what opponents are thinking.
According to him, he learned how to read people’s expressions by watching others at the mall. Those who have never seen this poker virtuoso at work can check out a free clip from his Master Class online, where he pinpoints precise moments from former games in which he picked competitors’ tells, uncovering how he used that info to his advantage. There is an entire nine-lesson section in that course, where Negreanu runs down psychological aspects of poker, regulating emotions at tables, how not to get tilted, masking your tells, and identifying subconscious ones in others.
In Negreanu’s opinion, it is just as important to understand the person you are facing as having a quality grasp on the math behind the game. He also states that he does not believe in bluffing and that reading books on body language is a must for anyone serious about long-term engagement with this activity.
Adapt & Evolve – Doyle Brunson
Nothing stays the same. Even if poker has not drastically changed its rules in over a century, new strategies, theories, and playing styles have emerged. Moreover, technology has brought forward a new level of innovation in how people play, shedding light on new insights. Achieving and maintaining a high level of professionalism in any landscape and adapting to evolving standards is a necessity.
Wise players know they must continuously improve their skills, not to stay ahead of the game, but in line with it. In poker, this means adjusting approaches for combating developing tactics.
The now-deceased poker legend Doyle Brunson, a two-time Main Event WSOP champion, embodies this concept. Brunson had a career spanning over six decades, winning his two titles in 1976 and 1977, but still managed to place high in competitions even in the 2020s. He is best remembered for his adaptive gameplay and strategic depth and is renowned for saying that poker is about making the right decisions.
Resilience Pays Off – Jonathan Tamayo
Before the 2024 WSOP Main Event, few fans even knew who Jonathan Tamayo was, let alone did anyone give him a shot to go in poker’s most prestigious competition. Yet, this Asian-American from Humble, Texas, who began competing in WSOP events in 2007, showed tremendous perseverance in his 2024 run, coming from behind at various points in the tournament, besting a field of over ten thousand players to take home $10 million for his first-place finish.
As the heads-up WSOP Main Event updates started, one of 2024’s favorites, Jordan Griff, held 432.5 million in chips to Tamayo’s 174.5 million. Nonetheless, the Texan turned things around, and his final hand saw a two-pair triumph over Griff’s pair for the big win.
Create a Brand – Phil Hellmuth
Hard-core sports fans know that the cream-of-the-crop athletes make more off the court/field than they do on it. Sponsorship money is often much more lucrative than that sporting league payout. The same holds true for poker, where card players get a significant part of their income from various third parties who cover their travel, accommodations, and contest buy-ins and give them extra money. Such quality deals can lead to long-haul financial security and stability, which is essential for all players, as tournament play often only yields fluctuating earnings. Hence, it is pivotal that every pro looks to build a brand others want to be associated with.
In the case of Phil Hellmuth, the greatest tournament player of all time, most of the mainstream public knows him more for his explosive personality than his card gambling skills. He often gets called a TV show producer’s dream due to the many tantrums he has thrown in games, making him a personality synonymous with poker and having brought him great fame.
You Don’t Have to Leave Your Mark by Only Playing – Phil Galfond
People can also affect the card community from other angles. Phill Galfond, from North Potomac, Maryland, is a respectable tournament competitor, placing as high as 141st in the 2020 WSOP Main Event. Nevertheless, he has made his name in the poker sector through his training site, Run It Once Training, and its real-money variant, Run It Once Poker.
Thus, Galfond has impacted the game he loves as an educator rather than a player, which shows that other avenues for success in poker exist outside of competitive play.