The 10 Commandments of Poker

Introduction

In this section I will discuss with you the Ten Commandments of the game of poker. While these are not the Ten Commandments of biblical origin, the Ten Commandments of poker are more often than not key to success or failure at the poker table.

1st Commandment: Learn the game

The first Commandment “Learn the game” appears to be so trivial that you might forget it once in a while during your poker career. The first Commandment is not only about knowing the rules of the poker variant played, and even here, some players manage to fail, but also about continuous training. There are numerous excellent poker books that want to be read (the best several times). Studying poker theory helps you to acquire new knowledge or deepen existing knowledge. There are also numerous excellent sites and, above all, forums on the Internet, where you can train yourself and learn on a regular basis and get in touch with other players.

2nd Commandment: Play the game

Commandment number 2 “Play the game” is certainly as important as learning poker theory. While most players play a lot more than studying the game, especially talented and ambitious beginners tend to want to understand all the tricks in the game before they venture to the tables. I would like to give you the following tips:

• Start playing as soon as you learn the basics. Start at the lowest limits, but start!
• Play money is not real money. Of course it’s great to try out the basics and mechanics of the game at the play money tables, but playing for real money, even if it’s only cents, is fundamentally different from playing for play money. So once you’re familiar with the basics of the game, find out if you’re comfortable playing for real money, or maybe you’d rather find another hobby. You can play at local casinos (the smallest limits are relatively high) as well as play for small amounts at the poker sites licensed in your country.
• Progress needs practice. Be aware that you will never be one of the best if you only know the game from books, videos and forums. To become better, you need to put the knowledge you have learned into practice.

3rd Commandment: Be Patient

The third Commandment “Be Patient” is one of the golden but most often ignored rules in the game of poker. You don’t have to play all the starting hands, be selective! Be aware of the fact that you can’t always receive good cards. Anyone can win with aces, the difference is how patient you can be with your bad cards and give up round after round when there are no good cards. Winning by Folding!

4th Commandment: Keep calm

The fourth Commandment, “Keep calm”, is also easily ignored. This can result both in increased euphoria in the case of a winning streak, but much more unpleasantly in negative emotions in the case of a losing streak. For the purpose of your calmness make yourself aware again and again:

• Losing is part of the game! If weaker players didn’t win every now and then, they certainly wouldn’t be sitting at the table with you.
• It is better to lose by bad luck than to win by good luck. If you play correctly and end up losing a hand due to bad luck, it may be annoying, but it’s better than doing it all wrong, winning a hand by a lucky shot but losing all your chips to the better players at the table in the long run.
• And even if you feel sometimes that everything that can go wrong goes wrong… After rain comes sunshine… That’s how it is in real life and that’s how it is in poker. Keep calm and keep playing your best game. You will enjoy the successes in the form of won chips almost by force.

5th Commandment: Play the appropriate limits

If you follow the fifth commandment “Play the appropriate limits”, this will save both your nerves and your wallet. Even though it’s fascinating to watch the pros at the high-stakes tables, start small. Prove yourself on the lower limits and when you have beaten them consistently one by one, step by step, you’ll be ready to move up. If you feel uncomfortable at a limit, e.g. because the amounts seem too high to you, get down again. That is no problem. If you don’t beat a limit and keep losing your chips, you can relegate again. This is also not a problem. In poker, unlike many other sports, relegation is the highest form of strength – mental strength – in terms of the limits played.

6th Commandment: Stay focussed

Commandment number 6 “stay focussed” is ignored, especially by advanced players. While the beginner is usually more than sufficiently occupied with making the right decisions, advanced players often feel bored quite quickly. But why then continue to play? My advice for you is:

• During the game you only play
• Do not allow yourself to be distracted by e-mails, Whatsapp, Facebook, youtube, netflix etc.
• I know the next distraction is just a mouse click away, or right next to you in the form of your smartphone.
• However, what prevents you from stopping playing when you feel that some other entertainment is necessary?
• But when you play, play focussed!

7th Commandment: Be humble

Ignoring the 7th commandment “Be humble” is especially tempting for beginners and advanced players, which does not mean that one or the other professional does not also lack a certain amount of humility

Even if you sometimes feel that everything you do works out, every straight comes in, every flush draw becomes a flush… Your winnings don’t grow into the sky by themselves, sunshine is followed by rain. Then remember commandment number four, “Keep calm.”

There is Another aspect that I would like to share with you. Every chip you win means a loss for another player. If you have thought about this and can handle it, look at your winnings with the appropriate humility. If you haven’t thought about it, take a moment to think about whether a hobby where you can only succeed through financial losses of others is really something for you.

8th Commandment: Be tolerant

Commandment number 8 “Be tolerant” is the foundation for successful poker play. Poker is a game with people and people have their peculiarities, and these peculiarities are not to be liked. However, it is recommended to tolerate them. This certainly does not apply to rude or offensive behaviour, but you should always be prepared to put up with the quirks of weaker players. Where else, if not from the weaker players, should your profits come from? In this sense it is understandable that intolerance is often a sign for weaker players. They want to have a good time when they lose. Give them what they need. Be tolerant yourself and keep your own whims under control.

9th Commandment: Seek the balance

Commandment number 9 “Seek the balance” is so important that I did not have the heart to put it at the end of the list. No matter how much you enjoy the game, always remember:

• Life is much more than poker
• This is especially true for interpersonal relationships. In that sense:
  • Be social and never forget:
  • Family, friends and career always come first!

10th Commandment: Enjoy the game

Finally, commandment number 10: “Enjoy the game“. To avoid losing your interest in a great hobby like poker in the long term, be honest with yourself in the short term.
Invest your time in poker (be it in playing the game or in studying the theory and strategies) only as long as you really enjoy it.
If you lack fun, then use the time for family, friends or work. As discussed in the 9th commandment, these always have priority anyway.

Summary and prospects

In this section I have introduced you to the 10 Commandments of the game of poker. Some of them may be self-evident for you anyway (that’s great), others you may have to work on (that’s no shame). The 10 Commandments were:

1. Learn the game
2. Play the game
3. Be patient
4. Keep calm
5. Play the right limits
6. Stay focussed
7. Be humble
8. Be tolerant
9. Seek balance
10. Enjoy the game

If you consider the application of these commandments to your approach to poker, you will discover that they are a real asset not only to your game, but probably also to your overall attitude