Trusting your Poker Instincts

One must learn to trust their gut when playing poker. Your subconscious mind is often aware of that which the logical, conscious mind has not yet figured out.

Gut Feelings

When faced with an important decision in life, at the office, or at the poker table, we often spend more time second guessing ourself than we did reaching an important decision. Sometimes we have the luxury of time to hash out the decision, while other times – such as meeting a deadline on a big project, or whether or not to make a big all-in call late in a poker tournament, we do not have theluxury of time. We have to reach a decision and execute.

Trusting your Gut

As poker players, we have a need to trust our gut feelings, and rightfully so. We’ve seen far too many hands, and are familliar with much more than our conscious mind can comprehend. Often, when I am faced with a big call on the river – my gut tells me to callinstantaneously , but I second guess myself and try to bring reason into the equation. This is twice as bad for extremely logic based thinkers such as myself. I’m often very calculating and methodical in my decision making process. i want to know what I am doing, as well as why.

Realistically, my gut feeling is all I really need to make my decision at the poker table. My gut is in tune with my subconscious mind. My subconscious is in tune with my internalized logic, as well as my past experiences just like the situation I am now facing. Instead of talking yourself out of a big decision late in a poker tournament, take some time to call upon your experiences and poker knowledge and further convince yourself to trust your gut and that the first decision is usually the correct path to take.