When poker players sit in tournaments, they have eyes on them from around the world. They have the same reputation as athletes who play brain games like chess. Becoming a professional poker player may seem easy, but it requires years of training and discipline to reach a certain level of professionalism. The poker pros follow a routine every day and stay in their discipline to stay connected to the game. They have a bunch of etiquettes that they follow at all times when they are playing the games.
Poker requires discipline for many reasons. People do not realize that poker can be a very complex game that can take years to master despite knowing the rules. The pros do not just understand the rules but practice them every day to find new strategies to influence the game. Only with the right discipline, a poker player can achieve the heights and reputation of the top poker players in the world. Here are some common poker etiquettes that every rookie should know about.
Money management
If you are serious about a career in poker, you need to first understand how much you can afford to lose in order to win. Money management is the key to play smart in poker. You cannot have a long run if you do not know when to stop playing. Set limits for your profits and losses, so you are never too greedy and never chase your losses. Good money management for poker players is to play with only 2-5% of their total account balance.
Build strategies
Poker professionals play every day and practice their old and new strategies in the games. It helps them stay sharp and also figure out how their strategies perform in real games. If you play once a month, you are not trying to be a professional. You are only trying to get lucky. Pros have a daily routine to spend time in the games trying to improve their game.
Show respect
Poker pros have the discipline of respecting everyone at the gaming table. Their etiquettes are meant to keep everyone comfortable around them. Yelling, blaming others, damaging the cards, being a sore loser are some of the things no professional is interested in doing. They know how to behave with the dealers, their opponents, and other casino staff members. They have the personality of being gracious about their wins and losses.
Studying other players
Pros spend hours understanding the strategies used by their opponents who will be playing against them in the coming matches. They watch each and every professional game and record it to play it again and again to understand the strategies and tells of other players. It helps them develop counters for the strategies they see other players using. Although it is a boring task to watch the games, again and again, it is their discipline that demands this to be done.