You are a bad player. Trust me on this.

[Talking Poker]

Ok, maybe you're not "bad," but you're not as good as you think you are.

Have you ever noticed how virtually all poker players think they are good poker players? Have you ever noticed how players that you are 100% sure are BAD players - big time LOSING players - honestly believe they are good? If they aren't in complete denial about their losses (losing players usually don't keep records), they chalk their losing up to bad luck. Why is this?

I have a theory. I think it's easier to spot a player that is worse than you than it is to spot a player who is better than you. It's easy to see people make -EV moves that you understand, but it's difficult to recognize good moves that you don't yet comprehend. Because of this phenomenon, I think Joe Poker Player can easily look around and spot a bunch of bad players, so he therefore assumes he must be a good player. Well, I've got news for him: He's not.

I think this applies to everyone. Take me, for example. One year ago, I thought I was a pretty good poker player, and I was (I have the records to prove it). But I can say with certainty that I am a better player now. It would be silly for me to think I won't continue to get better in the future, so I'm sure I still have a lot of room to grow, even though I don't necessarily see it right now. Over time, we start to understand more subtle plays and plug the minor leaks in our games. I've done quite a bit of this over the past year, and I hope I continue to do so in the future.

Anyone can spot a complete fish. For a long time now, I've been able to sit down at a poker table and very quickly spot the hotshot who think's he is God's gift to poker, but in reality is far from it. Maybe his play isn't the worst I have ever seen, but it's still BAD. He still make fundamental mistakes. I'm sure this guy is a losing player. We all know the type. Sometimes it's quite comical.... I especially like when the hotshot feels the need to rip into the players who are worse than him - the ones who are making massive -EV plays. I admit, I've let my frustration get the best of me in the past, but this is a TERRIBLE idea. Talk about -EV! You WANT to play with the fish. Don't scare them off, and don't educate them. Just sit there and ride it out and you'll get paid off in the long run. If you must blow off some steam, do what I do - go off on the guy who is ripping into your fish.

Anyway, back to what I was saying...... In addition to spotting all the losing players, I am now easily able to spot winning players who aren't as good as I am - guys with minor leaks in their game. They are solid players and I'm sure they can grind out winning sessions, but they still have room to improve. I used to be one of these guys.

The point is, I am sure there are people who play with me who see leaks in my game that I don't see myself (yet). I'm a good poker player, but I'm not the best. Far from it, in fact. With experience, I hope to continue to improve my game. Someday, I want to be able to sit down at almost any poker table and KNOW that I am the best player there. But in the mean time, I'm happy to admit that I still have room to grow.

I think poker players would be doing themselves a favor if they would realize (admit) one simple thing: You're not as good as you think you are.