Poker And Getting Rid of Your First Time Nerves
I really have sympathy for you if you've decided to play poker
for the first time and you've decided that you're brave enough
to try playing against live players. I wish you all the luck and
offer our condolences in advance...
I am kidding!
Of course, we're not here to grieve for your losses in poker in
advance. If you're a first time player and you want to play
against live players, then good for you. And we're here to help
by providing you with useful tips that just may be the keys you
need to survive round after round of poker.
Now, first time players are what most poker veterans refer to as
"calling stations". If you're wondering about the logic behind
the term, it's basically because most first time poker players
have the tendency to call almost all bets without even sparing a
moment's thought on their decisions.
Obviously, if you don't want to be viewed as a "calling station"
(egad!), gain the respect of your fellow poker players and maybe
a share of their chips also, think before you act. Poker is not
just any card game. It's a mental game, a strategic competition
between several players.
If you feel that your nerves are getting the better of you, here
are some tips to get rid of cold feet.
Don't pressure yourself by comparing your skills to other
players'. That's a futile exercise. Naturally, you can't
compare. You're playing for the first time and they're, what,
celebrating their one millionth game? If you accept that,
there's nothing to lose yet there's no harm in trying, you'll
feel much better later on and be able to concentrate more on the
game.
Don't turn your fellow players into gods. Okay, so you've heard
about your opponents' reputations. Say, one is called The
Crocodile because of his ability to snatch you out of the game
in seconds and the other one's called The Rampaging Elephant
because he's always aggressive when it comes to bets. Remind
yourself that before they got their monickers, they were also,
once in their lives, christened as "calling stations"...just
like you. If it helps, mentally replace their faces with funny
looking ones to lessen your feelings of inferiority.
And lastly...relax. I know, it's easier said than done, but you
truly have to relax. Block out everything except for the cards
you're holding and mentally hum a happy song to yourself. If you
let external factors get the better of you, you're dead meat.
But if you succeed in relaxing and focusing completely on your
game, you may just have gotten rid of your nerves for the final
time.