No matter which poker book you read or which top pro advises you, there is a resounding communal opinion that when you are playing poker, actually watching the play and concentrating on the action at hand is a key part of winning.

While card rooms have a number of elements that could take away from the focus of the players, such as sporting events on TV or the appearance of attractive drink servers, there are relatively few distractions possible compared to what many online players face at home. Family members and friends about the house are usually not nearly as concerned about the game and can often be disrupting with conversation. Events like dinner, unexpected guests and phone calls can all prove to be very damaging to your poker results.

Even when the household is otherwise empty, we are often tempted to use poker playing time to simultaneously catch up on e-mail, reading or household chores. Most of us live a fairly fast-paced lifestyle which does not allows for as nearly as much free time as we would like. In order to compensate for our lack of fun time we often start multi-tasking and combining activities. While watching TV and folding the laundry may not be too detrimental to your daily living, playing poker and doing household chores can be devastating! More than a few loosing sessions have occurred in the matter of moments leading from a few missed bets or unwise calls that could have been avoided.

It's hard enough to consistently beat the game of poker even when all the other circumstances are favorable (adequate bank roll, playing time, weak opponents), so any distractions, no matter how small, can prove to be the difference between winning and losing. It takes a lot discipline to become a winning player and a good players focus needs to be taken further than simply playing patient and folding weak hands.

Shawn Somerville has been playing online poker since its inception in 1999. All of Shawn's articles can be found posted on his poker tournament website called Winners Table.