Know your comfort zone

Poker Strategy / Marcus Bateman / 09 March 2010 / Leave a Comment

Staying within your area of comfort means that you will play in a more confident and relaxed manner, be able to pull the trigger in key pots much more often, and generally stay composed and calm.

Only a few people seem to be able to deal with the very highest stakes. When millionaire Andy Beal took on the worlds best, he was actually able to win in one of the sessions when he pushed the stakes up to the highest ever played - a mind boggling $100,000/$200,000 blind game of limit hold'em - simply because he pushed even the very highest stake players outside of their comfort zone.

When it comes to money, everyone has a breaking point. Finding out what yours is and understanding others is one of the most important aspects of poker, and can both save you a fortune as well as helping you win one if approached correctly. Tilt is basically just the process of going outside of your comfort zone, and the rising of the stakes that typically accompanies bad tilt is often simple a by-product of someone being outside of their area of comfort.

Staying within your area of comfort means that you will play in a more confident and relaxed manner, be able to pull the trigger in key pots much more often, and generally stay composed and calm. Pushing people outside of their comfort zone can always yield solid dividends if pulled off well, and it does not have to necessarily involve rising the stakes. Playing different games can quickly push people outside of their comfort zone, as well as trying to change the format of games. Good tournament players are frequently cash game fish, and setting up cash games with tournament players can prove extremely lucrative to a good cash player.

Comfort zones are areas that have to be thought about and adjusted to constantly in poker. Everyone has a game, a format, a stake, or even a style that they will feel uncomfortable playing, and both learning others, and understanding your own can make all the difference at the end of the year. Look to push people outside of their zone while staying within yours at the table - there are frequent opportunities in poker to make more money by changing what is being played, and understanding when and why is fundamental to becoming a good player.

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