A life philosophy that I have often heard and am a big proponent of goes as such: how can you love others and be a happy person if you don’t love yourself and are not happy person? It is like teaching a person how to play guitar without ever having plucked a string. All this pondering about the meaning of life is fascinating enough but what does this have to do with yoga and, more importantly, poker?
Going back to the previous discussions of the yoga sutras, we must go back to the very beginning and study some of the core principles and pieces of advice given by Patanjali to all practitioners of the science of yoga.
In the beginning of the yoga sutras one of the very first pillars mentioned is abhyasa, or practice. This does not mean that one must constantly do asanas (poses) it merely means that one needs to be persistent in trying to maintain a tranquil state of being, which is the entire point of yoga.
The essential companion to abhyasa is vairagya, or non-attachment. Yoga teaches us that we must learn to let go of the many attachments we hold on to in our everyday live such as fears and distractions we pay attention to that cloud us from getting in touch with our true inner-selves.
These concepts, carried out during the practice of yoga, can be readily applied to one’s poker game. There is a reason why many of the best-known poker players in the world gained their renown through impressive and consistent online play, not just by winning a tournament on television - players who clock in such a great deal of hours gain their skill through experience and tenacity, not chance. Many of these players not only spend a great deal of time playing the game, they have also put in hours in the library studying texts and learning what the best in the business have to say. They learn every single strength and weakness of their game thereby finding ways to work with their shortcomings as well as gifts.
Of course, there are always exceptions to the rules. There are several young poker players that have begun to dominate the poker world such as Josh “JJProdigy” Field, Dario Minieri, and Annette Obrestad. These players seem to have an uncanny feel for the game and made it straight to the top as mere children with little or no experience. These players should be used as learning examples, but should not be emulated considering less than 1% of poker players have that kind of natural talent. The best way to improve one’s game is to simply put in the time, practice, and study. Studying the game is a key ingredient that keeps many average players from becoming truly great players.
Studying does not mean to sit and read one book. It goes much deeper than that. Studying the game means not only playing and reading, but watching others play poker. Sit down one day and watch a WSOP tournament on TV and take notes with a pen and paper. Take note of the various betting strategies players use and how their personalities reflect their playing style. Some writers even claim that by simply observing the way a person dresses and walks one can deduce a great deal about their playing style. Doing this on TV can be a little difficult considering the players are at such an elite level and are quite good at hiding their weaknesses, but there is still a great deal to learn from them. Even going to a local casino and observing other players can be a great help and for beginning players would do more than watching the pros.
There is much wisdom in the saying “practice makes perfect”. The ancient yogis were some of the original propagators of consistent practice in order to better their yoga practice as well as their lives. You too can take this advice and apply it to your poker game in order to increase the size of your bankroll.
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