Poker Is All About Confidence...

That's my theory atleast. Screw the reading of people, the bluffing, and all the other stuff. If you don't have confidence when you sit down at the poker table you are practically beat. If you look down at AA and the first thing that comes to your mind is: "Well, how am I going to get ****ed with this hand?" then you are pretty much done for. If you have the confidence though you can look down at any two cards and smile because you feel like you can win, and have the confidence level of a winner. Poker is more mental personally, and once you have a confident mind set the rest of your game develops from there. Anyone else agree?

Yea, I agree to an extent. More so in live games than online games though.

Live games confidence is a key factor IMO. It can scare other less confident players from getting involved in hands with you. You are also less likely to give away any tells at the table.

Hmmm, i suspect a few of the regulars here are waiting for you at the ring games...

Confidence is good, knowledge is king. The basics as to statistics, odds and so on are great tools. Keeping a constant watch over your game is equally good. Discovering those leaks before they turn into massive burning holes in your bank account. Experience is another goodie. Getting used to the fact that American Airlines isnt a surefire win, but merely one hell of a good starting position. And then theres the knowledge that even though you havent seen a decent hand for an hour, you're still alive in the tournament and there is no need to push all-in to prove you're hot stuff.

So confidence as the precursor to poker success. No friggin way. Confidence is ok, but if you play with confidence as your main instrument, some of the dudes and dudettes here will rip your heart out with their teeth at the tables.

One thing more: The money you stick in the pot are not really money, they are tools to win money. As long as they are in play, they are only tools. Doesnt take confidence to use your tools correctly - it takes skill.

Yea, but my point was in live games, it is key to come across as confident, amongst other things such as you stated.

In a live game, people who are not confident it shows through. At the casino we had this lad who wasn't confident. When he raised and he was bluffing (so didn't want a caller), you could tell. His hand would be shaking as he moved to pick up the bigger denomination chips. It was a big tell, and it was obvious people were picking this up.

Where I agree with most of your points, I do still think in live games, at casino's etc, confidence is definently an advantage. Although over-confidence and cockyness isn't.

I completely agree, though obv skill, knowledge and experience are essential too. When you get to any decent stakes, players' in-game edges are so small that state of mind becomes the deciding factor. If you've got Phil Hellmuth steaming his ass off, and you're a solid 1000NL player, you've got the edge. OK that's a little overboard, but you catch my drift.

I play my best when I'm in a confident, happy, relaxed state of mind. My worst play tends to show it's ugly face when I'm either on a losing or a long winning streak and am afraid of losing. Read Zen and the Art of Poker - touches on players' state of mind and tilting a lot.