Good vs Great Poker Players

M

martDdart

Rock Star
Platinum Level
Joined
Aug 20, 2023
Total posts
454
Awards
1
NO
Chips
535
A great poker player makes all the plays you dont want them to do and and is always a step ahead. When you think you have the best hand for sure and shove your hole stack to the pot for a win ,the great player has read you like an open book,puts you on the hand you have and shows a better hand and leaves you with nothing but a painfull lesson.
 
thedarkman

thedarkman

Legend
Platinum Level
Joined
Jan 1, 2016
Total posts
2,219
Awards
2
GB
Chips
647
Winning money consistently, lots of it, might be a sign. Not sure how this can be applied to no limit where you can be busted out in one hand.
 
Leandro6803

Leandro6803

Visionary
Platinum Level
Joined
Mar 19, 2022
Total posts
546
Awards
2
Chips
698
There are several factors that separate a good poker player from a great poker player, the ones I consider the main ones are:
- study of poker.
- game consistency.
- long-term profitability.
- good bankroll management.
- good strategies.
 
C

Cooking

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
May 19, 2011
Total posts
2,902
Awards
2
Chips
526
The great players knows to be aggressive on the right moments and most important have a very strong mentality. Like others sports I think there are many players that have the same level of talent, but only few knows how to be decisive on the important moments and for me is all because they have a stronger mentality than the others.
 
0546474

0546474

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Apr 4, 2016
Total posts
2,623
Awards
14
UA
Chips
190
I think the idiom "The devil is in the details" is perfect to describe the difference between a good and a great poker player!!! Sometimes we don't pay attention to very small insignificant changes in the game, which ultimately lead to significant changes in the results!!! I doubt that I can answer what details in the game distinguish a good player from a great one. If I knew, I probably could become a great player too :D
 
Ruslan L

Ruslan L

Visionary
Platinum Level
Joined
Aug 30, 2022
Total posts
888
Awards
1
UA
Chips
316
I think good players are those who have not yet become great, but have the potential to become great. And great players are those who were good before, but at some point in time they got lucky and became great :)
 
MrPokerVerse

MrPokerVerse

Legend
Bronze Level
Joined
Dec 18, 2009
Total posts
2,839
Awards
2
Chips
124
Not sure you can draw that distinction between the two contrast of player categories from playing a few hands. From these forum or league games that becomes more identifiable. Skill level becomes more apparent with them from many aspects of the game.

Playing in a poker league for many years, history with players was a key to developing that skill you mentioned. Knew when to bluff, get maximum value and keep them in the hand. For every player that good to great is undefined by encounters and outcomes. It easy to look at ROI for that definition to have validity, other wise it just perception.
 
O

odonob

Visionary
Platinum Level
Joined
Feb 16, 2020
Total posts
890
Awards
1
Chips
440
A great poker player is probably one who can fold a very good hand when the pressure is greatest. You see the top players being able to calculate that they are in all likelihood behind in that type of situation. A good player will not make that kind of a call. That alone separates the good from the ‘great’.
 
ammje

ammje

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Feb 25, 2018
Total posts
5,365
Awards
36
Chips
643
Maybe the levels he plays, a great poker player is playing big tournaments, and a good poker player hasn't gotten there yet.
Maybe a great poker player spends a lot of time studying poker, correcting his mistakes, etc., and a good poker player maybe doesn't spend as much time or money studying his game.
 
A

Amblo

Legend
Bronze Level
Joined
Oct 7, 2018
Total posts
3,253
Awards
5
Chips
471
If you have played poker long enough, you will see a wide range of poker styles. And occasionally you can pick out players who play exceptional poker regularly.

In your opinion, what separates a good poker player from a great poker player?
Nothing separates them, they all stay together at the tables.:p
 
hardongear

hardongear

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Nov 20, 2022
Total posts
737
CA
Chips
394
First I'll define what I think a good player is. A good poker player in my opinion is one that makes a profit above his bankroll and spends it or makes enough to live off poker. Doesn't matter what stakes he's plays. A good player makes a profit.

I think it's pretty easy to be a good player. It's simply a matter of being decent to good at bankroll management, patience, mental toughness/tilt control and a TAG style of poker.

Being a great player now takes all the above plus. Being good at reading people, knowing where you stand in a hand, being hard to read yourself and having the ability to adapt to any table or table of players and their different playing styles. You also have to know and be good at exploiting all them other players and their different playing styles and you have to be able to figure all that out in the moment on the fly. A great player will also know how the other players see and perceive him as a player.

Cheers!!!
 
D

dompoker

Visionary
Platinum Level
Joined
Jul 22, 2019
Total posts
840
Awards
2
Chips
304
I think the difference is who has won the most money, a great poker player is playing big tournaments with a lot of money.
 
Jean-Guy

Jean-Guy

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Nov 2, 2024
Total posts
237
DK
Chips
110
What Separates a Good Poker Player from a Great Poker Player

1/ Skill Consistency: Good players have flashes of brilliance; great players consistently perform at a high level.

2/ Adaptability: Good players stick to their game plan; great players adjust seamlessly to opponents and changing conditions.

3/ Emotional Control: Good players manage emotions; great players maintain composure under pressure.

4/ Reading Opponents: Good players understand strategy; great players read opponents' tendencies effectively.

5/ Risk Management: Good players weigh risks; great players optimize risk versus reward.

6/ Continuous Learning: Good players improve steadily; great players stay ahead with ongoing learning.

7/ Bankroll Management: Good players play responsibly; great players manage their bankroll wisely.

8/ Long-Term Focus: Good players aim for short-term gains; great players prioritize long-term profitability.
Great thread. You have covered most bases. I would add discipline and tilt. Everybody tilts. However great players have a superb tilt management. They know everything about the seven comman types of tilt
and how to deal with them. This can
hardly be overrated. Gus Hansen from my country could not handle tilt. He told in a Danish podcast that he has lost $20 millions online, mainly due to tilt. Could you imagine Daniel Negreanu having the same problem? Won’t happen.
That does not mean that mr. Hansen isn’t a great player. He is a truly great tournament player. These days mr. Hansen is mostly a family man and has scaled down regarding to poker.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_3527.jpeg
    IMG_3527.jpeg
    15.3 KB · Views: 0
Last edited:
dreamer13

dreamer13

Legend
Platinum Level
Joined
Mar 18, 2022
Total posts
3,681
Awards
2
LV
Chips
815
When a professional player bets, folds, raises or calls, it is merely the outer shell of a much more complex and deeply thought-provoking process.A professional poker player also needs to be able to prioritize what to think about first and when. In other words, professionals have optimized their thought process. They know how to analyze a hand in real time and make the best decision under all the constraints of the game. Their brains are capable of performing amazingly thorough analyses in a limited amount of time.
 
Toruk Makto

Toruk Makto

Visionary
Platinum Level
Joined
Jan 4, 2019
Total posts
638
Awards
2
BR
Chips
332
Decision-making is fundamental to differentiate...
 
yuriko oyama

yuriko oyama

Legend
Platinum Level
Joined
Sep 18, 2022
Total posts
1,038
Awards
2
BR
Chips
938
polemically speaking:
the financial structure.
how much you can afford to lose.
 
H

havingfun

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Apr 1, 2023
Total posts
63
ZA
Chips
133
I think the best players have a great knowledge of the game and are able to recognise good spots, but then they also have the ability to back their reads and decisions without letting the outcome affect their play too much.
 
oriole

oriole

Visionary
Platinum Level
Joined
Apr 20, 2017
Total posts
582
Awards
9
LV
Chips
35
A great poker player consistently masters emotional control, reads opponents with precision, and adapts strategies fluidly, while a good player may rely mostly on technical skills.
 
Acechador

Acechador

Visionary
Platinum Level
Joined
Jul 27, 2014
Total posts
695
Awards
2
EC
Chips
315
A good poker player studies, takes notes and improves his game on a regular basis.
A great poker player is at a higher level of play because he now generates a good income from this profession.
 
RALF_AK

RALF_AK

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Nov 11, 2024
Total posts
137
BR
Chips
59
In my opinion, a good poker player has theoretical knowledge, but little experience and is also unable to fold some hands, while the great ones, in addition to experience and knowing how to fold any hand in various situations, also have some unique and little-known concepts.
 
Top