The myth of poker "talent"

[Nathan Williams]

Talent is largely meaningless in poker. I have seen so many "talented" poker players come and go over the years.

The real staying power of a pro is in their ability to keep going even when the cards go really bad on them for a long, long time.

Even when they have been getting kicked in the teeth at the poker tables for weeks or months on end.

Even when it feels like they will never win another hand of poker again.

This is when we find out who the real pros are.

Because persevering through all this has absolutely nothing to do with "talent"

Instead, this is about heart, determination and the will to succeed, no matter what.

Mental toughness will always beat talent in poker.

It is the true measure of success in this game (and in life also), when everything is said and done.

Do you agree or disagree with this? Let me know in the comments below!

 

[Joe]

I'm not fully qualified to answer but my opinion is that, in the long run, 100% agree!

There are definitely personality traits, dispositions and mindsets that will equate to a head start over others, but without commitment and fortitude it's hard to imagine anyone succeeding over extended timeframes.

 

[Newzooozooo]

Hi.
I absolutely agree with you. I also believe that our success in poker, or in our personal lives, depends only on our desire to achieve a goal, our perseverance, patience and discipline.

 

[terryk]

Yes,hard work and all that is good and all but "talent" has it easy,,,and they have alot more fun! Not everyone has to "work hard" to achive things,,, (practice? practice,practice,really?,,,lol) Alan Iverson,,,:deal:

 

[TeUnit]

Tough times dont last, tough poker players do.

 

[Herkstwin]

I do not believe it is an either-or situation, a talent-perseverance issue. The ability to manage your game when the cards are running bad is a talent. Right now I am facing your dilemma in my home games on pokerstars. Too many of my buddies are Whales and Fish. I know the strategies to beat them individually, but when 3 or 4 of them chase to the river, the odds of one of them catching their 2 outer makes life difficult.

 

[Sergei 9417]

Hello
In my understanding, a talented person is someone who finds it easier than others to master this or that subject of study, which means that a professional poker player will not be superfluous, and as for endurance when hitting, I agree with you here you need a strong character, which is typical for professionals

 

[abgvedr]

Well talent is a prety abstract term. Being tough mentally and knowing how to properly apply this skill to poker is a talent too. Going through a long bad beat run could also qualify as some sort of a talent.

 

[COMIRRR]

I agree with what you say but where you have listed some abilities you have to include the talent, the talent to play poker, to know what to do in key situations and I say that because I am thinking of a football player..this he plays the ball on his foot without stopping, but that player who also has talent in football can deal with that ball even when he has an opponent in front of him and can fool him ... that's why I think the talent we are talking about has its place!

 

[Propane Goat]

Talent is overrated in so many areas and I think poker is one of them, to get really good at something you have to be willing to stay in the trenches for years and continually work on developing your skills.

We see professional musicians who make playing instruments look absolutely effortless, but we don't see the tens of thousands of hours of practice and coaching that went into those skills which often starts in childhood.

 

[abgvedr]

Talent is overrated in so many areas and I think poker is one of them, to get really good at something you have to be willing to stay in the trenches for years and continually work on developing your skills.

We see professional musicians who make playing instruments look absolutely effortless, but we don't see the tens of thousands of hours of practice and coaching that went into those skills which often starts in childhood.

Why everyone thinking that if i say 'Talent is very important', that means 'Working hard' is not important?
Thing is.
If a guy is talented, then with hard work he could achieve somthing great.
If a guy is not talented. Then no mater how hard he would be working, he would never get as high.
Talent just sets your limit. Sure you must climb all the way on top.
But that does not make talent less important.
So pokerwise i would personally still say its more about the talent, then go the hard work.
Those two you need to achieve somthing. Not one. But talent goes first.
You know the old saying 'Work smart not hard'. Talent make you work smarter.
'Work Hard' and 'Work Hard to actually achieve somthing' are two different things.
How many folks we had that worked hard as hell, but did not make any success?
I would probably say atonn.

 

[KozakAlex]

Did you not understand the essence of the question? A talented person came to poker, earned a million dollars and lives on this money. Has left. Those who do not have the talent to play hard for years do not get anything, but consider themselves iron men, because they do not throw. So what? It is better to be talented and make a quick profit then live well, because life is short. Why play poker if you have a lot of money?

 

[abgvedr]

Did you not understand the essence of the question? A talented person came to poker, earned a million dollars and lives on this money. Has left. Those who do not have the talent to play hard for years do not get anything, but consider themselves iron men, because they do not throw. So what? It is better to be talented and make a quick profit then live well, because life is short. Why play poker if you have a lot of money?

You talk to whom?
And only one in a gezillion comes to poker earns a lot of money without any work, and leaves.
Thats not talented. Thats a genious. For regular talented folk he still must work hard as crap.

 

[abgvedr]

Did you not understand the essence of the question? A talented person came to poker, earned a million dollars and lives on this money. Has left. Those who do not have the talent to play hard for years do not get anything, but consider themselves iron men, because they do not throw. So what? It is better to be talented and make a quick profit then live well, because life is short. Why play poker if you have a lot of money?

We not talking about such stuff like sombody come win a ton of money and leave.
Such people are too rare.
We talking about the rest, the regular players. Whats more important talent or hard work.
And of course answers is - both. Question is what comes first.
But thing is - talent you cannot master. You either have it or you don't.
While hard work is in your hands.

 

[eniseysmail]

What kind of talent can we talk about? The talent for losing in the blinds when an incredibly disgusting card is dealt? When you feel that the playing cards dealt to you are the worst that can be. Maybe the talent is bluffing? For others to laugh and call you an idiot? If the card does not suit you on this day, week or month, then the talent lies in not playing at all.

 

[abgvedr]

What kind of talent can we talk about? The talent for losing in the blinds when an incredibly disgusting card is dealt? When you feel that the playing cards dealt to you are the worst that can be. Maybe the talent is bluffing? For others to laugh and call you an idiot? If the card does not suit you on this day, week or month, then the talent lies in not playing at all.

The talent of picking the right spot for right move for right person. Every time.
The talent of being detached from the game to make cold minded decisions every time no matter how much money involved.
The talent of being a predator.
But still killing a prey is a hard job and you gota work hard as schnikes.

 

[infonazar]

I absolutely agree with you. Our success as players depends only on us. In my opinion, only hard daily work can allow us to achieve the goal.

 

[eniseysmail]

The talent of picking the right spot for right move for right person. Every time.
The talent of being detached from the game to make cold minded decisions every time no matter how much money involved.
The talent of being a predator.
But still killing a prey is a hard job and you gota work hard as schnikes.

All of this may be true, but not with the nonsense that has been handed out to me for a week in an online game. Disgusting cards, that even there is a feeling that something unusual is happening in the game. Therefore, there is only one talent here - not to play this trash can at all, so as not to lose money stupidly. I will wait until they service their servers again.

 

[perrypip]

Talent is largely meaningless in poker. I have seen so many "talented" poker players come and go over the years.

The real staying power of a pro is in their ability to keep going even when the cards go really bad on them for a long, long time.

Even when they have been getting kicked in the teeth at the poker tables for weeks or months on end.

Even when it feels like they will never win another hand of poker again.

This is when we find out who the real pros are.

Because persevering through all this has absolutely nothing to do with "talent"

Instead, this is about heart, determination and the will to succeed, no matter what.

Mental toughness will always beat talent in poker.

It is the true measure of success in this game (and in life also), when everything is said and done.

Do you agree or disagree with this? Let me know in the comments below!

Semantics. Mental toughness is just another type of talent. Emotional intelligence instead of intellectual intelligence.

 

[vnnby]

There is a rule of 10,000 hours, you become a professional when you devote yourself to this business, so in addition to talent, you still need to put in a lot of effort.

 

[lukovnikofff]

I completely agree with you! Discipline and patience will do their job, but I think a talented person just assimilates information faster, which means he learns faster! A talented person will just reach his goal faster! But this is my personal opinion))) Good luck at the tables!

 

[Baldy86]

what you are saying can also be abusing poker and becoming a gambler . a good poker player also knows when to stop playing and when to take a break etc

also i do believe talent is a thing . and i dont want to sound like a bighead but i consider myself to be talented . when i played poker for the very first time around 13 years ago with mates from university i instantly noticed / realized that i am talented for this game . and i am a good reader and often read opponents like a book even online and often can guess their hands or if they bluff me or not etc

but i have not become as sucessful as i should be . and the reason is that i dont have much money to play with and because i have horrible money and tilt management . and because i also (still) do mistakes too in my play of course so in this case you can be as talented as you want but if you dont have proper money management and tilt management you will get nowhere

so for me these are the most important things what makes a poker player sucessful :

1. talent
2. money management
3. tilt management


oh and btw. . online poker is rigged . i think members who know me know my stance towards online poker already . i dont want to go into that topic either . just want to tell you what i think of online poker and if you disagree i respect your opinion

so yeah ...i think not giving up is important as you say but one should be careful to not become "addicted" . and for me talent is a thing and it is an important aspect followed by money and tilt management

 

[jeffman123]

Hi, I think you are absolutely correct. I would go as far as to say that talent is a myth in general. Do most of the people who succeed in a certain field have some general natural predisposition to being good in that field? Sure. But so many people have a natural predisposition to be good at music, programming, poker, yet few actually act on it. The people who actually succeed are the people willing to put in the work and go through long periods of time where they feel like they suck at whatever it is they are doing, and yet to continue to do it. That's what it really takes.

 

[KozakAlex]

We not talking about such stuff like sombody come win a ton of money and leave.
Such people are too rare.
We talking about the rest, the regular players. Whats more important talent or hard work.
And of course answers is - both. Question is what comes first.
But thing is - talent you cannot master. You either have it or you don't.
While hard work is in your hands.

This is demogogy. You understand the transfusion from empty to empty.

 

[fernandofcp]

For me, the talent in playing poker is in technique, persistence and luck. If we remove one of those requirements, it will be very difficult to win at poker and win good money.