The Poker Lab Rat

Here’s Mike Caro with what is in his view “The biggest secret in the whole universe about playing poker for profit”.

When you hear it you’ll snicker, because it seems too obvious to be worthwhile. It’s important though, so read on!

It’s all about playing the same poker hand from two different perspectives. Often when world-class poker players compete for stakes too small to make much difference whether they win or lose, they stop playing their best game. They’re not motivated and don’t care who takes the pot.

The secret…

Some experts tell you never to play games in which the stakes aren’t very important to you. I personally don’t think avoiding such games is the best answer. Every week, I play on a bounty tournament online at DoylesRoom.com.  There are typically anywhere from three to five bounties, usually world-class players including Doyle Brunson and Hoyt Corkins, and often non-poker celebrities too.

Even though every one is shooting to knock me out of these $25 buy-in events, I play them as if my life depended on the results. Whoever eliminates me wins $500 - or $5,000 for eliminating two bounty players and $25,000 for three. It’s serious business for those players and it’s serious to me, too, because I pride myself in trying as hard as I can.

Recently I was the last bounty sitting six weeks in a row and managed to collect some “grape money” along the way. I call it grape money because I like grapes and I go to the nearby Wal-mart Supercenter and buy them with whatever money I win. If I don’t make the money, no grapes. See? Instant motivation.

Here’s a question for you. What single thing would you guess has gained me the most praise over the years? It’s not Caro’s Book of Tells or any other book that I’ve written. It’s not a seminar or a TV appearance. It’s not a column, article, or video. It’s an audio cassette (no longer sold) that I created over 20 years ago called Positive Poker. It’s 40 minutes of me saying affirmations on one side and giving a lecture on the other. And it’s all about poker’s biggest secret.

Here it is: Play your best game all the time. You’re thinking “everybody knows that!” But apparently everybody doesn’t, otherwise top players would not take turns going on tilt or playing extra creatively when straightforward decisions are more profitable. You see, that’s really poker’s most important winning secret, because moderately skilled players who practice playing their best game all the time make more money that world-class players who don’t.

The amazing truth is that poker’s biggest winners aren’t necessarily those with the greatest skills. Among accomplished players, the ones who come closest to playing their best game the entire time make the most money. Think about it.
MC

Chat and play poker online with Mike Caro the Mad Genius of Poker at DoylesRoom.com. Players from around the world including 39 States of the USA can join.

We enjoy playing at Doyles Room Poker and love the latest Microgaming Poker software release. DoyleRoom.com host great cash games at a range of stakes and offer excellent tournament poker opportunities. There’s over $1 million in weekly guarantees and satellites to most major in-the-flesh and online poker events. There’s a $1 million Guaranteed event coming up in October.

Here’s what Mike Caro says about the latest release of Microgaming Poker software at DoylesRoom.com:

“The new software release is amazing! For the first time in my long history of involvement with online poker, I have confidence in the ability of the programmers and designers to bring well-reasoned, timely and appealing improvements to the user interface”.

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(Check out the latest Doyles Room Poker site review)