There are many poker players out there and most of them are in it for the BIG SCORE! I am no exception. I would come into the game and be on a high if I am doing well, then put it all on the line and rage quit if it does not work out. Little did I know that the variance monster gets us all eventually. What did I miss? The magic ingredient is called “PATIENCE”! 
Patience to…
…learn the rules
…calculate odds
…study more advanced plays
…practice at the table
…grind different games to find a sweet spot
…practice proper bankroll management
…level up in stakes
…ride the variance waves
…take the bad beats
…wait for a good starting hand
…wait for the right position
…grow a bankroll
…wait for a big score!
…win league matches
…play freerolls
…start over if you did it all wrong [image]
…be gentle with yourself after poor decisions
…enjoy the min-cashes while the big win is on the way
…find the leaks in your game
…work on plugging your leaks
…to know that the list is endless as there is always something to focus on in this game 
Now, I am exercising patience waiting for a big win after a big win. I started playing with $0 and made it to $100, then after winning a Power Path ticket on PokerStars, I made it to $1000 and of course, I got impatient and started trying too had to make another big win. Luckily, I stopped the bleeding at around $800! Lesson learned again. Now I have to be patient enough to continue growing my bankroll steadily once again. We all make mistakes and have moments of weakness!
I am happy to have embraced the unavoidable fact that exercising patience is one of the key ingredients to being a good poker player. Having done all the basic things, I am now stuck with the same bankroll for months. The wonderful thing about it is knowing that I can never go broke playing poker because of my proper bankroll management practices. So now I simply enjoy the game, meet wonderful players, participate in league games, write poker posts to share my experiences in the hope of motivating others and even laugh at the bad beats knowing that I am patient enough to wait until I am the one who dishes out a few bad beats of my own!
So heed my advice, be a PATIENT POKER PLAYER 
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Totally agree! IMO if you do want to “take shots” the best way is through MTTs. The variance will be high, but you limit your losses concretely and absolutely (versus a cash game), and the payoff when execution and luck come together can be huge. Great way to move up stakes while practicing proper BRM.
Good luck on your poker journey and lmk if you want to chat anytime, I am always up for a strategy talk with other thinking players!
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I will add that in live cash games, by far the most important skill (even more important than any in-game ability, other than the ability to not play too many hands) is game selection. At a cardhouse there are usually 3 configurations most games fall into: shark pits (pretty much everyone at the table is a regular/pro; as the lone outsider, you are at a major disadvantage), “normal” games (a few pros, a few bad regs, a few random “just for fun” tourists or inexperienced players) and GOOD games (several “just for fun” players, drunk players, splashy maniacs, etc.).
If you have the discipline to only sit in good games your winrate will be approximately a jillion times higher than even that of a strong pro sitting in shark pits and normal games. In poker, you win money when your opponents make mistakes. Find the games where players are making lots of mistakes, close your eyes and ignore the higher variance. In the long run you’ll print money.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
It is always nice to chat about poker. Maybe my next post will be a review of a hand. We will see
It is definitely fun to play cash games. Although, I prefer MTTs - there is not much time to grind them these days so I end up playing ring tables for a few minutes each day. I seem to be breaking even for the most part, so I still need to work on making them more profitable.
No worries, I am patient and will improve over time.
How often do you overbet bluff in ring? : )
Exercising patience is easier said than done.
Playing for money is exciting which leads to dopamine release by your brain in that situation. The problem is that high levels of dopamine can lead to increased risk-taking.
Couldn’t agree more! Patience is the ultimate ace up a poker player’s sleeve, separating the pros from the rest. From managing bankrolls to mastering timing, it’s the key to lasting success at the tables.
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Yeah . Easier it’s said than done . I agree . You can show patience , but sooner or later a win must come . Or else patience will end . Also its a ladder , you move up the stairs , the steps one by one . If you have stuck on one step and can’t repeatedly move on , then patience won’t help . Solutions will help but you cannot find free or cheap solutions , and even worse is that the game has been solved . Even in the nano or micro stakes fish is rare. So disappointing. I guess poker is (at least nowadays) mainly or only for pros and regs .
Online poker is getting pretty hard, but live poker is still the nuts!
Very nice topic redboy!
In my opinion it is the most important thing in poker - “Patience”!
It is very lucky if you win a poker tournament playing without patience - im sure in a few cases there is a chance to play like a maniac and win a tournament playing and bluffing with silly hole cards but this is like 1 out of 1000 tournaments.
Patience is also necessary with bankroll managment and building up your poker knowledge!
Greets
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Very true.
“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” - Aristotle
Especially in Tournaments, it’s easy to just say “■■■■ it” when you lost a hand and are down to just a few blinds. When you are down to such a short stack you can’t wait for premiums but no reason to play absolute garbage - especially not call with it.
A lot of things beginning with P are important in Poker:
Patience
Position
Poker Face
Probability of Hands
Psychology
Paying Attention
Playing Style
Pots Odds
Persistence
Profit
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The last one is my favourite - PROFIT
I like the quote, since it captures the agonizing wait time for the right hole cards, flop and position to make a move in poker. Thanks to patience, I have been able to endure my super dry run and of
course participating in the Community, playing league matches and other non-poker-related activities makes it bearable. While playing, I try to make notes and study the opponents at the table but often find myself playing video games or watching TV :(. Terrible, I know.
What do you guys do to help pass the time at the poker table?
Do not be discouraged. There is a learning curve. Even the pors take a long break to go improve their craft. Patience requires you to be active, observant, thinking critically and when the opportunity presents itself, you take your shot. If you just wait for big cards and shove when you have them, that does not work out very well. Sometimes it is the suited connectors and small pocket pairs that hit a monster flop and the huge pairs and broadways pay you off!
Use the wait time effectively!
Many of our greatest lessons are learned when we lose. But this week I had an experience that was the opposite: I learned from a win. A win in a really fast hyper-turbo tournament. Every player at the final table had no more than 15 BBs.
When I was starting out at poker, I used to be very uncomfortable playing short stacks, specially in the range of 4 to 8 big blinds. And one day I watched a lesson in which the coach said: “There is still a lot of game to be played with 8 big blinds”. I have never forgotten that. And from now on, when I am playing a tournament, I try to remain calm and do the best I can with my chips. Of course I will have to risk at some point, but not with any two cards.
Never be desperate. There is still a lot of game to be played with few blinds!!
^ Absolutely correct!
To learn how to connect to your higher self is one that many never get to, for an advantage that is
powerful at the poker table.
I believe Daniel Negreanu at times, possesses that advantage, knowing his opponents cards after the flop.
Top 5 Most Amazing Daniel Negreanu Poker Reads! (youtube.com)
But can one go beyond that and know what will happen even before the flop?
Is the higher self that powerful in just knowing?
#1128531089
Totally agree! I can be patient for a long time, and then suddenly, I misfire and lose my patience. I always know when I do it and berate myself. I need to figure out the warning signs BEFORE I lose my patience so I can take a quick break or do something to shift my attention back to the game and the big picture. I think it gets triggered when I am card dead for an extended period and I try to force the action…just need to take a more zen approach and wait for the right opportunity. Good food for thought on your post! Thank you!
Well said - I enjoy taking shots and know it is just a matter of time before something big happens. Playing within your bankroll is very comforting and conducive to playing good poker.
We all fall into the pit of dispair or the “bad beat” wagon and lose it for a bit. If you are playing within your bankroll, you can recover. It is wise to take a walk and refocus. Easier said than done though!
