Sun Tzu and the Art of Poker
No doubt some of you are saying Sun who? So before I continue I`ll give you a very brief history lesson. Sun Tzu was born in China around 500B.C, around the same time as the great philosopher Confucious. Sun Tzu was a great strategist and commander and he wrote thirteen essays that comprised The Art of War. This text is still used in military schools today and although the equipment and style of war has changed immeasureably the lessons contained within the essays are still as sound as ever.
There, that`s it, history lesson over, it wasn`t too painful now was it? So why am I talking about an ancient Chinese strategist on a poker blog? Well there`s a quote that says "Cards are war in disguise of sport",and it`s very true, strategy plays a great part in poker as in war. We each have our troops (chips) our weapons (cards) and our battle field (the felt or cyber-felt) and we are the generals trying our best to achieve victory.
I`m not going to attempt to analyse the entire book because I don`t have the space or time to do so. I believe there is a poker book based on it but I haven`t read it. This is purely my interpretation of a very small, but very important part of it.
Chapter 3 is entitled Offensive Strategy and the closing statement of the chapter is:
"Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated. When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant of both the enemy and yourself, you are sure to be defeated in every battle".
When you first join a table the first thing you should do is start to categorise the players are they loose, tight, aggressive, passive. The type of player they are is going to give you your strategy for beating them when you are in a hand with them. Against a tight aggressive player you can be more aggressive and bluff and steal more pots. You need to be wary when encountering resistance though. Against the loose aggressive player you`re going to need a better hand unless you too generally play in that style. Which brings me to the part of this quote that I really want to look at - knowing yourself.
In this game we have to know our own strengths and perhaps even more importantly our weaknesses. I love to watch Daniel Negreanu play, I have the greatest admiration for the loose aggressive style he has, the same goes for Phil Ivey. However I can`t play in the same way, I`ve tried upon occassion but inevitably my nature re-asserts itself and I go back to my tighter style of play.
We are what we are, there is no denying that. As the saying goes "The leopard cannot change its spots". Our nature determines to a great degree the type of poker player we are. Younger players tend to be more loose and aggressive, they are fearless and perhaps lack the patience of an older player. Some players will favour a mathematical game, others rely more on instinct. Get to know which style of play suits you best and play that way for the majority of the time. That`s not to say we can`t switch gears for short periods of time when the situation allows but that`s experience not nature.
To quote former world champion Walter "Puggy" Pearson
"Always remember, the first thing a gambler has to do is make friends with himself. A lot of people go through this world thinking they`re someone else. There are a lot of players sitting at this table with mistaken identities. You wouldn`t believe it."
To look at what I`ve said in a strategic sense, by playing in the way that suits your personality best you`re picking your battleground. You`re giving yourself the best chance of winning because you`re fighting on ground that suits you. The same strategy should be applied to the games you play. As popular as no-limit hold `em is you might find that your personality suits limit hold `em better or even one of the other varieties of poker.
So take a few moments, think about your personality, assess your strengths and your weaknesses, be honest with yourself. You may be able to find something that will allow you to improve your game.
There, that`s it, history lesson over, it wasn`t too painful now was it? So why am I talking about an ancient Chinese strategist on a poker blog? Well there`s a quote that says "Cards are war in disguise of sport",and it`s very true, strategy plays a great part in poker as in war. We each have our troops (chips) our weapons (cards) and our battle field (the felt or cyber-felt) and we are the generals trying our best to achieve victory.
I`m not going to attempt to analyse the entire book because I don`t have the space or time to do so. I believe there is a poker book based on it but I haven`t read it. This is purely my interpretation of a very small, but very important part of it.
Chapter 3 is entitled Offensive Strategy and the closing statement of the chapter is:
"Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated. When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant of both the enemy and yourself, you are sure to be defeated in every battle".
When you first join a table the first thing you should do is start to categorise the players are they loose, tight, aggressive, passive. The type of player they are is going to give you your strategy for beating them when you are in a hand with them. Against a tight aggressive player you can be more aggressive and bluff and steal more pots. You need to be wary when encountering resistance though. Against the loose aggressive player you`re going to need a better hand unless you too generally play in that style. Which brings me to the part of this quote that I really want to look at - knowing yourself.
In this game we have to know our own strengths and perhaps even more importantly our weaknesses. I love to watch Daniel Negreanu play, I have the greatest admiration for the loose aggressive style he has, the same goes for Phil Ivey. However I can`t play in the same way, I`ve tried upon occassion but inevitably my nature re-asserts itself and I go back to my tighter style of play.
We are what we are, there is no denying that. As the saying goes "The leopard cannot change its spots". Our nature determines to a great degree the type of poker player we are. Younger players tend to be more loose and aggressive, they are fearless and perhaps lack the patience of an older player. Some players will favour a mathematical game, others rely more on instinct. Get to know which style of play suits you best and play that way for the majority of the time. That`s not to say we can`t switch gears for short periods of time when the situation allows but that`s experience not nature.
To quote former world champion Walter "Puggy" Pearson
"Always remember, the first thing a gambler has to do is make friends with himself. A lot of people go through this world thinking they`re someone else. There are a lot of players sitting at this table with mistaken identities. You wouldn`t believe it."
To look at what I`ve said in a strategic sense, by playing in the way that suits your personality best you`re picking your battleground. You`re giving yourself the best chance of winning because you`re fighting on ground that suits you. The same strategy should be applied to the games you play. As popular as no-limit hold `em is you might find that your personality suits limit hold `em better or even one of the other varieties of poker.
So take a few moments, think about your personality, assess your strengths and your weaknesses, be honest with yourself. You may be able to find something that will allow you to improve your game.
posted by DangerMouse at 12:04 PM
1 Comments:
Great post. I just received the book you are refering to in your title from Kattitude. Your words have encouraged me to read it sooner than later now.
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