Goal Setting for Poker Players

Some online poker players might like to drift from table to table in the hope that one day they will stumble their way to a significant level of success, but that kind of wishful thinking rarely helps a player to achieve anything of note. Online poker players who want to achieve anything more than having a good time and winning need to take their ambitions a little more seriously, and that means getting to grips with goal setting for poker players.

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Goal setting is important for poker players because it gives you a clear sense of direction, and that allows you to proceed in a way that is most effective. For example, if your goal as a poker player is to make £300 a week by playing a couple of hours each evening, you would obviously choose to sit down at different tables than if your goal was to win a WSOP bracelet.

There are several different types of goals that poker players can set for themselves, and the most useful are as follows:

Poker Goals – These goals define your main direction as a poker player. Examples include winning a specific tournament, making a certain amount of money on a consistent basis or even becoming a professional player.

Education Goals – These are goals that you set concerning what you want to learn as a poker player. For example, maybe you would like to learn how to play Omaha, calculate pot odds in Texas Hold’em or handle offline casino chips like a pro.

Bankroll Goals – These are goals associated with the establishment, management and growing of your bankroll. An example of a bankroll goal could be to start with £100 and turn it into £1,000 without ever risking more than 5% in any given session.

Psychological Goals – These goals concern your psychological development as a poker player, and examples could include playing with a greater level of self-discipline or learning to remain emotionally detached after a bad beat (to prevent going on tilt).

It is worth spending some time thinking seriously about how you want to develop and what you want to achieve as a poker player so that the goals you set for yourself are ones that will serve you well. When you have decided on your goals, put them down in writing so that you can review them when deciding which games to play and thereby help yourself to keep on track.

Of course, simply setting goals doesn’t automatically guarantee that you will achieve them, so in a future article we will discuss how to turn your goals into detailed action plans that you can follow step-by-step to achieve the success you desire. Until then, start setting your goals and good luck at the tables!

William Briggs