Any creative art requires a philosophy. The game of poker, with all its complexities, is an art form. If you are a droid, all you need is an on-off switch to get you going. If you are not, you will need certain human qualities to motivate you to achieve your purpose and that which you love. Obviously, few of us would consider ourselves philosophers. But that isn’t required – what is required is a creative imagination and powers of perception.

Everything starts there and to learn to make yourself do what you dislike in order to improve substantially it helps to envision the task from any favorable perspective most convenient to you. For example, you might compare developing communication skills to taking cold showers: these are an unpleasant shock every time when you first begin to take them, but after a month or two (which is not at all much!) of such very brief ablutions twice a week you become, in a sense addicted, because there are definite results and pleasure involved: few things compare with hot water after 30-60 seconds of cold water.

This is true of almost any new skill that is humanly possible to acquire and that is why some people like to learn “new things” even though the initiatory stages are always necessarily stressful to a certain degree.

So, again using the cold shower situation as a guide, it is time to tackle what you dislike about the game of poker.

Okay, no more lessons on philosophy, it is now time to consider more pragmatic advice. A good way to acquire meaningful expertise is by hiring a professional trainer to give you private, hands-on lessons without the embarrassment to you caused by onlookers. The coach will point out your weaknesses, most of which you are probably unaware of, so you can learn from them and move on. A good trainer will have you make notes of your play so you can continue to learn from both your strengths and weaknesses.

If the cost of a professional trainer is too much for you, the alternative is to acquire poker friends: sincere and frequent arguments even between average players significantly improve logic and perceptiveness. You may also want to be a member of poker forums. Very good players often post and share valuable experience via online forums.

Jot down notes whether playing online or offline. You can review these later and don’t have to depend on memory alone, which given the complexity of the game will probably fail you in the end. The notes will aid you in formulating a self concept of how you are playing the game and why you made the moves you did. This is applicable as well to your opponents. The goal of this recordkeeping and critical review is to progress to the point where you can ask crucial questions before you make a move.

Did your opponent react the way you thought he would? Is his reaction in keeping with what you expected after learning the ways of your opponent? Did he bet or raise according to your expectations? What cards do you want him to think are in your hand? At which point in the hand to you want him to call or raise?

Learning to ask these questions of yourself on a regular basis may seem tedious and difficult. Pretty soon, though, you will find it a challenging and addictive process. Now you are a poker player for real.

If you enjoyed this article you may also like to read the poker articles at Random Poker Blog or Poker Chips Pro

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