Concentration Key To Poker Consistency

By now, everyone knows that Phil Mickelson had the U.S. Open Golf Championship in the palm of his hand and let it slip away. Just a small lapse, one questionable choice in a long string of good choices, and it was gone. In the end, the great champion sat alone with his lady, back to the camera, as the whole world kept a respectful distance. If you play golf or tournament online poker or both, as I do, you know exactly how Phil must have felt.

The self-recriminations, the unspeakable regret, the loathing of the game that you loved this morning, all permeating the cloud of pain that you are mired in. And yet we return. We reach deep down and find the salve for our wounds. We come back for more because it is a new day, another chance.

Having been on top before, we know that the flip side of the agony of defeat is the thrill of victory. On the emotional scale, the wins simply outweigh the losses. I revel in being the 2006 LIPS Champion of Champions even though I didn't get past the first break at the next night's Open.

I proudly hold the top ranking in my poker league, even though I got knocked out early in a major tournament last week. Brutal though the losses may be, they are the toll we pay on the road to the accolades and affirmation that come with winning. Success is worth it.

Phil Mickelson knows it, Tiger Woods knows it, Johnny Chan knows it, and I know it. And so, in a few weeks, I'll return to The World Series of Poker to pursue the dream. Odds are, I'll end up suffering. A momentary loss of focus, an ill-advised risk, or worst of all - an inferior player getting lucky, and once again I'll be vowing never to play poker again.

But Phil and Tiger and Johnny and I all have something in common. It's a given that whatever happens today, tomorrow we will once again be holding clubs in our hand, staring down at a swath of green and thinking, "I can do this."

June 22, 2006
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com    Previous Page | Internet Gambling | Top Online Casinos | Submit News!

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