Apathy or unquenched desire?

[WarDekar]

I'm definitely in the apathy/detachment camp like 90% of the time, but I'm also hyper-competitive in things I actually do which is why I play MTTs and not cash games. I of course want the feeling of conquering everyone else in the tourney, but at the same time since that like never happens I'm usually just "blah"

[shaniac]

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why do you think you "probably never will be the best"?

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Because the way the game is, I don't think there never will be a clear definition of what is "the best," so it's a pretty abstract concept to begin with. And there will always be players who care more than I do about being considered "the best," so I just don't see the value in pursuing an impractical, romantic and fairly useless concept. Also, if there a point of excellence that could easily be described as "the best," it wouldn't be satisfying to me unless I had a balanced life and enough money. My goal is to make money and live a healthy life, not to be "the best."

Now, being the best you can be (to use the Army slogan) is obviously something a poker player needs to do in order to be successful, and I generally agree with Superfluous Man's (is that Leo?) summary:

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To sum it up: Apathy is good, it prevents you from going crazy. Too much is not, it prevents you from improving. Being driven is good, it makes you take conscious steps towards improving your game. Being overly driven is not, it makes you a results-oriented little bitch, like me of late.

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[Bakes]

i dont see anything wrong with pursuing an impractical and romantic concept if the result is working on your game. obv you need balance to succeed, i would argue that is part of being "the best". And I don't think its useless...wanting to be one of the best is a lofty and noble goal imo.


e - however i didn't mean to say that one could not have success in poker without this mentality. I just feel that in a game where the only limitation is mental capacity and motivation, not striving to be the best is a waste of my time. I guess part of it has to do with how much time I've invested in this game....might as well go all the way with it.

[bobneptune]

hi clayton,

your poker skills are way above mine, but when you are having these types of concerns, it might be helpful to look at the experiences of some of the great winners in sports and see what we can learn from them.

the great bill russell wrote a book years ago called "the russell rules" where he goes into 11 concepts that lead to winning. one of his first couple of quotes is one which is so simple, yet quite elegant. he says:

"the game is on the schedule... we have to play it.... why not win it?"

it sounds so simple... whether or not you may want to be in a certain tourney in a certain place at a certain time, you are here... it makes no sense to cheat yourself not to use all your skills and abilities to prevail.

the second winner i'll quote is joe montana. in the 1989 super bowl, montana and the 49 er's found themselves trailing by three on their own 8 yard line with the ball with 3:20 to go in the game. he trots on the field with all hell breaking lose in his huddle with teammates screaming at each other.

he grabs tackle harris barton aside and looks in the stands and asks him,"isn't that john candy up there ??" everyone in the huddle shuts up, looking at montana like he has 3 heads. then he turns to the rest of the huddle and says, " is there another place on earth you'd rather be right now ???"

of course, they drive the ball 102 yards and win the championship, but his meaning was quite simple and elegant once again.... embrace the challenge.

i think this is the sort of attitude one need to have in order to be successful at tourney poker, or any other endeavour.

it never hurts to emulate champions to learn to become one , yourself.

[Apathy]

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[Clayton]

i was gonna make an unquenched desire gimmick account but im lazy, someone without a life plz help

[EC10]

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i was gonna make an unquenched desire gimmick account but im lazy, someone without a life plz help

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Posts: 14638

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[Clayton]

touche

[10K-in-Clay]

Interesting thread theres some cool posts in there...

lately i haven't been playing much tournament poker as i have been able to make a much better living playing proffesssional soccer-baseball in canada.

[Stipe_fan]

I feel that being apathetic and competitive can both be useful. You can't let your emotions overtake your decision making and you can't be so apathetic that you could care less about your results.

Some of the best sporting figures in the world are extremely competitive inside but don't overly show it on the outside. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, etc. They are the best at there respective sports but never are they out of control. They almost "appear" apathetic....going about their sports but not appearing overly emotional.

You have to be competitive. Why play the game if your not in it to win it? But going about it cool, unemotional, with apathy makes your judgement and perspective in control. Going into a game totally torqued, hyped-up, emotional can't possible make your game better. You can't think because emotions get in the way. Granted, there are some people that can perform hyped up but most people can not do it.

There has to be a balance. You need the drive inside and but you need to keep your emotions in balance.

Maybe we can call our new aura Feng Shui of Poker (FSOP)

Stipe