What mental skills or functions would you say are important in poker?

[ckboddic]

being an animal

[shutEMdown]

Being in the present moment is a very important skill to have in poker. Not worrying about the past $300 hand that you lost or the most recent bluff in the wrong spot that cost you 1/2 of your tournament stack and at the same time not focusing your energy on the future which has thought processes like "another $200 and I will be back even for the day" or "I really need to make the money in this tourney". I found that if im focusing on the present moment, enjoying the present moment (whether im down or up $), then everything else falls into place and you give your mind all the focus and memory it needs to be successful. i was in a live 1/2 cash game a month back where I was up around 1k and was about to leave but then got dealt AA. short story, i was up against KK and guy spiked his set on flop. I put him on AK or KK preflop and really thought about laying my AA. for some reason I couldnt get away from AA and I lost about $900 on the hand. Instead of going on tilt or being mad that I lost all my winnings I rechanneled my energy to the present moment, told myself, "there is nothing I can do about it now, focus on the next hand." My friend looks over about 45mins later and Im back up to around $500 and pretty soon was on the verge of taking down the biggest pot of the night. End up with $1300. I know in the past had I lost all my winnings on the very last hand I was going to play, I would have went to the ATM about 3 times before my friend shuts me down. moral of the story, alot of the game is MENTAL and if you are in the present moment throughout the course of ur session (whether up up or down $), you will be alright!