The difference between a good poker player and a winning poker player

• 30.06.2025 9:24 am
• headhunter
• 0 Comments

There is a lot of confusion revolving around good players and winning poker players. Most people imagine that a winning poker player is a good poker player and the opposite is also true if you were to go by the thoughts of many individuals.

This is not entirely true and it is quite hard to distinguish between the two types of players.

A winning poker player is the player who wins more money than he puts in all the hands they take part in.

A good player on the other hand, it is quite hard to explain as it is possible to be a good player who is not a winning player.

How to be both good and winning poker player    

In order to be a good poker player, you need to be able to love the game as it is the only way to enjoy the game. Very few good players will win the game. This is mainly because of the difference in level of skills and the house rake/vig.

Many good poker players do not fully understand the concept of rake plays when in games with low stakes.

When in a limit game of $2/$4, the usual max rake varies from $3 to $5 and sometimes $6. After the game plays out, and the loss of a whole 2BB from all the pots, this rake can prove to be impossible to conquer.

Poker as a recreation

For the most part, poker is a sort of a sport. Any sport will cost money. It is perfectly normal to lose money when undertaking your hobby, so you are likely to lose money when playing poker. This is the thought of every good poker player.

A good poker player will also think of the game. They will put into consideration how they are playing as well as how others are playing. Good poker players look at poker as a hobby where they learn and improve on their game.

Good poker players will work to reduce the difference. There are the obvious variations in the game where every player has their up moments and down moments but you are likely to enjoy the game more with lesser swings.

When you are able to lower the differences, you are better placed to play your best game most of the time. It will take more that a huge back fall on a good poker player's bankroll to derail them.

The hardest poker games played

Poker is by far the most complex game played on routine basis. Poker involves more strategic levels, and it is by far harder to master as compared to other complex games such as chess and bridge.

Possibility of wining without being a good player

With the above information, you now know how to be a good poker player who does not win. You now need to know whether it is possible to be a winning poker player without being a good player. It is actually possible to win without being a good player. However, it is really hard to come across such players.

There are 3 types of wining players who are not good poker players:

1. The highly aggressive players

This one has very little importance for money. He thinks of poker as a game for survival as well as a place to showcase their ego.  They can play for the longest time strictly for the money but not because they want to become good players. They are easily affected by tilts and it eventually affects their play.

2. Tight players

These players focus their game on getting positive EV and this is what makes them winning players in poker. These are the kind of players you will find at the table every other day. these are the guys who juggle poker with their every day work life.  These are players who will do anything to protect their bankroll.

3. Long term positive EV players

These are wining poker players who are poor poker players. They will mostly make a lot of mistakes at the table most of time jeopardizing what they have built over the hours of play. These players have their time and when they hit it they hit it big time.

Poker has become more of an aggressive game that it used to be and a lot more lose than before. Every poker player is entitled to their own opinion when it comes to this issue. It is possible t apply one style of play and be successful in one game but it may prove to be useless in another game.  One example is the now famous LAG game. This can prove to be most favorable when you are multi-tabling.

While playing a tight game is fine, there are instances when it can prove to be of no use. It would be easier for you to surrender our spots when you have little positive EV to ensure that you play efficiently; you lower the rates of making mistakes and lower the difference.

For instance

There is a $1/$2 NL game involving two players each with AJ off UTG. There is the male up tight player who will play 10% of the hands and there is a female loose player who will play 30% of the hands. The male player entirely depends on cards, tight play and position playing while the female player relies on her loose game and her pre flop capabilities. These two players are both of positive EV and they also have equal bankrolls as well as the same way of life.

The male player is likely to lose opportunities that have little positive EV but he greatly benefits from keeping of tricky scenarios, bluffing often and stealing a lot.

The female player will lose money 10% or even more of her hands regardless of her poker skills but she will enjoy much more wins on the monster hands she gets and is better at making value bets in some scenarios.

These two players play different games but are likely to end up with the same amount in bankroll at the end of the year. This is only so in live poker

The outcome is very different when they are playing online multi tabling. For the female player, the hands with small positive EV will decrease in value. It becomes more complex when multi tabling.

This is because the female player is required to think more. Thinking will increase her stress levels, and thinking needs time and there is no time in multi tabling.

On the hand, the male player who is a tight player is likely to play tight when under stress, he is bound to crank is lower in every new table he sits at. He may mess his game basing it on positive EV.

AJ hands have soft positive EV and both players are expected tom play their hands differently in a single table live game. The concept changes when they multi table online.

The female player is likely to play her hand more aggressively as the male player messes it up. They will both gain and lose. The two styles of play can work and they are seen in professional players.

If you were to go by psychology, the male is at a better path. This is because in multi tabling, your decisions should be made as the game progresses. This way, you will go through less pressure and you will be able to play in high levels for longer.

He male players will have no swings, this is because there are fewer decisions to make and the chances of making mistakes are low. You will also maximize on your time when multi tabling to avoid table time outs.

In other words, when taking part in a multi tabling game, you are allowed to:

• Suffer push out with weak hands, more so when you don't fully trust your read
• Be bluffed at
• Mess a good or extremely good hand
• Surrender your blinds even when it is clearly a naked steal

It is true that there are players who can be made use of in such situations but it is possible that they have short positive EV.  This is especially so when the other tables face them with even tougher situations and pressure is piling from opponents and they are in the verge of collapse.

There are many ways to play the game; you just have to know which one works for you.