There is a situation that probably every poker player has experienced at some point: you analyze a hand, your intuition tells you to do something completely different from what theory or the standard line dictates… but an uncomfortable question arises: “What will they think if I do this?”
It is not a problem exclusive to amateurs. Jason Su
The problem arises when avoiding criticism unconsciously becomes a higher priority than making the best possible decision.
According to Su, simply saying “stop worrying about what others think” is of little use. If you really care about the opinion of your opponents, friends, or spectators, there is no magic switch to turn off that concern.
Su’s proposal is much more educational: to recognize it.
The first step is to admit something that can be uncomfortable: you want others to think you are good at playing poker. You might even want to appear smart and avoid that unpleasant feeling of making a strange play, being wrong, and then receiving criticism.
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And then? Nothing.
A Tournament Is Full Of Questioning Looks.
That is precisely the exercise Su proposes. Observe the emotion, accept that it is present, and verify that feeling uncomfortable does not prevent you from continuing to think or make decisions.
This lesson can be especially useful when an opportunity arises to make an unusual bluff, find a hero call, or bet a size that deviates from the conventional. Playing differently does not mean playing badly.
The lesson is also not to abandon theory to blindly follow intuition. It is about preventing the fear of ridicule from making the decision.
The next time you face a strange play, ask yourself something different: am I discarding it because I think it is wrong or because I am afraid of how it will look if it goes wrong?
Separating these two things could improve much more than your strategy.
