Poker hurts. A disastrous session, a bad beat at the worst moment, or entire weeks without results are part of a game where even the best decisions can end with chips traveling to the other side of the table. For Jason Su
“Pain is not optional. Suffering is,” says Su, who works as a performance coach with high-level players. Su’s approach points to a less visible consequence of variance: when losses begin to affect personal relationships, mood, or even the ability to rejoice in others’ success.
According to the author in his column on Poker.Org, many players did not experience that burden when they started. Losing was annoying, but curiosity, the desire to learn, and especially fun still existed. Paradoxically, the problem can appear when someone decides to become a “serious” player.
“Pain Is Not Optional. Suffering Is,” Su States.
Routines, systems, metrics, study, emotional control, and different formulas to reinterpret variance seem like indispensable tools for any professional. However, Su warns that taking that structure to the extreme can produce the opposite effect: a rigid player, worried about doing everything “correctly” and disconnected from their own instincts.
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Here appears an interesting contradiction. The process intended to make someone a better player can end up eliminating some of the qualities that originally made them competitive: creativity, observation, the ability to make reads, and the courage to deviate from the script.
Su’s proposal is not to abandon study nor romanticize recreational play. His call is to recover the ability to enjoy while competing.
Because a comfortable and mentally present player will probably make better decisions. And although that does not guarantee winning — the deck will still have its own plans — it allows something perhaps equally important: to finish a bad session, get up from the table, and leave the defeat where it belongs.
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