Having the discipline to do the right thing, even if it’s not especially what you “want” to do, is vital in all aspects of life, and it must be applied to poker if you want to become successful at the game.

As an obvious example, if you play too many hands due to boredom or wanting to get your gamble on, you can expect to lose money.

When you invest small bits of money poorly before the flop on a regular basis, it is essentially impossible to win in the long run against players who play well. You must be disciplined and play only the proper hands in the proper manner.

But while many people think the concept of discipline means only playing the strong hands they know they are supposed to play, players must also be disciplined enough to have an adequate amount of bluffs in their range, and to play them properly.

When you get to the river with a hand that lacks showdown value, if you give up with it every time, you lack discipline! Not to mention it will be incredibly easy to play against you. Players must be disciplined enough to bluff adequately and intelligently, even knowing they will get called and lose some portion of the time.

You must be disciplined enough to recognize when you are playing in a game that you are not profitable in.

Time and time again, I see a young hotshot or stubborn veteran play in games where they are clearly one of the worst players. Because of this, they eventually end up losing their hard-earned money.

There are also situations where you should not sit down because you are not playing your “A” game. When you find yourself not paying attention to what is happening at the table, it is probably best to quit unless your opponents are playing especially poorly.

You must be disciplined enough not to spew away your poker winnings on other things. Just because you have a particularly good session does not give you an excuse to treat yourself and spend that profit on clothes, food, or parties. Have the discipline to understand that variance works both ways.

You must also be disciplined enough not to develop one of the numerous leaks that plague many otherwise great poker players, such as casino gambling or drugs. If you spend all your money on nonsense, expect to stay broke forever.

As you can see, there are numerous areas where discipline must be applied to poker. If you look at your strategy, I am sure you can find some aspects of it where discipline is lacking. Once you notice these flaws, you can correct them and be on your way to becoming an excellent player who holds onto and accumulates money indefinitely.

If you want more resources to help you improve your game, I put together a course called The 25 Biggest Leaks and How to Fix Them. This course is completely free inside Card Player Poker School!

When you join the Card Player Poker School (it’s free to join), you’ll also get:
✔ Free downloadable preflop charts
✔ GTO preflop charts
✔ Video Classes
✔ Interactive Hand Quizzes
✔ Free Course: Master the Fundamentals
✔ Free Course: The 25 Biggest Leaks and How to Fix Them
✔ Free training every week

If you want to increase your poker skills and learn to crush the games, check out Jonathan Little’s elite training site at PokerCoaching.com/CardPlayer.