Welcome back to David’s Corner and another ill-conceived ramble about poker.
Regular readers, and some other members of my family, may recall that I posted this a few days ago:
‘I will give some serious thought to how to manage stress at the table and will attempt to devise a proper inoculation program.’
Christ.
I have since made plenty of notes and some of them are not warnings against making bold promises on the blog.
I thought it would be a good idea to gather some wisdom to help me along the path to poker glory and so my first stop was at The Professor’s library.
Howard Lederer, winner of two WSOP bracelets, acquired his intellectual nickname because of his cerebral style at the tables. He also exudes the kind of calm that you simply cannot buy from street corner purveyors of un-prescribed medication. I was curious to know how he does it.
Apparently, he attributes his relaxed approach to Zen Buddhism. On his blog, he specifically mentions ‘Zen in Art of Archery.’ As luck would have it, I bought a copy a few years ago but had never felt sufficiently curious to read it. I think I bought it to impress a girl. However, I was intrigued by Lederer’s comment:
‘How is it possible to stay mindful of the hand when if you win this tournament it could might your life? I believe the study of the Zen arts can lead you down that path.’
It was clearly time to put on my sandals and take a stroll.
I soon realised it wasn’t going to be an easy journey:
‘Zen can only be understood by one who is himself a mystic and not tempted to gain by underhand methods what the mystical experience withholds from him.’
I found that sentence difficult to reconcile.
Why?
Er, well, I’m a poker player. My very economic survival depends on underhand methods and the denial of the mystic experience.
I began to doubt the professor.
I read on and stumbled across:
‘Only [he] who is completely empty and rid of the self is ready to become one with the transcendent Deity’.
Again, that could be tricky.
I am sitting here and I wilfully believe that other people may be interested in reading my opinions. I’m also complimenting myself on a finely cooked hamburger. I fear I have a way to go. Howard is way ahead of me: he is a vegetarian.
However, as I digest more of the thin book, I start to realise that some of it may help at the table, particularly the material on breathing.
The author is trying to master archery. To assist him, his Buddhist mentor teaches him breathing exercises, ‘after breathing in, [stretch] the abdominal wall and hold it there. Breathe out slowly and evenly and draw a quick breath – out and in continually, in a rhythm that will settle.’ This causes the author’s muscles to ease and to feel relaxed.
This definitely helps. As Lederer puts it, ‘I sit at the table and relax. For two years now, I have been practising my own form of poker meditation.’
Try it yourself, preferably during an online session, behind closed doors. It helps focus the mind, it boosts concentration and it makes you less susceptible to sledging.
Just remember – it is not perfect.
The beauty of poker is that no teaching is perfect, a point I’m sure ‘The Professor’ would concede. When Daniel Negranu made some immature remarks about Annie Duke, Lederer’s sister, Howard chose a public forum to articulate his distaste. As he later commented, he was ‘extremely steamed’. He was definitely not totally relaxed, nor completely free of the self.
Agitation is part of poker and I realise that I will have to rewrite my goal so we produce a ‘Stress Reduction Program.’
Its first lesson will be: Practise your breathing.
Its second lesson?
Christ.
There I go again. I should read my own notes. Stop by next week to read more of my (yet to be conceived) bumper sticker wisdom.
Regular readers, and some other members of my family, may recall that I posted this a few days ago:
‘I will give some serious thought to how to manage stress at the table and will attempt to devise a proper inoculation program.’
Christ.
I have since made plenty of notes and some of them are not warnings against making bold promises on the blog.
I thought it would be a good idea to gather some wisdom to help me along the path to poker glory and so my first stop was at The Professor’s library.
Howard Lederer, winner of two WSOP bracelets, acquired his intellectual nickname because of his cerebral style at the tables. He also exudes the kind of calm that you simply cannot buy from street corner purveyors of un-prescribed medication. I was curious to know how he does it.
Apparently, he attributes his relaxed approach to Zen Buddhism. On his blog, he specifically mentions ‘Zen in Art of Archery.’ As luck would have it, I bought a copy a few years ago but had never felt sufficiently curious to read it. I think I bought it to impress a girl. However, I was intrigued by Lederer’s comment:
‘How is it possible to stay mindful of the hand when if you win this tournament it could might your life? I believe the study of the Zen arts can lead you down that path.’
It was clearly time to put on my sandals and take a stroll.
I soon realised it wasn’t going to be an easy journey:
‘Zen can only be understood by one who is himself a mystic and not tempted to gain by underhand methods what the mystical experience withholds from him.’
I found that sentence difficult to reconcile.
Why?
Er, well, I’m a poker player. My very economic survival depends on underhand methods and the denial of the mystic experience.
I began to doubt the professor.
I read on and stumbled across:
‘Only [he] who is completely empty and rid of the self is ready to become one with the transcendent Deity’.
Again, that could be tricky.
I am sitting here and I wilfully believe that other people may be interested in reading my opinions. I’m also complimenting myself on a finely cooked hamburger. I fear I have a way to go. Howard is way ahead of me: he is a vegetarian.
However, as I digest more of the thin book, I start to realise that some of it may help at the table, particularly the material on breathing.
The author is trying to master archery. To assist him, his Buddhist mentor teaches him breathing exercises, ‘after breathing in, [stretch] the abdominal wall and hold it there. Breathe out slowly and evenly and draw a quick breath – out and in continually, in a rhythm that will settle.’ This causes the author’s muscles to ease and to feel relaxed.
This definitely helps. As Lederer puts it, ‘I sit at the table and relax. For two years now, I have been practising my own form of poker meditation.’
Try it yourself, preferably during an online session, behind closed doors. It helps focus the mind, it boosts concentration and it makes you less susceptible to sledging.
Just remember – it is not perfect.
The beauty of poker is that no teaching is perfect, a point I’m sure ‘The Professor’ would concede. When Daniel Negranu made some immature remarks about Annie Duke, Lederer’s sister, Howard chose a public forum to articulate his distaste. As he later commented, he was ‘extremely steamed’. He was definitely not totally relaxed, nor completely free of the self.
Agitation is part of poker and I realise that I will have to rewrite my goal so we produce a ‘Stress Reduction Program.’
Its first lesson will be: Practise your breathing.
Its second lesson?
Christ.
There I go again. I should read my own notes. Stop by next week to read more of my (yet to be conceived) bumper sticker wisdom.
No comments:
Post a Comment