What does it take to be a winning poker player?

I love being in the great outdoors for hiking, fishing, canoeing and just getting some fresh air. The crowning moment of these activities was almost 5 years ago, as I spent a month paddling the 700km down the Anderson River in the North West Territories of Canada with 3 friends. Having been bitten by the wildlife bug, I find it fascinating to consider what it takes to survive under extreme circumstances, such as being caught by bad weather or getting lost out in the wild.

It turns out, the most important factor is not your physique. Big or small, thin or fat, the most important thing is all in your head. Of course, if you are too weak to wade through the snow, or too fat to walk half a mile, you are probably in for it, but assuming a functional healthy body, what really matters is that you maintain the will to move forward, stay warm, find shelter, water or whatever else you need most urgently. If you get desperate and turn inward on your own misery, you cease to help yourself survive. If the Discovery Channel is to be believed, research have shown that the most spectacular against-all-odds survivors are almost always people who have some greater cause in mind. Whether it be family, religion or something else is irrelevant, as long as it prevents you from self destruction.

For those of you who don't play poker, it may seem ridiculous to compare a few bad poker results with wildlife survival. But let me assure you, that when you go to bed thousands of dollars poorer than you woke up several days or more in a row, or spend two months studying and playing poker without making a dime, the sheer hopelessness and desperation is very much comparable to getting your life sucked out of you by a winter storm. Soul destroying is the term I am looking for here. When you work hard to study the game, concentrate for hours to play perfect poker and watch all this effort go up in smoke as some IDIOT is rewarded by a miracle river costing you two days of profit, I assure you many a grown man has cried tears of desperation. Needless to say, with a full bank roll and unlimited gambling options at your disposal, self destructive tendencies in these situations can end your poker career in just a few minutes.

To be a winning poker player, you obviously need some raw intelligence to learn the game, and pick up the fundamental math necessary. To be a truly great poker player, you need to excel in a wide range of skills, but that is not the issue here, I am considering what it takes to merely win at a level where you can make a decent living from the game. My contention is that a lot of people (probably more than half) have the intelligence needed to win enough money at low to mid stakes poker to make a living.

But the problem is, that as you start out playing poker before you start making good money, chances are you will run into circumstances and situations that appear hopeless and seem to confirm that you just can't win money at this game. Since very few hobby poker players play for the Glory of God or the survival of their family, they need something else to keep them going when the going gets tough. In my opinion you need some combination of 'Love of the Game', a compulsive gambling nature or an unquenchable self confidence to succeed in the long run. Otherwise the massive downswings or break even stretches will inevitably get you down. And since we are not talking survival here, but merely the continued persuasion of a hobby, it is so easy to put it away and spend your time on something more productive and fun. Probably a good decision too, btw.