Some may think that the talent of unraveling what lurks in their opponents mind is the secret to playing poker well. It might also be considered that If one could attend a class or seminar on the science of the unconscious mind while indulging in games of chance that it would be a great help to their game. No way. If one was able to be taught how to read another’s mind and discover their various neuroses in the process, it would still be no guarantee of a win.

While strategy is a real and important element of poker, and is certainly more basic than psychoanalysis, it is still only one important tactic. Mindreading would certainly be an asset to wise play, but is this possible? It is in a way.

The best of players, as the best of artists, never required a manual on the subject of their professions. They proceed intuitively, by means of naturally sharp observation which they practiced and developed individually in the course of the years.

Good technical manuals on poker psychology are rare. This is at the very crux of the matter. Whatever tips and advice you may find off the net or in the bookstore, you can not practically or successfully put them into real play. You must have that inexplicable talent of intuition that puts your own creative mind processes over the limit of your opponents.

If everyone played according to strict principles, the games would be no different than relatively complex computer simulations and prediction would be relatively simple, depending on the number of variables. This is in fact more or less how novices and people without much gift for games generally play, and it is why they generally loose more than they win.

Such schematics are disdained by the professional player, who makes their own observations regarding others methods of play as well as their own. Using their well-developed intuition, they take those observations and mix them into principles according to their own thought processes. This results in a strategy known only to themselves. The most talented players use these complex (or deceptively simple) secret strategies to make them less vulnerable than their opponents.

This may be another reason why artists and players (two creatures in the same family) do not easily and never fully reveal their trade secrets to the general public: at best they allow some general theoretical discussion of their work or a few relatively trivial technical tips. Which may be very nice of them, but the problem is that they did not achieve their status by reading somebody else’s tips.

It is then most vital to commit yourself to the intense study of personal observation from your own practice to develop your observational skills as well as your imagination. Do this and you will independently create ways of acquiring a manner of play that is unique to you in its every detail.

By far the best bluffers of the game are those who do it with regularity in a manner that prohibits anyone at the table from deciphering the bluff. This requires a strong intuition developed by lots of practice and known only to them.

You will have to work hard to develop your unique manner of play. Even more difficult though is to have the courage and independence to use your carefully developed imagination in successful ways while sometimes appearing idiotic. This personal quirk will lead to a spirit of discovery and innovation that will set you ahead of the pack.

One could now proceed to elaborate on the processes of intuition, or suggest where to start or what not to neglect, but even that would be too much. Everyone is blessed with intuition; not everyone has the drive to aggressively hone and use it. If the results of your unique intuition are to be unique, you had better start on your own.

Be prepared for a lifetime commitment: nobody who was ever great at anything, was somehow mysteriously and effortlessly great – they worked hard; and they worked independently.

The author is a successful limit cash game player. He plays poker online and receives Red Star Rakeback and Victory Poker Rakeback.