One thing I’ve come to appreciate over the years is that we often evaluate other players as though everyone at the table is trying to accomplish the same thing. If our primary objective is long-term profit, we naturally judge every call, raise, and fold through the lens of expected value. When someone calls raises with terrible hands, chases draws without the proper price, or simply refuses to fold, the immediate conclusion is often that the player doesn’t understand the game. Sometimes that is certainly true. But sometimes we may be judging the decision against an objective the player never had in the first place.
People play poker for all kinds of reasons: profit, competition, entertainment, social interaction, excitement, challenge, or simply something enjoyable to do for a few hours. Usually several of those motivations exist at the same time; what matters is which one dominates the player’s decisions. The person who came to gamble and have fun may place real value on seeing flops and being involved in the action, while the profit-focused player is perfectly content folding for an hour. The resulting strategies may be completely different because the objectives are different.
None of that makes an unprofitable decision mathematically correct. A bad call remains a bad call from an expected-value standpoint. But understanding why someone is willing to make that call can tell us something important about how that player thinks. Instead of simply asking, “Why would anyone play the hand that way?” I’ve increasingly found it useful to ask a different question: What is this player actually trying to get out of the game? Once that becomes clearer, behavior that initially looked inexplicable often becomes much easier to understand—and potentially much easier to play against.
Great write up Mike!! As you have played many live poker games with me you know my number one goal is to have fun. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to win but if winning is your only goal poker is going to get very frustrating very quickly!! I love to have fun at the poker table,but I also like to win!!!
One thing I’ve come to appreciate over the years is that we often evaluate other players as though everyone at the table is trying to accomplish the same thing. If our primary objective is long-term profit, we naturally judge every call, raise, and fold through the lens of expected value. When someone calls raises with terrible hands, chases draws without the proper price, or simply refuses to fold, the immediate conclusion is often that the player doesn’t understand the game. Sometimes that is certainly true. But sometimes we may be judging the decision against an objective the player never had in the first place.
People play poker for all kinds of reasons: profit, competition, entertainment, social interaction, excitement, challenge, or simply something enjoyable to do for a few hours. Usually several of those motivations exist at the same time; what matters is which one dominates the player’s decisions. The person who came to gamble and have fun may place real value on seeing flops and being involved in the action, while the profit-focused player is perfectly content folding for an hour. The resulting strategies may be completely different because the objectives are different.
None of that makes an unprofitable decision mathematically correct. A bad call remains a bad call from an expected-value standpoint. But understanding why someone is willing to make that call can tell us something important about how that player thinks. Instead of simply asking, “Why would anyone play the hand that way?” I’ve increasingly found it useful to ask a different question: What is this player actually trying to get out of the game? Once that becomes clearer, behavior that initially looked inexplicable often becomes much easier to understand—and potentially much easier to play against.
Well said. Motivations vary in this game tremendously.
https://www.freezeoutpoker.com/p/beginner-series-part-3-motivation
Great write up Mike!! As you have played many live poker games with me you know my number one goal is to have fun. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to win but if winning is your only goal poker is going to get very frustrating very quickly!! I love to have fun at the poker table,but I also like to win!!!
You have a great mindset for the game Joe. You always have and I admire you for it.
I miss playing with you in the regular.
Love this! Thank you for the story.
Thank you. ❤️