Emotional Intelligence for Poker - 3 of 5

EQ Skill #3. Motivating one self. I believe that the inability to motivate themselves into taking the right actions is the primary reason why many high IQ players have become very successful at under achieving. They can talk a good deal about the importance of table selection, being selectively aggressive, being patient, and so forth. But when it comes to getting themselves to actually do these in the heat of battle, they choke, or worse, tank and go down in flames. In Goleman’s words, “Emotional control – delaying gratification and stifling impulsiveness – underlies accomplishment of every sort”. If you gave two people, one with average IQ but with above average motivation and a second one with high IQ but low motivation, the same bankroll amount and then placed them in the same environment for a year, my money is on the first guy.