Emotional Intelligence for Poker - 4 of 5

EQ Skill #4. Recognizing emotions in others. In his book Super/System, poker legend Doyle Brunson writes, “Poker is a game of people”, “That’s what Poker’s all about. People…and the strategy you use against them. More than any other game, poker depends on your understanding of your opponent. You’ve got to know what makes him tick…” Empathy, the ability to enter another person’s mind and get a feel of what he feels, is the number one poker ability. And it is even more important in no-limit than in limit. It is also very important in high stakes games where the games tend to be shorthanded and psychology-oriented (as opposed to math-oriented). I believe low EQ is the reason many high IQ mid-limit grinders fail miserably at the high limits – often against people who haven’t even read a poker book in their entire lives – much less respect poker theory!