Setting Poker Goals

It’s that time of year again: 2019 is just around the corner, which means many of us are reflecting back on 2018 and thinking ahead to the new year. For poker players, this is a great opportunity to look back on how we improved, to identify our shortcomings, and to set some poker goals for 2019.

Setting goals is a vital part of your mental game if you truly want to become a great player. The best players are constantly setting and assessing their goals because they continually strive for improvement.

Take a moment here, grab a pen and paper, and make a list of changes that you made in your game in 2018 and changes that you want to make in 2019. Be honest with yourself.

Smart Poker Goals

Now that you’ve got your list, let’s go a bit further and discuss how to get the most out of your poker goals. Like any other goal, it’s important that your poker goals are attainable. If you set out to win the WSOP main event in 2019, you’re probably going to be disappointed. Instead, figure out where you are now and take a step up from that. Maybe you want to climb up a rank in the global pokerrrr challenge?

Another important factor of poker goals is that the best ones aren’t resulted-oriented. Remember, since poker is a game of variance, there’s no way to guarantee any results, even with a great strategy. So, instead of saying “I want to have a 70% win-rate,” try setting a process-oriented goal like “I want to study poker for 15 minutes a day.”

Or, you might decide to focus on your mental game, to not tilt off. Again, this is a personal goal that you can work on without having to worry about any external factors.

This type of goal will be much more effective because you can easily track it and because it rests entirely in your own hands.

The new year offers a great opportunity for us to grow, both as people and as poker players. By setting reasonable and attainable goals that we can work towards on a daily basis, we provide ourselves with the motivation and tools to become ever better poker players.

Are you ready to level up your game in 2019?