If you want to improve as a footballer, then you need to have commitment to dieting and training. However, the best footballers also need to have a high footballing IQ. Poker is a game that can help you with that in some surprising ways.
Poker is one of the most famous games in the world. While some of it may come down to luck, it involves an immense amount of strategy and discipline. These are traits that can also allow a footballer to thrive within a game.
The first step is learning how the game works. Once you know the basic rules, including the poker hands ranked, you can start to pit your wits against fellow players. As you’ll see, doing so can help to teach some valuable skills that can be transferred to football.
The Power of Patience and Discipline
When playing poker, you must realise that not every hand you play is going to be a winning one. Sometimes you have to fold and accept that you’ll lose a little bit of money. The same can apply in football. Gerard Piqué loves playing poker, so it's no surprise he knew the benefits of not rushing into a bad decision when under pressure.
Poker forces you to be more disciplined in your thinking. You have to trust that your skill and judgement will pay off. In football, you may play that risky pass because there was nothing else on. However, if you were more patient, another opportunity could have opened up.
Poker also teaches you about mental stamina. You have to sit for hours and concentrate for long periods. In football, a brief lapse of concentration can be deadly. Having the ability to fully concentrate allows you to play well throughout the whole game, whether that is in football or poker.
Reading Opponents Like a Poker Player
A mistake many footballers can make is not reading their opponent. If a player only has one good foot, you don’t want to give them the space to use it. If a defender is flat-footed, they will be easy to bypass.
You must read people and pick up subtle cues. Another famous footballer who has won money in major tournaments is Teddy Sheringham. He knew all about reading defenders and dropping into space to create opportunities.
This is a famous skill in poker. Elite players will know how to read people. Even in the online world, the best will work out betting tendencies and behaviours when certain hands are played. This allows you to know when to bluff or when to put in those high stakes.
Poker will sharpen your overall observation skills. You will pay attention to patterns of behaviour. On the pitch, this may relate to a defender always thinking you’ll try and take them on the outside. If they overcommit, it makes beating them on the inside all the easier.
Whether it's making shots, interceptions, tackles, or crosses, this level of analytic thinking is required to be the best. In both games, you need to learn how to recognise predictable moves so you can take advantage of them.
Thriving Under Pressure
In every poker hand, you need to make a decision. If you’ve not put down a blind and want to fold, sometimes that decision is easy. However, some decisions can come down to winning huge money or walking away with nothing at all.
Poker players have to thrive under pressure. They have to commit to big calls, even through fear. In poker, you have to play the percentages to get the upper hand. While football doesn’t have the same mathematics, you still need to assess which is the best possible move.
In football, you can go for long periods where the pressure is off. Then suddenly, you need to switch on and make the right call. Poker can help with this as it will teach you to understand how to make the right calls every time. Whether it's supporters in fan forums or a manager having doubts, you also need to shut out outside noise.
In both, sometimes those right calls may not work out. It could be an opponent scoring a 30-yard screamer or their goalkeeper making a world-class save. Sometimes you have to tip your cap to your opponent. But if you consistently make the right moves under pressure, you will have a lot more successes than failures.
Poker can also teach you not to let emotions dictate your decisions. In football, it can be easy to get frustrated or annoyed. This can lead to selfish shots or bad tackles. In poker, you have to be calculated even when the heat is on. It allows you to think with your head, not your heart.
Dealing With Failure
In poker, you will fail often. Sometimes this is minor, such as losing your big blind. Other times, you may lose it all. In either scenario, you have to move on from failure quickly and not let it affect your future decision-making.
We all make mistakes. What separates winners is how they are able to bounce back without letting failures affect them. When you lose your head, it’s easy to