Poker Goals That Can Help You Boost Your Career

In today’s era of “growth-hacking,” everyone wants to see results on a quick return. In truth, there’s no such thing as skipping progression levels when trying to master Texas Hold’em.

You simply have to put in the work, but one thing is sure. If you commit to strengthening your poker game, you’ll see the results.

And, the best way to succeed in poker long-term is always to have goals and targets you’re aiming to achieve. Here are the most effective poker goals you should set if you want to boost your career.

Make Goals That Depend on You

When it comes to setting poker goals, the first and most important thing you should be sure about is that you’ve set realistic goals you can achieve in the future.

A goal for creating goals might seem unnecessary, but this piece of advice applies across the board.

Whether you’re just starting or are looking to bring your poker career to the next level, you probably have a certain amount of money you want to hit in a specific period.

Although this may seem like a simple and effective goal, in reality, this is a goal you can’t really control.

Poker is a game of variance, and you can’t measure your progress in it simply by going over numbers. Sure, you may have hit a big win, which has put you in the positive for the year, but it isn’t an indicator of where you’re going.

In this game, a wrong decision can lead to a win and vice-versa.

Instead of setting money-oriented goals, set your sights on things you can control. This may pertain to improving your game, developing your strategy, and making the right decisions, or simply how much time you want to put into it.

If you’re going to boost your career, always make time to study the game. No matter how good you get, keep learning and reviewing your own play, as there is always room for improvement.

Don’t Set Too Many Goals

Perhaps equally important as setting realistic and controllable goals is being careful not to set too many goals.

If you’re full of energy and optimism at the start of your poker career, it’s understandable that you want it all. However, you can’t want it all at the same time, especially right away.

When you look at the site Erfahrungen.com, you’ll notice they list hundreds of comparisons, but these are all neatly categorized so that you can easily find what you’re looking for. You should devise a similar strategy for setting poker goals.

If you have a complex goal or try to focus on too many plans at once, you can get drowned in all of it or start thinking of poker more as a chore than as something you enjoy.

Too many goals can lead to even more procrastinating than having just a few goals, as weird as it sounds. Avoid doing this by creating a reasonable plan that will allow you to narrow your focus and concentrate on achieving and maintaining results even when you hit a wall.

Balance Life Outside of the Game

Being dedicated to playing and learning poker will set you on a steady path to becoming a successful player. That said, obsessing over the game for the best part of every day will only be counterproductive.

If everything you can think of from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep is poker, you’re not on the right track to becoming a poker pro. You’re on the track of developing a gambling addiction.

Like anything you do in your free time, the best way to enjoy poker is in moderation. It’s crucial to balance your passion for the game with your life away from the felt.

Don't tie up your life with your poker ups and downs, but instead do other activities that emotionally charge you and make you happy.

By doing so, you’ll enjoy the game more every time you play it and be in a healthier mindset to succeed.

Build Confidence but Avoid Being Overly Optimistic

When you look at the best of the best, you can see that they’re oozing with confidence. Each of them thinks he or she is the best in the world.

Although this might seem like an arrogant way of thinking, there is a lot of logic behind this mindset. If you genuinely believe you’re the best and are confident in yourself, you’ll be able to achieve more.

In poker, confidence is truly key.

That said, don’t mistake confidence with unfounded optimism in your skills or experience. Too often, players, especially those who have been playing      the game for just a couple of years, get on a good streak and think that they’ve managed to solve poker.

This is a dangerous mindset to have, as when the variance hits you the other way, you’ll not only lose your money, but your confidence will be shaken, and you will have a more challenging time recovering from a significant loss.

The key takeaway is that you should never ignore your previous failures but remain confident in your game with a deep understanding of your real weaknesses.

Always Aim Up

Hopefully, if you’ve been playing for some time now, you’ve been successful enough to move up the stakes.

If this is the case, you know that this is one of the best feelings there are in poker. If not, you should definitely have it as one of your future goals.

Climbing through the stakes is one of the most effective ways to sustain steady growth as a player while ensuring more lucrative wins along the way.

This goal shouldn’t have a set timeframe you need to complete it in. By removing the time aspect from the equation, you won’t be only focusing on the end result but give your best to succeed during the journey itself.

Also, don’t be afraid to move back down if you lose too many buy-ins. Moving up the stakes is always tempting, but you should only do it if the sensible bankroll management strategy allows for it. Otherwise, the risk of going broke is too high.