Part 1 – Introducing the Law of Attraction in Poker

In 2006 a DVD was released called “The Secret” which proved to be an overnight sensation. Much of the DVD is about using the power of visualisation and thought to alter your perception of the world and therefore your experience of it. Research strongly points towards positive things happening to positive people and this led me to wonder how this could be applied to poker, where lots of luck is involved in short and medium term results. I really enjoyed this DVD and I think you would benefit from watching it regardless of your intention to use it as part of your preparation to play winning poker.

Cash game poker players in both texas hold ‘em and Pot Limit Omaha can go 100,000 hands and despite being winning players they can suffer losses due to consistently having their hands beaten by their opponents hitting their hands despite being behind in a hand. Can the law of attraction change these results? It would be wrong to assume that just because you watch one DVD and begin to think more positively about poker and life this will prevent bad beats. A 20% chance in a poker hand will come about one in five times that situation is played out over time. No universal law however powerful in metaphysical terms can alter the pure mathematics of poker. This could be an argument to say that the law is ineffective from a poker perspective.

When thinking about using the Law of Attraction in poker it is about refining your approach, your belief and your visualisation. Preventing negativity and maintaining belief keeps you making good decisions which should lead you to success in poker.

The five steps of implementing the Law of Attraction is as follows,

1. Know what you Want

It is recommended that you write down everything you want. You must be realistic, however, do not ask for AA in every hand! Things like you will hit the flop; you will trap an aggressive player. Think positively about all parts of poker and you will attract these good moments towards you.

2. Think Big, Not Small

Having goals is important and we have discussed this in previous articles. Randomly playing poker with no goals is just playing hands over and over and this can become boring very quickly. If you goal is to win a poker tournament then visualise this happening. This sets your mind towards what you want to achieve, giving you direction and purpose.

3. Lose the Negativity

In part two of this feature we are going to look at why it is so easy to get negative when you play poker. You must lose all of your fear and concern and focus on making good decisions. Expect to make good decisions and study to ensure you have the ability, knowledge and poise to make these good decisions. Expect the good things you want to achieve from steps one and two and attract them to you.

4. Visualise the Outcome

To keep motivation high you must set time aside to visualise what it would be like to achieve all of your goals in Poker. Imagine giving the interview and feel the satisfaction of having a big cash prize. Really feel and imagine that feeling. The universe will then attract this to you. Phil Hellmuth used the law of attraction and achieved all of his goals within six months early in his poker career. Following this technique can be very powerful if you keep on believing. A positive person works towards their goals and you can achieve what you want through hard work and belief.

5. Act on Intuition

At some point you must trust the law of attraction to work for you and alter your poker life the way you desire. You are positive, focused and ready to achieve and you believe you can do it. Focus on all opponents carefully and then let your intuition guide you to the best results. Opponents will notice your confidence and the fact you are playing like a winner. I believe this is what sets apart the much discussed Maven poker system in that they focus on playing each hand correctly with a belief the winning will happen if they keep doing things right. They have many good testimonials to this effect. Positive thinking can change your life because it puts you in a position to harness opportunity.

Be sure to read part 2 of this feature where we discuss negativity and why it should be avoided and why you should fight to maintain a positive attitude towards poker by using the law of attraction to help you achieve great things.

By Malcolm Clarke