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I've been actively posting on the 2+2 tournament forums since early 2006. In those days Party was the highest volume tournament sight and Paradise poker was thriving. I got myself involved in the community as quickly as possible, and wound up befriending most of the major posters of that time period. I keep sporadic contact with many of them on AIM and MSN, and in the case of the active live players often run into them at major tournaments. Having dropped out of college and spent so much time moving from country to country they became the closest thing I had to a normal social circle for many years.

It's been fascinating for me to watch their evolution in both poker and life. Some guys have faded away never to be heard from again, some have gained success on an enormous scale, and in the case of many they simply burned out and chose to pursue different options in life. It makes me sit back and wonder what causes some guys to fail and some to succeed. It makes me wonder how a Superman like Shaundeeb can crush tournaments the way he does but one day just up and quit (though we all know he'll be back.) It makes me wonder how seven years into this I can't possibly imagine doing anything else for a living while so many around me detest their occupation.

After mulling this all over for a while I've come up with a list for what I think creates success in the poker world. It is not listed in order of significance:

1. Bankroll and money management: Although I'm not putting these in any particular order, if there's one thing I felt comfortable for placing at number one on this list it's definitely bankroll management. When I went back to look at the "Things it took me a while to learn" article I wrote on bankroll management it seemed woefully inadequate and so I'm writing a more complete entry on the subject. There is an endless list of negative consequences to fucking up your bankroll management. It will absolutely ruin your long term equity; if you take a shot in a very soft game where losing means inhibiting you from playing your normal stakes for some duration then you might not even be gaining equity by playing in the game. The emotional devastation of losing all or a major portion of your bankroll can be crippling and wreck your will to grind. Some guys in the poker community are admired for their willingness to go broke; I'll never understand that one (though watching someone like Isildur1 degen it off is certainly entertaining.)

2. Volume and grinding: Very few guys can get away learning and mastering this game without putting in much volume at it. My roommate Jarred Graham has become one of the best all around players in Australia (in terms of being good at many things, I would personally argue the best) within just a few years of play. He's a smart guy, but not some kind of freakish genius. He mostly became as good as he is because he worked his balls off playing nearly every day of the week during the period he was coming up. My personal mentality on grinding is "If you can fit it,(and it won't substantially cut your equity in other tournaments) play it." You can find me in a $24 freezeout the same time I'm playing a $100 rebuys. I really don't give a shit about only being seen in the high buy in or "pro's" tournaments and grinding the small ones reduces my variance.

One of my favorite authors is Malcolm Gladwell, a common choice amongst poker players. I would recommend everything the man has written but of particular interest for poker players would be his most recent work Outliers. In it, Gladwell discusses that in almost every example of enormous talent or ability the subject had put in at least 10,000 hours to achieve mastery in that field, yet the public often confused them for a natural genius in their specialty. He can elaborate on the concept much better than I can but the message is simple; if you want to be good at this you had better put in the work.

3. Emotional control: At his peak, a poker player should be 100% non reactionary. Nothing should phase him, and his emotional investment or interest in the outcome of a hand should be zero. Guy's like Ivey and Antonius are masters of this trade; they could be shot in the leg or have Scarlett Johansson call begging for sex and the difference between reactions would be non existent. Then again, both those guys have so much money it's not hard for them to be so disinterested. People often wonder why the Scandinavians are often such excellent natural poker players, and while I have no proof on the matter I'm overwhelmingly confident it's because they are a naturally cold and logical people. Meanwhile many of the players from more..."passionate" countries, tend to be pretty fucking awful.

Unfortunately, it seems difficult to practice being detached and disinterested so many hours of the day and not have it spill over into your personality. After seven years in poker I've reached a stage where nothing bothers me in anymore. I took a one outer for almost my whole stack 20 minutes into the WSOP main event this year and shrugged then laughed a little. Conversely, friends and women I date routinely describe me as "cold", "detached" and the ever common "robotic." I'm still looking to find the balance with this one.

4. Taking breaks: For all the practiced and developed emotional control, most people stay fairly human. This means they burn out and get exhausted of the game frequently enough that a break here and there will do them good. Hell, I know for sure that having spent six of the last eight months traveling (and most of that time getting wasted and chasing girls) has done wonders for my mentality; all I ever want to do anymore is grind. I suppose if you feel happy grinding seven days a week 12 months a year with no breaking I wouldn't advise you to stop, but most people seem to need a breather from time to time.

Even small breaks to pursue a passion outside of poker will be beneficial. We've all got external interests, and hopefully with the money you gain from grinding hard at poker you can actively pursue them. For me it's dating, going to the gym, and getting stoned, but it might be any number of different things for you. Need a recommendation? Call of Duty on Xbox360, that shit is awesome. God I wish I had more time to play.

5. Staying in shape: This is so totally underrated amongst poker players. Near everyone knows you function better mentally when staying active physically, and it's nowhere close as hard as most guys make it out to be. Many of us grew up playing a sport and if feasible, I'd recommend picking it up again. Otherwise, for guys who are grinding hard it's really not that expensive to hire a dietitian and personal trainer who will make corrections to your diet and keep you motivated in the gym. Only a few active sessions a week and editing out junk food will make a noticeable change within a few months not only aesthetically, but in varied other positive aspects.

6. Being social with your other poker players: Learning this game alone is very hard. Having other guys to compare thoughts with, calibrate your ranges, swap notes, and motivate each other is invaluable. It's obviously in my best interest to say this, but coaching is a good idea for many guys too. I've paid four different guys for coaching at some point (Adam Junglen, NoahSD, Mike Watson, and SEABEAST) and every time they found ways to make me better. Shit, I ought to hire someone for a session some time soon considering how much grinding I'm going to be doing.

Routinely talking poker with contemporaries will do wonders for your game and social life when you travel to tournaments. Lord knows how much I learned in friendly conversations with Luckychewy, MikeJ, JayPez, Gobboboy, Randallin, Eagles, Jarred Graham, Steve Leonard, and on and on. I discovered little on my own in this game; I am merely a composition of smart peoples thoughts channeled through my own style and discipline.