The Aussie Poker Guide

Is Poker All About Money?

Some poker players win big in one pot while other poker players win small pots. But the latter wins more frequently, accumulating the small wins into a big profit at the end. No matter how a poker player wins, the ideal situation is that the poker player must win enough money to make a profit. The money won should be large enough so that it will more than cover the expenses of going to the casino, of staying at a hotel, and of giving tips to dealers.

In other words, money is crucial to the poker player. This is why a poker player may encounter advices that instruct the player to concentrate on increasing his money. But, is poker solely about money? To anyone who has witnessed a game of poker, one will immediately notice that poker is not just about money. Aside from the motivation of money, there is one other strong motivation why people play poker. This motivation is called "competition".

The combination of money and motivation makes up four different kinds of poker players. These are:

- Professional poker players - They are strongly motivated by both money and competition. They consider the game of poker as the ultimate activity for answering their need to be competitive, and at the same time, they can gain profits.

- Card room regulars - They are also strongly motivated by money, but competition takes a back seat. What the card room regulars really want is the absence of competition so that they can easily accomplish their major goal in playing poker, which is to have more money.

- Competition players - With these players, the motivation for money is not as strong as the motivation to win over other poker players. Thus, these players sought tournaments, just to have that thrill of competing.

- Social players - These players have neither an overwhelming need to compete nor a strong motivation for money. They view poker as a game that can be played with friends. Perhaps they play poker to pass the time.

Whichever type of poker player one eventually becomes, one must remember three things:

1. One must know that one's "type" is merely an interplay of two motivations: money and competition. 2. One must expect that motivations will change after a period of time. For example, a relatively social player may find that he relishes competition. 3. One must realize that the above types of poker players are just broad categories. That is, a poker player may mildly appreciate competition and may sometimes want to have a considerable profit.

And then, there may be other things, aside from money and competition, the influence why a person plays poker.