We are in the thick of the World Series of Poker.
Which means one thing: Judgment is everywhere — all day, every day.
This is the time of year when people go on social media and into their group chats, analyzing the plays that they see other people making, with one common goal.
Find the answer.
Then judge.
Figure out who was 'right' and who was 'wrong', then talk about it as if it means anything in a way that makes you sound really smart.
I know it’s tempting to take part in this annual ritual, but I do always need to remind everyone each year that it comes with a huge price: It's a habit that will keep you from ever becoming elite.
Want to win big at poker?
If so, your job isn’t to judge the plays others make.
It’s to take note of them as part of the process to get to know them — their motivations, desires, and ways that they think and approach certain spots.
It's how you learn to always stay one step ahead.
And this is how you become the big winner. Not by judging, which always keeps you one step behind.
When you make the effort to deeply understand who you're dealing with on the human level, you can start to sense what they’re feeling and what they’re about to do before they even know it themselves, and it’s in that moment when you can really crush someone.
The key to it all is simple: Be curious.
Live in that state, and you become open to the insights about people that help you to exceed your current level of play.
If you don’t?
It’s gonna be the same old, same old: More knowledge than results, just you always judging those on the big stage while never being on it.
Jason Su is the author of The Joy of Poker and coaches many of the world’s top poker players on how to perform their best when it matters most.
Learn more with Jason on YouTube and through what many of poker’s top players say is 'the best newsletter in poker,' which you can access for free at pokerwithpresence.com.
Featured image edited using AI.
