{"id":2541274,"date":"2025-03-27T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/?p=2541274"},"modified":"2025-12-08T09:23:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T09:23:17","slug":"the-greatest-poker-mantra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/the-greatest-poker-mantra\/","title":{"rendered":"The Greatest Poker Mantra: Wait for a Better Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Poker mantras are plentiful and awesome, such as \u201cAll you need is a chip and a chair,\u201d and \u201cIt\u2019s never wrong to not play.\u201d<br><br>But the greatest poker mantra of all \u2013 the only one with explicit universal instructions on <a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-strategy-tips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Poker Strategy 101 \u2013 How to Win in Poker More Often\">how to win in poker<\/a> and improve your win rate right now \u2013 the only mantra that has saved me a thousand buyins, is this: <em>Wait for a better spot.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-table-of-contents uagb-toc__align-left uagb-toc__columns-1  uagb-block-e9cf62aa      \"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-scroll= \"1\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-offset= \"30\"\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTable Of Contents\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__list-wrap \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<ol class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#what-causes-good-players-to-play-poorly\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">What Causes Good Players to Play Poorly<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#enter-the-greatest-poker-mantra\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Enter the Greatest Poker Mantra<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#what-exactly-am-i-waiting-for\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">What Exactly Am I Waiting For?\u00a0<\/a><ul class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#position\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Position<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#stacks\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Stacks<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#villains\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Villains<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#prior-action\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Prior Action<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#cards\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Cards<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#in-praise-of-waiting\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">In Praise of Waiting<\/a><\/ul><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Causes Good Players to Play Poorly <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s do a thought survey. A thought survey is just as much fun as a thought experiment in that you don\u2019t have to go anywhere or do anything, or even prove anything.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For this thought survey, we\u2019re going to pretend to ask 1,000 professional poker players this question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>In your vast experience, you have witnessed the unravelling of the masses. Countless times, you have watched players shift gears from A-game to C-game. As a trained patternist, answer this: Is there a defining feature, strategy-wise, that is common to all or nearly all of those deteriorations?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>And now you and I give our opinions on what we think the 1,000 pros would say. Isn\u2019t this fun? I\u2019ll go first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m going to start with what I think <a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/cash-game-strategy-tips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Best Cash Game Strategy Tips to Transform Your Game\">cash game poker<\/a> pros would <strong><em>not<\/em> <\/strong>say. They wouldn\u2019t point to over-bluffing or under-bluffing as traits of the unhinged. Either could be a symptom of tilt, but neither is universal. Likewise with displays of frustration. Those are reliable tilt tells, but not everyone does them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What the pros <em>would<\/em> say, in my opinion, is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cYes, a reliable sign of C-game does exist. When capable players play poorly, their VPIP goes up. They see more flops. They get itchy. It happens fast and it\u2019s obvious. Tilting players invest money and emotion into preflop situations where, just moments ago, they wouldn\u2019t have.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>That was me, bigtime, for a long time. I\u2019d play solid for a while, maybe a long while, but inevitably I\u2019d become restless and unsettled and sure enough, I\u2019d loosen up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Enter the Greatest Poker Mantra<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"616\" height=\"464\" src=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Enter-the-Greatest-Poker-Mantra.jpg\" alt=\"Enter the Greatest Poker Mantra\" class=\"wp-image-2541300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Enter-the-Greatest-Poker-Mantra.jpg 616w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Enter-the-Greatest-Poker-Mantra-558x420.jpg 558w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 616px) 100vw, 616px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>My road to recovery began when five precious words germinated in my poker mind and took root. This was back when limit hold\u2019em ruled the rooms. I didn\u2019t even know what a mantra was back then. Yet somehow, I knew to repeatedly remind myself to\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Wait for a better spot.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Wait for a better spot.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Wait for a better spot.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since then, I\u2019ve gone full mantra. It\u2019s like a hobby with benefits. I collect nuggets of helpful notions, and curate them, and chant them to myself\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This will pass. This will pass. This will pass.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Listen. Listen. Listen.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>I\u2019m okay in here. I\u2019m okay in here. I\u2019m okay in here.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Silent recitations provide a combination of relief, stability, focus, and the occasional joy burst. I always want more of all that. So I remain diligent with my repetitions at the table:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Sit up. Sit up. Sit up.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Watch the game. Watch the game. Watch the game.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Wait for a better spot. Wait for a better spot. Wait for a better spot.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What Exactly Am I Waiting For?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"512\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Wait-for-a-Better-Spot-1.jpg\" alt=\"Wait for a Better Spot\" class=\"wp-image-2541306\" style=\"width:477px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Wait-for-a-Better-Spot-1.jpg 512w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Wait-for-a-Better-Spot-1-420x420.jpg 420w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Wait-for-a-Better-Spot-1-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If I think of myself as the center of my solar system, and if I think of the various variables spinning around me as planets, then what I\u2019m waiting for is the perfect alignment of these five planets: position, stacks, villains, prior action, and cards. I can feel those spots when they arise. I think you can too. It\u2019s the feeling that says this is good, this is right, this is why I\u2019m here. If you don\u2019t get that feeling, fold. That\u2019s what it means to wait for a better spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s probe the orbitals\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Position<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve got 67o in the hijack. A profit-source opens for 4x. The stacks are deep enough to party. But the <a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-positions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Poker Positions \u2013 Know How to Play from Every Seat at the Table\">position at the table<\/a> isn\u2019t good enough, not with two tough opponents behind me. If I was on the button, this would be a spot worth waiting for, and I would call or raise.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Stacks<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In this example, the position, the cards, and the villain are aligned just right. But the stacks aren\u2019t. They\u2019re too small.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve got 67o on the button. A profit source opens for 4x. It\u2019s folded to me. His stack is only 20BB, so I fold. The better spot I\u2019m waiting for is when his stack is 100BB or more. Then we dance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Villains<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s a spot where the position, stacks, and cards say play ball. But the villain-type makes it a good time to muck and wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve got 67o on the button and a tough pro opens for 4x. The stacks are deep. It\u2019s folded to me. I fold because going out of my way to play pots against pros is the antithesis of wait-for-a-better-spot. Against a softer player, I would call or raise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Prior Action<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve got ace-five suited in the big blind. A profit source opens for 4x on the button. The small blind calls. Both of their ranges are wide. And I\u2019ve seen both of them fold to 3-bets, especially from rocks like me. The prior action is right for me to raise with this hand in this spot. So I raise. If the small blind had <a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/3-bet-poker-strategy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"3-Betting in Poker: How to Pick the Right Spot for a 3-Bet\">3-bet<\/a>, the planets would say to fold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Cards<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Jack-ten suited feels really good in some preflop situations and in others, it\u2019s an auto-muck. 65o on the button can feel like pure gold when the stacks and villains sing to you in harmony: the waiting is over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then there\u2019s in-between, when some planets are aligned, but not all. That\u2019s when the sensation of uncertainty shows up, and that\u2019s your clue, and your proof, that this is not a spot worth waiting for. Fold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In Praise of Waiting<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"616\" height=\"464\" src=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Runaway-VPIP.jpg\" alt=\"Runaway VPIP\" class=\"wp-image-2541294\" style=\"width:549px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Runaway-VPIP.jpg 616w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Runaway-VPIP-558x420.jpg 558w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 616px) 100vw, 616px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Waiting transcends all games, styles, and theories.<strong> <\/strong>Every seasoned player \u2013 winners and losers alike \u2013 no matter what they play or how they play \u2013 has experienced this regret many times: \u201cI should not have played that hand. I should have waited for a better spot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Waiting raises the density of profitable situations. I love the feeling of being in solid spots all day long, by way of avoiding the shaky ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The mantra keeps me from taking that first step on the slippery slope of preflop leakiness. And if I\u2019m already sliding, the mantra slows my descent, and sometimes stops it altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s say I\u2019ve been playing for a couple hours, with me and my VPIP hanging out in our usual 20% to 25% zone. We\u2019re content. Then some losing happens, and time passes, followed by more losing, and more time. And then, all of a sudden, my <a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/ranges-in-poker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Ranges in Poker \u2013 Analyze Your Hands Like a Pro\">poker range<\/a> widens and my VPIP wants to go off leash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I used to enjoy letting my VPIP run wild now and then, in spurts. But I had to stop doing that because sometimes a spurt turned into hours of tilted misery. If you struggle the way I did, and you\u2019re fed up like I was, I believe that repeating these words to yourself will improve your poker score\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Wait for a better spot<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Wait for a better spot<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Wait for a better spot<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But don\u2019t take my word on it. Ask the 1000 pros and see what they think.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Poker mantras are plentiful and awesome, such as \u201cAll you need is a chip and a chair,\u201d and \u201cIt\u2019s never wrong to not play.\u201d But the greatest poker mantra of all \u2013 the only one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":219,"featured_media":2541277,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2541274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cash-games","category-mindset-lifestyle"],"acf":{"peak_live_date":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Wait-for-a-better-spot.jpg",1280,720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Wait-for-a-better-spot-373x210.jpg",373,210,true],"medium":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Wait-for-a-better-spot-746x420.jpg",746,420,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Wait-for-a-better-spot-768x432.jpg",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Wait-for-a-better-spot-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Wait-for-a-better-spot.jpg",1280,720,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Wait-for-a-better-spot.jpg",1280,720,false],"author_image":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Wait-for-a-better-spot-100x100.jpg",100,100,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Tommy Angelo","author_link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/author\/tommy-angelo\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Poker mantras are plentiful and awesome, such as \u201cAll you need is a chip and a chair,\u201d and \u201cIt\u2019s never wrong to not play.\u201d But the greatest poker mantra of all \u2013 the only one [&hellip;]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2541274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/219"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2541274"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2541274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2541313,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2541274\/revisions\/2541313"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2541277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2541274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2541274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2541274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}