Poker is a game of many skills, mathematical, psychological, memorization emotional control, etc. Different games require different skillsets. Few people, if any, have the entire range of skills for all circumstances. Being human, it’s important to stay in your element, play to your strengths and avoid your weak areas. Fail to do that and you’ll crash.

What are your strengths and weaknesses? Have you thought about how they pertain to different poker games? The skills to play NL are different from those to play limit. High-limit skills are different from low-limit, etc. It’s important to find your niche and place your main focus on that arena.

If you’re good at reading tells, stick to lower limit games where the inexperienced players are more prone to have them. Are you an aggressive individual who likes to gamble and can handle the swings? If so, play shorthanded and lean towards NL where aggression has more value, everyone swings more, and your strengths give you greater value.

If you’re a patient, risk-adverse individual who doesn’t like to bluff, then low limit games are a good fit. If you’re emotionally controlled, learn a high swing strategy to maximize that strength and make that weakness in your opponents more pronounced. If you’re a math-oriented individual, learn hi-lo split games where the math has a higher value. If you like and are good at studying hand ranges, play no-limit where that knowledge is critical.
Good recall is more important in some games than others, such as stud and NL. If you’ve got a photographic memory, gravitate to those games.

There are many aspects of us all that correspond to poker. Ascertain your strengths and weaknesses, which games/limits are a good fit for those strengths and which you should avoid because they match your weaknesses. Chose games and limits relevant to your skillsets.

Yes, I live in Las Vegas where the game selection is extensive. If you don’t have that luxury, you’ll need to adjust your strengths to your situation. Learn what’s most important in the games you play and work on those aspects.

Obviously, it’s best to develop all aspects of all games. But most people don’t have that much time to devote, nor are they that flexible. Recognize and work within your element and don’t stray off course. Think about your strengths and how they pertain to poker, work towards your strengths and try to eliminate any weaknesses within that element. Do that and you’ll have given yourself your best shot at success.
And at the end of the day, that’s all you can ever ask of yourself!

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