How elite tennis stars compare with Poker players

Tennis and poker are two entirely different games. Tennis is an outdoor sport you play on a lawn or clay and require so much physical preparation while poker is an indoor table game where you can relax on a chair and play against several opponents on the table. Unlike tennis where you need a lot of gym work and endurance training to become one of the best, poker requires little or no physical exercise but a lot of mental tenacity to psychologically overpower your opponent. The game of tennis involves a lot of mental strength too.

There are so many differences between these two sports but you will be shocked by how similar they can be too. In this article, we will discuss how players of these two sports share similar experiences and how you can compare both sports.  

How Online Poker Can Help Improve Real-Life Poker Ability

Poker is one of the most technical card games requiring special talent and mental strength. It’s a game of thoughts and strategy and sometimes it can get messy. When you face opponents who are good at trash-talking, you have to be ready for what they throw at you. But with the proper skill set and mental toughness, you should be able to maneuver tough situations.  

Now with digital poker you can play with no physical presence, so it gives you more time to learn the game and develop the psychological aspect of the game. This way, you become a much better player when you go back to play live poker. Let’s explore some of the benefits of online poker.

Improve Your Skill

One of the best ways to develop your playing skills is to play poker online regularly.  The online environment is a much better space to learn about different aspects of the game. When you start getting better online, you unconsciously start to apply your skills in live poker and this improves your gameplay. 

From online poker, you can discover new tactics that you can use against your real-life opponents. As you continue to play, many more strategies that you are unfamiliar with will be shown to you. And with constant practice, you become one step ahead of your real-life opponents.

Helps You Make Better Decisions 

Playing poker online elevates your decision-making. There are poker games that are tasking and require a high level of thinking to crack them. These poker games improve your mental faculty which is highly needed in live poker games. So, as you keep playing, you become a better thinker unconsciously. 

It Makes You Emotionally Mature

As you play poker online, you learn to manage your emotions better. Despite how friendly it is to play online, the games can create scenarios that can make you lose your shit. If you learn how to manage situations like this properly, then adapting to live poker becomes simple. 

In live poker, you face opponents who are ready to trash-talk you into making wrong decisions. But if you are a master of online poker, handling these situations becomes easy. 

How Tennis Compares to Poker As Regards Game Psychology 

Despite the difference in the level of physicality between tennis and poker, both require a high level of mental strength. An elite tennis or poker player always wants their head to be in the game because just a little slip of focus can cause them to lose their guard. 

Tennis, like poker, isn’t a team sport, therefore the player is solely responsible for whatever happens during a game. Unlike a team sport where team members can motivate themselves when things are going the wrong way, tennis and poker players have to draw motivation from within to keep their heads straight. 

The mental preparation for a tennis game is quite similar to poker. Live poker requires more preparation because poker is a game of intelligence that requires thinking constantly and making decisions.  

Playing tennis for a long period can get you physically tired. At that point, players can get emotionally vulnerable. Once they start conceding points to their opponent, they become sad and start to show signs of weakness especially if they are very emotional players. 

The same goes for poker players who have to withstand a lot of trash-talking from their opponents, while still keeping their head in the game. If the games go for long, those who are not emotionally strong will not be able to handle the pressure from their opponents. 

The thoughts of both poker and tennis players can also affect their gameplay. It’s normal to lose a round while playing or make a wrong decision. Hardly will you see a player have a 100% score all through the course of a game. But players with tough mental tenacity do not let these setbacks get to them. 

Poker and tennis players need to work on their mental capacity so they can cope with the stress of playing the game. This is more important for poker players who play the game with their heads from the start to the finish. 

Conclusion 

Poker and tennis are games with different strategies but require a high level of mental toughness. This mental tenacity will come in handy when the pressure is high and keep your head focused on the game. Poker players can build their mental strength by checking out different online poker games and exploring them.