Too good to be true?

This weekend I decided to put my money where my mouth is and played 10 heads-up matches online. I won 8 out of the 10 and one of my losses was to a bad beat. So this scenario just begs the question "Am I really that good?" Naturally when anyone poker player goes on a run it feels great. However, reality can be a sobering experience if you fly too far off the ground. In my case I quickly realized that while I am playing well I am also running good too. Indeed a deadly combination when both are in sync.

However, even a mediocre play can break even playing heads-up on a good day. So after I thought about my little run this weekend I quickly realized that for the stakes I was playing at I am certainly an excellent player. Does that mean I can wipe out Dan Harrington or Johnny Chan in an 10 game match? Who knows? What I do know is that sometimes when we are playing well our ability can appear to be distorted and give us the impression that we are a better or worse player than we really are. For me I simply looked at my run as just that. I expect to win 70 percent of my heads-up matches. If I fall short then perhaps I need to make some adjustments before attempting to run again.

Poker is a long term game. One match or a couple of matches do not determine how well you did or did not play. However, if you are consistently winning heads-up matches against competition that is at your own level or better then consider yourself fortunate. You are good at what you do. Just remember that good players are ALWAYS working to improve their game.