Barbara Connors

Barbara lives in the Coachella Valley of Southern California and became a serious student of poker in 2001. She particularly enjoys writing about the psychology of the game.

Short-term perception is often at odds with long-term reality. It’s too easy to get caught up in the immediacy of the moment. Poker players, too, can fall prey to this momentum-induced Read more

Poker players are forever drawing a circle around some random cluster and then declaring it a bullseye. Every time we complain, “I never win coinflips” or “I can never win with this …
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There are many ways the sunk cost effect can influence us at the poker table, but the first and most obvious has to do with the money we put into the pot. …
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Poker is a demanding game. It requires clear, rational decisions in the midst of a complex and constantly shifting landscape. The more bad decisions we make, the more bad results we get. Read more

Conflict is what poker’s all about. This is a central truth of the game that we all deal with every time we sit down to play. We’re trying to beat the other …
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Whether you play poker for a living, as a means of extra income, or as a passionate hobby, one of the greatest things about being a poker player is the chance to …
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Virtually every decision you make in every walk of life carries some kind of opportunity cost, and nowhere is this more true than in a poker game Read more

When it comes to sussing out the poker competition, no error is more common, more pervasive, and more deadly than the simple mistake of underestimating our opponents. Read more

It’s no secret how negative emotions can impact the way we play the game of poker. How can feelings like love, happiness, and compassion affect the way we play? Read more

Why do otherwise sane, smart poker players occasionally play like fish? Why do otherwise astute poker players behave in ways that are so obviously contrary to the goal of winning? Read more