How Playing Baseball Can Make You Better at Poker
At first, baseball and poker seem like an unlikely pair since they are completely different games. However, a closer look reveals that baseball and poker share many similarities in terms of strategy, among other things. A variation game of Stud poker is even called “Baseball.”
If you learn baseball strategy, it can help your poker-playing strategies as well. Here are a few reasons how playing baseball can help make you a better poker player.
Players Must Balance the Slow Pace of the Game with High Adrenaline Moments
Baseball is a very slow game. However, when there is action, it all happens quickly and with a lot of adrenaline. For instance; someone tries to steal a base, or someone hits a home run and the crowd goes wild. That’s how it is in poker, too. Hand after hand is slowly played until there is a standoff, and everything gets exciting. In both baseball and poker, you have to be ready for those high-adrenaline moments because they can happen at any time. Even though the games are played slowly, you must remain alert.
Players Are Rewarded for Patience and Calculated Risks
Since baseball and poker are played so slowly, this leaves a lot of time for players to strategize. In baseball, the coach studies each player on the opposing team and reveals the information to his pitcher to help the pitcher decide what pitching strategy to use. The coach and pitcher often talk to each other in code with hand signs. The same is true of poker; players carefully study their opponents to determine the best strategy of play, such as whether to bluff or give up when they’ve missed their draw. Players who are patient and take calculated risks are rewarded in both games.
In addition, poker pros often spend a good deal of time reading strategy online or in books, while baseball players often study with their coaches and teammates to come up with the best possible strategies and plays.
Players Are Faced with Constant One-on-One Confrontations
Baseball is a team sport, but there are constant one-one-one confrontations — such as the pitcher vs. the batter and baseman vs. the runner. Poker can be played with lots of people, but it often comes down to a head-to-head battle to determine the winner of the hand. One-on-one confrontations complicate the games because you have to constantly change your strategy to win. You can’t always pitch a fastball and you can’t always bluff your opponent. Baseball legend Orel Hershiser has mastered one-on-one confrontations in both baseball and poker, having found success on the felt after his retirement from the mound.
Players Must Make Quick Decisions
Even though there is a lot of time to strategize in baseball and poker, players often have to make quick decisions. Batters must constantly decide whether to swing or let the ball pass, and batting is a lot like betting. In poker, players must decide whether to bet, check, call, raise or fold. One bad decision can cause a strike in baseball or a lost hand in poker. So, players must have the stamina to strategize over a long game, but they must also have the ability to make quick decisions that can alter their entire strategy. Both baseball and poker are simple in principle, but complex in reality.
Players Must Try to Read Their Opponents and Hide Their Tells
The biggest similarity between baseball and poker is that players must try to read their opponents and hide their tells. The pitcher in a baseball game can choose to throw a fastball, curveball, or one of several other pitches. It is the batter’s job to try and read the pitcher to know what type of pitch he is going to throw. Then, if a baseball player is able to get onto a base, he must decide whether to try and steal another by bluffing the pitcher. This is similar to poker in that all players must try and figure out if their opponents are bluffing. Then, poker players must also decide whether to try and bluff themselves.
All baseball pitchers and poker players have tells. Part of the strategy of each game is trying to figure them out. If you can correctly determine what actions your opponent is going to take based on their behavior and body language, you can win the game.
Both baseball and poker require a specific set of skills. If you want to be an awesome poker player, take a closer look at baseball. The strategies are very similar, and practicing one game can make you better at the other. Baseball and poker both characterize America. People in the U.S. love a good game of strategy where some skill can take them to the top. By understanding the similarities between these games, you can become a master of strategy and improve your skills at both.
