poker in a more conventional arena, the basic principles of social interaction are the same. Poker is, by nature and by tradition, a game that is distinctly American. The game is upheld as one that favors the bold, the risk-taker, and the clever. However, any modern scholars of the game will tell you that in today’s poker environment, you need more brains than guts. The fact is, in the current poker world, if you’re not a student of the game’s intellectual, self-analytical aspects, then you’re doomed to achieving nothing but failure.
In modern poker, social anxiety need not be the cause for someone to skip out of a poker game. There are some poker theorists that surmise that the introverted and people who have social anxiety are, given enough prodding, possibly naturally better players than anyone else. This stands in contrast to the old beliefs and traditions of poker, which has notoriously upheld the same social standard for success as contemporary American society. In other words, if you make a lot of noise and can back up that noise, you’re going to succeed.
However, poker has always been a game of analysis and self-analysis....