Poker Strategy Countertrade Your Poker Self URL has been copied successfully! Anyone who has spent time on financial Twitter X will no doubt be familiar with the idea of “countertrading”. This is a term, often used disparagingly, to indicate taking a trading position in direct opposition to a recommendation from a specific person or group of people.The idea peaked with the recently shuttered Jim Cramer ETF, an unsuccessful attempt to countertrade the media mouthpiece with a long history of offering poor financial advice. And while the somewhat tongue-in-cheek ETF wasn’t able to capitalize on Cramer’s infamy, the idea of countertrading has real life merit far beyond the confines of stock picking.Take poker for example, a similarly volatile zero-sum endeavour where one man’s fortune is another’s pain. However, unlike day-trading, countertrading a poker player – doing the exact opposite of what someone else recommends is unlikely to lead to riches (even if that player is epic high-stake cash dumper James Tesla). Instead, the real value for poker players is to countertrade themselves. Let me explain.If you really want to escape the things that harass you, what you’re needing is not to be in a different place but to be a different person. -SenecaIf you’ve been struggling to turn a consistent profit in poker, you’re far from alone. In fact, the vast majority of players you see at the poker table are long-term losers. This might seem somewhat surprising considering there have never been more poker tools and educational resources for players to fortify their skills. But the reality of the matter is that the ABCs of poker strategy are, by themselves, not enough to turn fish into sharks (if it was, there would be far more sharks). Instead, it is the mental and emotional side of the game that often separates profitable poker players from chronic donors.And so, rather than focusing on our opponents, it is countertrading our own impulses and bad habits that offer the biggest upside. How To Countertrade YourselfThe spiritual teacher Don Miguel Ruiz once wrote “Awareness is always the first step, because without awareness there is nothing we can change.” In the context of countertrading yourself, that means beginning by analyzing your mental and emotional weaknesses in poker. One easy way to accomplish this is to ask yourself:When and Where do I lose the most money?Is it when jumping up in stakes to chase losses? When punting away 3 additional tournaments after taking a bad beat in the first one? Is it due to a refusal, be it a conscious one or not, to spend time studying the game off the table?Whatever your specific weaknesses may be, identify them, then write each one out on a postcard to hang on your monitor. Finally, as you begin a new poker session, don’t make the goal to earn a specific amount of money, or even to play a certain number of hands. You don’t have to do it forever, or even for very long, but for at least this one session, make the ultimate goal nothing more than to countertrade your instincts in every situation related to the list on your card.Feel the urge to open a hand weaker than normal after taking a bad beat? Muck it. Hear your self-destructive inner voice crying out for you to move up in limits? Force yourself to spend 10 minutes playing at even lower limits than your bankroll allows.Regardless of what way your bad poker habits show up, make opposing your own instincts the only game in town. Over time, this practice of countertrading your poker self will not only help you shore up the mental and emotional leaks in your game, but build a stronger, more resilient mental framework.It’s not about denying your instincts entirely, but about forcing yourself to question them and finding new ways to interact with persistent points of weakness. This shift won’t happen overnight, and it surely won’t be easy, but once mastered, the benefits of countertrading yourself will emanate far beyond the game of poker and extend to all aspects of your life.Good luck!