Confidence Isn’t a Flop: Why Most Poker Players Misunderstand What It Really Takes

The poker table is a high-stakes environment, where confidence isn’t just a luxury—it’s a necessity. But what does true confidence look like when the chips are down, and how can players cultivate it? In this article, ACR Pro Ebony Kenney gives you some major tips you need to succeed. 

You’re card dead and short stacked. The table’s loud as chips move around you. Your momentum is slipping away in this MTT where pressure constantly climbs. You haven’t played a hand in what feels like forever. Yet your breathing remains steady and your decisions clear. No flinching, no desperate moves – you’re locked in. Not because things are going well, but because you trust yourself regardless of today’s results.

This is what most players miss about confidence at the poker table. True confidence isn’t proven when you’re winning; it reveals itself when you’re not. It’s keeping your composure even when variance isn’t in your favor.

Confidence Has Range

There is no single way confidence looks at the table. Sure, the loud, aggressive player often gets the spotlight. Sometimes that’s genuine – when it comes from someone comfortable in their own skin.

But that’s just one version. Stillness can be just as powerful. So can calm or quiet focus.

What matters isn’t how you outwardly show confidence – it’s whether it matches who you really are. Confidence that aligns with your natural style reads as strength. When it doesn’t? That’s where leaks appear.

If you’re in sync with yourself, people feel it. Whether you run the conversation or blend into the background, you’re still in control of your game.

Stop Waiting to Feel Ready

There’s a common myth in poker: that confidence comes after results – that once you’re winning, you’ll finally feel steady.

That’s backward.

If your mental state depends on specific outcomes, you’ve handed over control. Now your presence rises and falls with variance. That’s not edge. That’s survival mode.

True confidence doesn’t follow results – it creates the conditions for them.

What It Actually Looks Like

Real confidence isn’t flashy, but you can feel it. It’s in how someone breathes during a tough decision. In the quiet release of a losing hand – no drama, no punishment. In making a clean bluff right after a brutal loss – not from tilt, but from clarity.

It’s not about being perfect. We’re human. It’s about accepting mistakes with curiosity rather than judgment.

When I stopped forcing positivity and started listening to my body, everything shifted. A tight jaw, shallow breath, tense shoulders – these weren’t distractions but valuable data. Once I trusted these signals instead of ignoring them, my game got sharper and more authentic.

A Daily Practice

Confidence doesn’t show up mid-session. You build it ahead of time.

Before the first hand, take a quick check: Where am I right now? Tense? Scattered? Grounded? 

Meet it honestly – don’t gloss over it.

Create simple anchors:

Three deep breaths

A physical reset (stretch, shake, pause).

A phrase that brings you back to yourself.

During play, notice your signals. The fidgeting. The bounce. The held breath. Those aren’t just quirks – they’re messages from your nervous system.

And after any big hand – win or lose – pause. Reset. Let your body catch up before jumping back into strategy mode.

This Is the Edge

The most dangerous players aren’t always the loud ones. They’re the ones who stay grounded when it’s quiet. The ones who need nothing from their session. The ones who don’t tilt when things go sideways.

That kind of presence doesn’t come from momentum. It comes from practice.

So next time you sit down, don’t ask, “Do I feel confident?”

Ask instead:

Am I here?

Am I clear?

Am I leading – or just reacting?

That’s the edge. And it holds no matter what the next hand brings.