Player Potential.

I was Thinking, do you think that players have a potential that they may not be able to surpass or do you think that with enough practice anyone can become a really good player?

I reckon any one can become a good player with enough practice but to become world class you need a natural feel for the game, kind of like a sense if you get my drift.

I think this is more true for live games than online however.

Really and truly I think you become a great player after you have seen every possible hand in every possible angle, because after you've seen it all. Any hand you get yourself into... first thing that comes threw your head is I know what can beat & is it possible he is holding the only cards that would beat me. Also most important is how you play your hands preflop... if you suck at betting preflop then there is no surpassing the level of crapiness

I think it is possible for everyone to improve their play. However I think one of the limiting factors is the willingness to analyse hands and play and think about how to improve.

However I do agree that the top players probably have some natural talent but I bet they also work hard at their game.

Adam

The top ace at Full Tilt is Tom Dwan, irregardless of how you feel about him, he has worked extremely hard to get where is at. He's played over 2 million hands so far.

Stu Ungar on the other hand, was a freak of nature who was a complete natural.

I think every player has potential to be a great player, I dont really believe there is a "talent" in poker.

There's a certain amount of natural ability when it comes to picking up on non-verbal cues for tells and stuff in live poker... and some people are just plain better at math than others which helps a lot in online poker so in that sense yeah some people will have a greater potential, as in all things, than others. I'm not exactly certain about this cuz it's a vague memory from something I read a long time ago but, usually people who are good at the whole non-verbal thing aren't particularly good at math... it's a whole left-brain right-brain thing.

I think to improve you must not only have experience, but you must be able to learn from your mistakes. Some players will continue to make the same mistakes again and again. Also, you must develop the instinct to fold great cards on occassion.