Do you think patience is the most important skill in poker?

So, let's break it down. What I estimate and think is, you need like 30% patience, 30% balls, 30% intelligence and 30% luck. Correct me, if I am wrong, but that seems the right corellation of them all.

TheniT said:

Patience is one of the most important skills in poker, but not the only one.
It helps you wait for strong hands and avoid costly mistakes.
However, reading opponents, bankroll management, and adaptability matter just as much.
The best players combine patience with strategy and emotional control.

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Waiting for good spots is important, but if that’s all you do, you miss a lot of value.

The real edge comes from combining patience with observation, discipline, and the ability to adapt. Reading how opponents actually play, managing your bankroll so variance doesn’t break you, and keeping emotional control when things swing your way or against you.

Strong players aren’t just patient. They’re patient and ready to act the moment the situation is right. That balance is what turns average sessions into profitable ones.

pretty much up there with one of the most important skills

For sure patience is important but it really is a mix of a whole load of things that make for success...... but surely if you ignore one then the rest are wasted no matter how much of them you contribute.

Think of driving a car...... you have air in the tyres, you have fuel in the tank, and oil in the engine (or charge in the battery) and then you fall asleep!

Bingo! You busto!

Have a grea day,

I think that the most important skill is actually being able to read your opponents and the table itself, but patience is one of the most important ones too, anyway, as if you don't be patient, you will not be able to play the hands you should play on the spots you shold play with the chips you should have.

Aggession coupled with recklessness coupled at times with outright stupidity seems to go a long way, though not for me.

The most important skill for me is concentration!

patience is more of a virtue , math would be a useful skill , being able to calculate your outs , odds , math can help put your opponent on a range based on his betting size. Soon you'll be able to know whos bluffing or not.

Being able to make desicions based on your gut feeling and potodds is in my opinion the most important skill.

In poker, everything is important, including patience, it's probably difficult to single out something separately, only a combination of skills will lead you to victory.

I think patience isn’t the most important skill it’s the foundation.

Without it → you overplay
With only that → you become too passive


The real edge is being able to:
- wait patiently
-but still pull the trigger when the spot is +EV


Many players are “passively patient” (just folding),
winning players are “purposefully patient” they wait, then attack.

Patience in poker is a crucial skill, often separating successful players from the rest. By waiting for strong hands, staying calm in stressful situations, exploiting positional advantages, and playing the long game, you lay the foundation for long-term success.

Good morning everyone,

To be a profitable poker player, it is necessary to master some fundamentals. Among them are patience, skill, intelligence, mathematical knowledge, among others.

it is

Patience is crucial — but I wouldn't call it the most important skill. For me that title belongs to adaptability.
Here's why: patience without awareness is just passive play. You can wait all day for pocket Aces and still lose if you don't know how to read the table, adjust to your opponents or recognize when the right moment has arrived.
The best players I've observed aren't just patient — they're selectively aggressive. They wait, yes. But when the moment comes they don't hesitate. That transition from patience to aggression at exactly the right moment — that's the real skill.
Too much patience and you're bleeding out to the blinds. Too little and you're gambling, not playing poker.
I think of patience less as a skill and more as a foundation. You build everything else on top of it — hand reading, aggression, timing, emotional control.
Without patience none of those skills matter.
But patience alone won't win you a tournament either. 😄