The Trap of Imitation at the Poker Table
Best-selling author and poker mindset coach Jason Su has a refreshingly counterintuitive take on improving your game: stop trying to play like your favourite pros.
In a new strategy piece on PokerOrg, Su argues that players who model their decisions on highlight-reel footage of elite professionals are actually working against themselves. Watching polished, curated plays on YouTube creates a mental template that belongs to someone else's thought process, reads, and risk tolerance — not yours.
Presence Over Persona
Su's core message centres on two deceptively simple qualities: being present and being clear. Rather than asking what would [insert hero] do here?, the more productive question is what do I actually see and know in this moment?
This matters because good decision-making at the table is deeply context-dependent. Elite players aren't running a script — they're processing live information with a mind that has been trained over thousands of hours as themselves. Copying their output without sharing their input pipeline is a recipe for misapplied logic.
Why This Is Worth Taking Seriously
The imitation trap is especially relevant in an era when solver outputs and training content are everywhere. There's a difference between learning concepts from strong players and performing their identity at the table. Su's framing is a useful reminder that the former is productive while the latter can introduce a kind of cognitive dissonance — a split between what you genuinely perceive and what you feel you're supposed to do.
For players looking to sharpen their mental game, Su's advice points toward self-awareness as a foundational skill: understand your own tendencies, trust your own observations, and make decisions that are yours to own — win or lose.