Pyramid Power

A friend and I were talking recently, and he remarked that he was a fan/devotee of John Wooden (of UCLA Bruin coaching fame). One of the things that impressed my friend was how much Wooden focused on building a player from the ground up, starting with the absolute basics. For instance, Wooden supposedly started every new incoming team the same way, showing them literally how they were to put their socks on their feet, and then building the player from there. UCLA basketball was a powerhouse, and a big part of this success was that it was based on a proven system, with everyone starting at the same place*.

Anyway, later my friend sent me a copy of the "Pyramid of Success" that Wooden based his methods upon:

Like many things, this got me thinking about poker. Specifically, it made me realize how my three fundamental Poker Edges, combined with the standard levels of poker thought (e.g., L1, L2, etc), could also be arranged in a similar pyramid of poker success. With that in mind, I threw this graphic together at lunchtime to illustrate:

The basic idea conveyed by this is that poker mastery is based on a set of discrete, teachable skills that are built upon each other, layer by layer. You start with a strong, level-1 foundation of things like bankroll management, position, and starting hand selection, and then gradually add in things like REDi, deception skills, etc., until you're an expert. Then it's all easy game and money...

Right. ;-)

All-in for now...

-Bug

*[Edit: I was reminded that the Guru used to recount a similar football story in his beginning poker class. Vince Lombardi reportedly would always start training camp the same way: "Gentlemen, this is a football." Then he'd build the player and the team up from there. Fundamentals, people. It's all about fundamentals.]