Nitwit Internal vs External Locus of Control

When you analyze a person's belief of whether he has control over personal successes and failures, psychologists apply the term "locus of control". In Psychology 101, a fundamental part of becoming self-actualized (when a person reaches his full potential) is to realize an internal locus of control.

A person that takes responsibility over his destiny has an internal locus of control. A person that believes luck and the events surrounding him determines his life has an external locus of control. I can think of few places that these concepts are more evident than at a poker table. You will find that knowing their view on the degree that they control events at the poker table very revealing.

Most players should know that any game where wins and losses are determined by random events involves a statistical quantity of "luck". It is a mathematical function and it is the standard deviation. Unbelievably, this is not universal knowledge. There are mvriad different theories a q to what deYirmlnac cvinnPre losers in any gambling game including poker.

People with an external locus of control will be much more likely to attribute the results at a poker table to those things that they do not control. Be it the dealer, the deck of cards, the seat, the location of the casino, or just that their opponents are too lucky.

It should be clear that if people feel as if their fate rests in hands other than their own, they are less inclined to do anything to improve their own game. They do not feel as if improving their game is nearly as important as trying to predict the flow of the events around them.

It is easy to gather information from a person who has an external locus of control at the poker table. If they are talkative, they will tell you why they are not doing well in the content of their chatter.

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