Rule 17: Navigate around in the game.

Good players may look like confrontational types to the casual observer – they may give this outward appearance – but in fact, if you watch them for any length of time, you discover that the thing they are really good at is navigating around problems instead of confronting them. «Navigating around» goes with «pick your spots» in the conceptual galaxy of poker ideas – these two are very near one another.

And the player should think in these terms too. You should navigate around in the game (especially around dangerous opponents) rather than thinking in terms of going «up against» them. It's not a «battle of the gladiators» when you sit down at a poker table – a better image is of a boat trying to navigate the shoals carefully in shallow water. Changing your thinking to this approach will put you closer to the true reality of the situation. Here's another way of phrasing this: One of the great secrets to poker is staying out of trouble.

And this is a secret the pros use. They navigate around the obstacles in the game.

«I view each tournament as a gigantic minefield that I must navigate my way through without getting blown up. I'm likely to be wounded several times along the way, but as long as none are fatal, I'll get to the other side». Richard Tatalovich (States Poker Championship winner)