Let’s continue the poker analogy that 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh floated last week, before meeting St. Louis. Remember? Harbaugh said the 49ers were ahead on the chip count but not at the final table.

Well, now they are. After Sunday’s victory, they’re in the playoffs. So the question is, will they go all in, to reach the final hand and take it? Could they possibly win the Super Bowl?

My answer: Of course. It’s possible. To be sure, constructing a path to the Vince Lombardi trophy still sounds a little fabulistic. All right, a lot fabulistic, considering preseason expectations. But with a seat at the table, there’s a chance. So here is my exclusive 10-step plan for how the 49ers can do it:

1. Win three of the four remaining regular-season games. That should be enough to clinch a first-round bye in the NFC playoff bracket. In fact, winning two of the four might do it. New Orleans, the 49ers’ closest pursuer, has an easy remaining schedule but at this point trails significantly in the tiebreaking criteria if the teams finish with the same record. The first-round bye isn’t imperative. But winning two games to reach the Super Bowl is easier than winning three games.

2. Don’t allow Patrick Willis onto the field next week in Arizona. Willis’ hamstring injury, suffered early in Sunday’s game, might not be serious. But the primary mission for the 49ers’ best defensive player should be to have all hamstrings be in solid ham shape for

the postseason. At the very least, resting next Sunday would give Willis 15 days rest until the following week’s Monday night game against Pittsburgh.

3. Keep letting quarterback Alex Smith fire downfield, at least three or four times a game. Smith’s arm is not a cannon by reputation, but as Sunday demonstrated, he clearly can wing it out there high enough and long enough to give his receivers an opportunity to make a play — or draw an interference penalty. And putting those plays on video for opponents will pay dividends, giving them something to think about. Besides, is it just me, or does Smith’s swagger increase exponentially after each of those bomb attempts?

4. No, really, keep Patrick Willis glued to the bench. Glued. Got it? With Krazy-Glue. From a glue gun. Did I mention that already?

5. Resist the temptation to turn that Monday game against Pittsburgh into a “statement game.” It’s not. It should be a gas to watch because the Steelers are a definite playoff team, but as an AFC opponent, a victory over them won’t matter as much as beating the three remaining NFC teams on the schedule. Besides, if Pittsburgh is a possible Super Bowl foe, why would you throw your best strategic stuff at them in a regular-season matchup, anyway?

6. Give the ball to Frank Gore just seven or eight times a game. He has the 49ers career record now, so with an ankle injury that’s been bothering him most of the autumn, he can back off and let it heal up as rookie Kendall Hunter takes most of the hits. Much like Willis, Gore needs to think mostly about being non-battered and non-bruised for January. As the weather gets more lousy after the first of the year, Gore’s ground game becomes more important than ever. Keep him fresh.

7. When the postseason arrives, avoid playing New Orleans in New Orleans. The past two weeks, the Saints have scored a combined 80 points and gained 1,015 yards in home games against two good teams that could make the playoffs, the Lions and Giants. Inside the Superdome, Saints quarterback Drew Brees plays high-speed pinball. Away from home on a wet Candlestick field, it might be different.

8, Don’t be afraid of Green Bay, the most likely NFC title game opponent. There was a great phrase Harbaugh used in his Monday media session. He was talking about Larry Grant, the linebacker who stepped in to replace the injured Willis during Sunday’s game. Harbaugh said that Grant has “a high level of contact courage.” That’s what the 49ers must have in regard to the Packers. The truth is, on a rotten weather day in Wisconsin, this 49ers team with a healthy running game and nasty defense might match up better against Green Bay than any other NFC team.

9. Root for New England and Baltimore to lose in the AFC playoffs. Those would be the worst matchups in the Super Bowl. Denver? Tebow? Bring them on. Would love to see Aldon Smith introduce himself to the Broncos quarterback.

10. Teach NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to say the following phrase: “Who’s got it better than you?” Because that’s what he should say to Harbaugh in the postgame trophy presentation ceremony. And then the commish should brace himself for the handshake, with paramedics on duty. When it happens, remember where you read it first.

Contact Mark Purdy at mpurdy@mercurynews.com or 408-920-5092.

A crazy day later, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh was not sorry for giving the hardest handshake in NFL history.

And he wasn’t really bragging about his controversial postgame tête-à-tête with Detroit coach Jim Schwartz, either.

He was in classic Harbaugh territory — slightly chastened by the national fuss he helped cause but not at all for being cocky enough to cause it.

“I don’t think that there’s any reason for an apology,” Harbaugh said at his Monday news conference. “We spoke about it after the game, and at some point (he and Schwartz) will talk in private.

“Apologies always seem to me like excuses.”

No excuses. No apologies. No looking back. No bowing to anybody or anything. Lots of victories. Lots of chaos.

Harbaugh doesn’t care if he hurts anybody’s feelings along the way, and I’m quite certain that 49ers fans care even less.

So, of course, Harbaugh dryly conceded that he needs to work on his postgame handshake skills after his bump-and-shove effort on Sunday drove Schwartz to seek some sort of immediate retribution.

But Harbaugh’s extreme lack of NFL etiquette is typical, and it symbolizes how his manic energy has fueled and enlivened the 49ers’ rise to 5-1.

You can rally talented, impressionable players by pushing everything to the limit, by poking at convention, and by swaggering your way through the toughest situations.

If you’re successful, you force your opponents

to react, adapt, and possibly to chase you down the field feeling fairly irate after a 49ers victory.

And you never apologize for it.

“It’s almost like he’s still playing football,” nose tackle Ricky Jean-Francois said of Harbaugh.

“He’s with us. Just to see a coach fired up, to see him jumping with you, slapping five, patting you on the back, telling you good job and stuff and he’s into the game, that’s our energy right there.”

It’s over the top, no question. But the 49ers clearly are gobbling up every brash gesture and motivational gimmick.

They want the full Harbaugh. They’re getting it.

Remember, Harbaugh acted out excessively as a player and as a college coach, even at Stanford — including his famous postgame kerfuffle with Pete Carroll — and he won’t stop acting out now.

Why would he? It’s who he is. You remove the outrageous part of Harbaugh, and he turns into another bland coach.

Big point: It’s not outrageousness without direction; Harbaugh and his staff have, to this point, figured out exactly where they want their players to go, and Harbaugh’s wild motivational genius has nudged them there.

“His whole demeanor just kind of rubs off on the players,” tackle Joe Staley said. “You can see firsthand how competitive he is, how much emotion he shows. I think that’s really something positive for this team.

“It’s not just about the enthusiasm he shows, it’s about the details, the way we practice, the way the meetings are run. Everyone knows exactly what we’re supposed to be doing.”

It’s cockiness … with a clue.

That’s how the 49ers won in Detroit, won in Philadelphia, won in Cincinnati and how they’re 5-1, in total control of the NFC West, just a year after they started 0-5 with much the same roster.

Same franchise, different wiring.

Jim, is this preplanned? Do you behave so frantically to show your players that they can be at their best if they occasionally flout convention, too?

“No, I don’t think that’s part of this, in any other way than you show your emotions. And that’s OK to do,” Harbaugh said. “Now whether you’re a football player or a football coach or just a man in general, that’s OK. They run the full gamut just like any person’s emotions.

“I was excited about the football game. Excited about the way our players played. And you know, got revved up.”

He will not be punished for the incident, and neither will Schwartz.

After talking to both coaches on Monday, the NFL announced there would be no discipline issued, and Harbaugh did his best not to reinitiate hostilities.

“We’re not here today to throw any salvos,” Harbaugh said. “There’s not going to be any salvos coming out of the West Coast.

“I have a lot of respect for Jim and the Detroit Lions.”

Of course he does. As Humble Harbaugh does for all humankind.

Hmm, what if Harbaugh and Schwartz did actually brawl? Joe Staley, who wins that matchup?

“I never bet against Harbaugh,” Staley said with a laugh.

At this point, who would? You can ask him to tone it down, you can shake your head at his long list of enemies.

But you can’t deny that he wins, and that the crazy chaos he creates helps him do it.

Read Tim Kawakami’s Talking Points blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami. Contact him at tkawakami@mercurynews.com or 408-920-5442.

Quarterback Daunte Culpepper auditioned Monday morning for a role in the 49ers offense, potentially as a third-stringer and experienced mentor.

He was out of sight by the afternoon practice, in which Alex Smith took most first-team snaps and often drew coach Jim Harbaugh’s vocal support.

A source within Culpepper’s camp indicated the 11-year NFL veteran would sign a contract if the 49ers offered one, and that had not happened as of Monday evening.

What are the 49ers debating? It could be a numbers game in terms of the roster, rather than the credentials Culpepper offers.

“You’ve got a decision to make: do you carry two quarterbacks or three?” offensive coordinator Greg Roman said. “That (decision) will change as the roster changes. So, if X, Y and Z happens, it might free up a third quarterback spot, then you want to be ready to strike at that point.

“If X, Y and Z doesn’t happen, R, S and T happens, then we’ll keep two (quarterbacks). So, you have to be ready for all those different scenarios.”

Culpepper, who spent last season out of the NFL and instead with the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the fledgling UFL, declined to comment when reached by phone. General manager Trent Baalke rejected an interview request as he exited the practice field, stating he had a call to make.

While Roman indicated that Smith and rookie Colin Kaepernick are doing “a really good job,” Culpepper would bring a slew of experience to the

49ers, whose other two quarterbacks are undrafted rookies, Jeremiah Masoli and McLeod Bethel-Thompson.

“I believe that a guy like Daunte, who’s been around and seen everything, certainly can offer the other quarterbacks a unique perspective on everything, whether it be coverage, how to read certain pass play protections, whatnot,” Roman said. “So, he’s got a lot of skins on his belt, so he would be an interesting guy.”

Harbaugh has maintained that the quarterback spot is a “competition,” adding Saturday that Smith hasn’t had a chance to emerge as the “clear-cut” starter.

“Daunte obviously is a very competitive person,” said tight end Nate Lawrie, who played last year with Sacramento and was signed Sunday by the 49ers. “He worked hard and wanted to win for the Mountain Lions. Anything that led to after the season was secondary to what we were doing.”

Lawrie said the Mountain Lions ran a hybrid of the West Coast offense and predicted that Culpepper would “fit right in” and pick up the 49ers system.

While tight end Delanie Walker remarked that Culpepper’s expertise could result in helpful pointers, wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. lauded Culpepper’s vast experience.

Harbaugh said Sunday he looked forward to “kicking the tires” on Culpepper, sounding very open to adding a veteran behind Smith and Kaepernick. The 49ers released nine-year veteran David Carr on the first day of training camp.

“Well, very simply we’re trying to get better as a team all the time. That will never stop,” Roman said. “So, Trent Baalke and our scouting staff do a great job of really, through a fine-tooth comb, of assessing who might be available and if they would, in fact, make our team stronger. So, that’s an ongoing process.”

A lot could be changing with the 49ers offense between now and the Sept. 11 regular-season opener, or even Saturday’s exhibition home opener against the Raiders.

In Monday’s practice, Alex Boone shared first-team reps at right tackle with incumbent starter Anthony Davis, and Jonathan Goodwin did the same at center with Adam Snyder, who’s had problems with shotgun snaps while adapting to that new position.

At wide receiver, Ginn and Joshua Morgan continued to line up as the starters, jobs that eventually may turn over to Braylon Edwards and Michael Crabtree. Although he is on the physically-unable-to-perform list, Crabtree watched practice Monday without wearing an orthopedic boot on his injured left foot for the first time.

Crabtree declined to comment after practice, offering only a peace sign with his fingers as he headed to the locker room.

“He’s working very diligently to get back out there,” Roman said. “He’s really on top of everything mentally, which is good for him.”

Bay Area News Group’s Steve Corkran contributed to this report.