FULL TILT POKER BLOG

Looking at yourself before the cards…

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In this great game of poker, we’ve all been ‘there.’ The evil place I am referring to is actually not a place, but rather a state of mind. You know, the one where you have lost a good portion of your bankroll, you are the unluckiest player in the world, you can’t do anything right, and you are thinking of quitting the game all together. I’ve been ‘there.’ But the truth is, I’m glad I was ‘there’ because I learned valuable lessons along the way. The variance bug bit me on the rear and I couldn’t sit for over a month, but I found a way to dig myself out, and the answers might surprise you…….

I was successful playing the $25 NL tables for some time and I began to get bored. Since my bankroll was well equipped, I decided to move up to the $50 NL tables and challenge myself. After a decent start, I would go on to lose about 11 buy-ins over 2500 hands or so. Now this could be classified as typical variance for some, but it was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. And the fact that I just moved up in limits certainly wasn’t helping. I felt I couldn’t catch a break; my high pairs were not holding up, I was missing draws, and I was getting outdrawn often (Yes, I did what most players tend to do when they lose-blame someone or something else)

When I reached a low point, I decided to take a break for a week, which was the first step to recovery. It has been suggested many times by many players, but I’m saying it again. You have to take breaks to clear your head and give yourself a feeling of starting fresh. You have to put “losing considerably” from the past out of your mind and allow yourself to only worry about winning now. I think too many new players know they should take breaks, but still do not because they “need” to play. If you ever feel like you “need” to play, then you probably shouldn’t be.

During my week break, I decided to take a look at my game. I went through some hand histories and spent some time thinking about poker instead of playing it. It was these hand histories that made me realize that I was playing on tilt. After losing a few of those buy-ins, I felt as though I had to adjust my game so I could “make up” for those losses. Yeah, I was missing draws, but I was getting poor odds to chase them, playing them badly, and getting involved when I shouldn’t have. Yeah, my high pair wasn’t holding up, but what do you expect when you raise to 3x the bb with two red Aces, get three callers, and the flop comes 9TJ with two clubs?

I simply let the fact that I was losing alter my play, and I just dug myself a deeper hole.

If you cannot be patient, you cannot be successful at poker. So you are down a few buy-ins? So what? It’s money you can afford to lose and its the cost of entertainment, right? If it’s not money you can afford to lose, then variance in NL Hold ‘em is the least of your problems.

Another important thing I learned was to trust my game. We surely overplay our cards sometimes when we are losing, but we can underplay them too. Checking when you should probably bet, calling when you should probably raise, etc. can be costly mistakes. You have to have the confidence to succeed if you plan to do just that. That applies to many things, poker included.

I was able to turn my 11 buy-in downswing to a 13 buy-in upswing in just an additional 7000 hands. One reason was the fact that I was playing within my bankroll. Although that is not the point of this whole thing, one should note the importance of a bankroll. Without it, I couldn’t tell this story.

But the biggest reason for my turn around was realizing the mental aspects of this game. So the next time you are in a slump or experiencing a tough variance, stop and take a look at yourself before the cards…….

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