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More than luck
| More than luck |
| Monday, 18 January 2010 19:28 | |||
There are many contributing factors that separate the people who are constant overall winners and the people who are constantly overall losers in poker. The big difference between the two being those who dissect their game and try to figure out what went wrong and those who throw their hands in the sky and curse the heavens because they are “so unlucky”. Granted, luck does play its part, but if one can look beyond how you play cards and into the intricacies of gambling as a whole, I believe one can realize they have more leaks than they ever thought, and that those leaks can be plugged by applying and understanding not just poker strategy, but smart decisions while gambling. Game selection and playing at the peak of your ability to focus are two commonly overlooked factors most recreational players make when they play poker (aside from those of you who chose to drink and gamble). Last night, I made this mistake and it cost me a substantial amount of money. This is somewhat of sore subject to me because I’m constantly preaching to those around me about taking these two factors very seriously, and being that most of these people ignore this advice and I watch them lose, I really should have known better. However, I’m not just going to sit around and complain about it.. I’m going to figure out at what point I started to make poor choices and its correlation to my level of focus at the time I went wrong, and learn from that mistake. If I’m lucky, prevent one of you from making these same mistakes. I went to Motor City Casino in Detroit last night with Dan The Man Leach and the Slot Machine Mad Man himself, Bryan, after a little euchre session at my kitchen table that had a little bit of questionable ending of its own in the third game. After getting pumped up with some Abby Road on the way there, I was in a great mood to play some cards. Although I wasn’t dealt the greatest of hands, the night was going well as I watched my stack of chips double than triple. As the night progressed, I found that my range of calling hands had grown wider and my attention span had started to spiral downward. This is the point at which I should have said to myself “You’re up a lot of money, you’re tired, WALK AWAY!”, but I didn’t. I stayed. After losing KK three times in an hour and flopping the nut straight and losing to a runner boat, I had donated all of my chips to the table. Two major things went wrong here. One, I should have walked once I had met the amount of money I wanted to hit; and two, playing extremely tired. By many accounts, this was a very rookie like move and something that I felt that I was beyond. I see this mistake time and time again and still managed to fall into that sand trap yet again. Like a lot of poker players, I had to be reminded of a simple lesson, but in the end it was a valuable one that didn’t cost me an amount that was beyond my means. To some, this lesson will be much more expensive than it was me, so learn from it! Now here is what really bugs me about the decisions I made at the poker table last night. During the point at which I was on my way to walking a big winner, I decided it would be a great idea to play one level higher. So, I moved to a nearby table with double the blinds. If only I had that damn crystal ball Id be checking cheddar like a food inspector, but the only thing I was left with was a serious itch for action and a desperate need to hit the urinal from all bottle waters I had been drinking. So after being sat at a table that I was comfortable with everyone’s play and up money, I decide to get greedy and play higher. To everyone that is reading this, DO NOT DO WHAT I DID! If you find a game that you feel comfortable at and are winning, keep your wallet to your seat because that is where you want to be! Why go nuts with greed and push the limits when there is no need for it? You came to make money and you’re doing just that, so buckle up and enjoy the ride! Apparently the ride I was moving on was a slow one, therefore I needed to put the pedal to the metal and move a little faster. Had I have thought about my current situation outside of the nice deposit I wanted to make, I would have continued to pick off of the weaker players at the lower game like I had been doing all night. I’m sure most of you agree with where I went wrong here, but I’m also sure that most of you know the feeling of sitting behind a bunch of stacks and you have nothing to do the next morning also. It’s a great feeling and the biggest reward in poker. It’s also the same reason why our inner gambling demons come out to help us get off track and make simple fundamental mistakes like not walking away or actually thinking in terms of how much you could benefit by leaving the game with a profit… which most people do not do. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I like to play for not only the fun of the game, but to walk away with more money than I sat down with. Fun is fun, but watching my stacks grow are the roots of that fun. If you want to play for money and could care less if you win or lose it, then so be it. You are welcome to play with me anytime! But if you want to walk away a winner, I would suggest that you take notice of the fundamentals of gambling as a whole as additional means to accomplish this goal.
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It takes More Than Skill to be a Winner
