He Must Be Broke

OK, it is time to put all the gossip to rest. Oftentimes in the poker world, the limit that a person is playing is a matter of pride, and there is an implied correlation between the limit he plays and his financial success. It seems that it is acceptable for a player to move up in limits, but it is considered failure to move back down. I think this is a terrible way to look at the game. Just because you play $100-$200 every day for two months does not mean that you should feel ashamed to be seen in a $20-$40 game – nor should other players assume that you are broke or have lost a large chunk of your bankroll if they see you playing the lower limit.


I will be the first to admit that the chances are just as good for me to be seen playing $400-$800 as they are $3-$6 at any given time. The limit that I choose to play in any given session has absolutely nothing to do with my bankroll. My game and limit choice has to do with a variety of other factors, such as my mindset for that day, the amount of time I have allotted for that session, whom I am with at the cardroom, and the texture of the games in the room. There is a lot to consider before picking a game to play – and it should not have anything to do with pride, or you are just setting yourself up for disaster – and bankruptcy.


The same philosophy holds true for online play. Quite often while I am playing online, I see people typing in, "That can't be Scott Fischman in this $11 tourney! Why would he be playing in something this small?" Well, guess what? When I play online, the buy-in, however big or small, does not affect my choice of what to play. If it is for real money, you can sign me up! Furthermore, my play does not often change based on the buy-in. I look at every game I play as an opportunity to better myself and my game. I like to play as much as I can and constantly one of the best ways to do that is to play as much as humanly possible.


Recently, I met up with a couple of friends at Binion's Horseshoe in Downtown Las Vegas at 2 a.m. for a $70 buy-in tournament. When I sat down at the table, I noticed the expressions on the faces of some of the other players, and I could tell that they were wondering why the heck I was there. The main reason I was there was that it was 2 a.m. and there really isn't a whole heck of a lot to choose from as far as live tournaments go at that hour. Aside from that, I was there to have a good time, meet new friends, and, of course, make some money.


I played my "A" game for the entire tournament, even though I had been knocked out of the $25,000 buy-in WPT Championship at Bellagio the previous day. At the final table, I was seen playing a couple of garbage hands, but it had nothing to do with the fact that this was a small buy-in tournament; it was because the structure had gotten a little crazy and I noticed my opponents tightening up. I ended up finishing in fourth place, making a few bucks and meeting a lot of nice people.


I was definitely excited to see a tournament starting at 2 a.m. and wished that poker rooms would implement that kind of schedule more often. As a full-time poker player, my schedule often has me awake in the middle of the night when the only tournament options are on the Internet. I think more cardrooms should have tournaments starting late at night. I would venture to guess that most of the time, they have plenty of empty tables and plenty of willing participants.


So, the next time you see me at a $2-$4 table or playing in a $27 buy-in tournament, you don't need to worry about my financial situation, but you might want to be concerned about the financial situation of the players around me! ♠


Play online with Scott on his new site, www.thefishtank.com. Enter his referral code, scott88, for a bonus, and look for him at the tables under the screen name ScottFischmn – most likely in a $12 tournament!