The Psychological and Financial Dynamics of Playing Online

Over the years, lots of poker pros – myself included – have made the transition from live play to playing online. In previous columns, I have discussed some of the necessary changes when it comes to strategic issues. In this column, I will discuss two things that are quite different, and are mental more than anything else: the psychological and financial dynamics of playing online.



Many poker writers have talked about how much more difficult it is to pull off a successful bluff online than it is in live play, simply because a call is just a mouse click away. I agree with this analysis, but would like to take things one step further, and look at the psychological processes within ourselves, rather than within others. Because most good players would hate it if other players saw them starting to play badly, coming unglued, or beginning to steam, in live poker games the social pressure of others has a tendency to keep them in line. Because we want to live up to the expectations of our regular opponents and sometimes even our friends, we try to stay focused and keep playing good poker even when we may start running a little hot. But online, this pressure of others does not exist, or at least not to the same degree, because nobody can see us. In fact, even if there are people there who know us, we can always claim later that it was someone else playing on our account, or we can easily find some other excuse to help us save face.



But the consequence of all of this is that online, even very good players are more likely to have their game deteriorate because of this "nobody-sees-me-anyway" phenomenon.



Good players going broke

Because I am involved in many different projects in Europe and the United States, both at and away from the tables, I often get inside information that others don't always get. This includes information about some very famous players, including their leaks, their weaknesses, their bad habits, and so on. Recently, it was brought to my attention that a young player who had been doing pretty well over the past two years, someone who could even be labeled one of the rising stars in international poker, was now broke. He was said to have been playing in some rather big games, while his total bankroll was a mere $200,000. And I also heard that one of the bigger stars in American poker was down to the felt, as well. A friend of mine had seen him playing in some fairly small games and had asked him: "Man, what is the matter with you? Are you broke, or what?" And as frank as anyone can be, this star had answered: "Well, yes, to tell you the truth, I am. I was playing in some extremely big games with a bankroll of just $2 million. A few beats later, this money was all gone, so I now have to rebuild things again."



Now, of course, for good players, there is no shame in going broke, as they will be able to get back on their feet again in no time – either by themselves or with the financial help of others who recognize their abilities. And while some of these players who go broke do have themselves to blame, playing in games that were too high for their bankroll, it is also clear that the characteristics of online poker make going broke much easier. Why? Well, in part it is because of the tendency to get hot when playing online. Also, the games are very fast, there are many big games available, and good players have a tendency to play some of these very big games simultaneously. And probably most importantly, in contrast to someone who takes a limited amount of cash to a brick-and-mortar casino, online players usually have a very high percentage of their total bankroll available for play – again, just a mouse click away. This means that if things run bad for them, they may run very bad, and it is not unusual for good players who have suffered a couple of tough beats in very big games to dig a hole so deep that before they realize it, they have put their entire bankroll at risk.



Two lessons

In my view, there are two lessons to be learned:



1. Just as in brick-and-mortar play, don't play above your bankroll. Keep in mind that online, things move faster and the upswings and downswings may be much bigger. Don't overestimate your edge in a game, and make sure that when you err, you err on the side of caution. It's better to be playing in a game that is a bit too small for you than one that is a little too big for you to handle.



2. Try to get yourself in a mindset that you always play your best game, and are ashamed of yourself if you play badly. You should not need the social pressure of others to keep you in line; you should be able to keep yourself in line, regardless of whether or not other people will actually catch you playing badly.



If you can remember these two lessons, you may not make as much money as some of the big players occasionally make, but you should be able to make a decent and steady income over time without any serious downswings, and with little risk of ever going broke. And while some of the absolute top pros may not appreciate this kind of thinking, for most normal human beings, financial security is a very important issue. So, if you put a lot of weight on this in a regular casino, do not suddenly start to neglect it when playing online. Those who are negligent in this area may well be in for a rude surprise.

Rolf "Ace" Slotboom has been a professional money player since 1998, specializing in limit hold'em and pot-limit Omaha. He is the tournament reporter for almost all major European tournaments, and is the Dutch commentator for Eurosport's EPT broadcasts. His first book, Hold'em on the Come: Limit Hold'em Strategy for Drawing Hands, is scheduled to be available in March 2006. Rolf can be contacted directly through his site, http://www.rolfslotboom.com/.