Hi. Come on in. I got us some of those really greasy fish and chips you like so much - with
white wine, of course.
You were asking if you should leave a medium-limit game if you get down $300 to $400. My thinking is that if you get down any amount that you consider significant, you can continue playing
if it's still a good game. If you can look around at the competition and believe that you're still one of the better players at the table, play on. Of course, if you're stuck $400, it might be difficult to consider yourself, even in your own mind, a favorite in that game. Obviously, something has gone wrong to get you down that far in this game.
So, be honest with yourself. Is this table too tough for you? Or, have you just been unlucky and taken some beats? If you can't figure out how to correct the situation, consider leaving, to return on another, better, day. However, if it's still a good game in which you're confident that you could get some or all of your money back if you get some cards and play well, consider staying. Only if you are upset to the point that it's affecting your play, should you leave. Another of my favorite poker sayings is, "
Quit when it begins to hurt."
Confidence is a great ally at the poker table. When you head to the game seeking a winning session, how much confidence do you actually have in your success? Do you think you're going to win? Great, play away. But, if you think that you might win or you might lose, I suggest that you stay home or go to a movie. Why play? So, here's another of Roy's Rules:
Expect to win.
Believing that you're going to win isn't what makes you a winner - that's superstition - but expecting to win will give you a mindset to play your best game. Hoping to win, not
believing that you're going to win, means that you are there gambling. It's a toss-up in your mind, which is then how you will play - and maybe you'll play
down to your expectations. Your subconscious can take you in directions that you wouldn't consciously decide to go. Your conscious expectation of winning can avoid that. You'll play
up to your expectations.
Change of Subject: Most poker players have had the experience of making a nice win, losing it all back, and then kicking themselves in the butt as they leave the poker room, a bit lighter in the wallet. So, you're not the only one, not by a long shot. But many players, once they get money ahead, start to think about preserving their profits.
There is a saying in poker: "
Stay to win, but don't stay to lose." Here's a way that some players have "activated" that statement. There is a process called "bracketing" that isn't mathematically or scientifically based, but it works if preserving your win is your top priority.
It's simple. When you have gotten ahead by an appreciable amount, and you're thinking of taking your profit and running, try this first. For round numbers, let's say that you're $300 ahead after playing for a while. You decide that you want to leave with at least $200 profit. So, you set a "bracket" around the amount of your current win, top and bottom, at whatever you decide the amounts to be. You have a $300 profit, so you've set the bottom of the bracket at $200. Then, let's say that you set the top of the bracket at $400. If your profit falls back to the bottom level, $200 in this case, take it and leave. But when you get to a $400 profit, re-evaulate the game. If you still consider yourself to be a favorite and are able to play well, move the bracket up. Make the bottom $300, and the top, at which time you will once again evaluate the game, $500.
As long as you keep winning, keep moving the bracket up. Anytime that you fall to the bottom bracket number, consider leaving, thus ensuring your profit. If done right, the bracket is moved only up, never down. Remember, there is nothing scientific, magic, or "correct poker" about this, but for many people who have problems with winning and then losing it all back, it works as a way to hold on to some of your profit.
Change of Subject: Some players
talk a good game, but don't
play a good game. They critique everyone's play while justifying each of their own actions - good, bad, or indifferent. They talk about their strategy, not making a move until they first talk it out. This can cost them money by exposing their thought processes to their opponents.
At times you'll hear players who are not involved in a hand discussing the possibilities of what each active player holds. My opinion holds that this violates the one-player-to-a-hand rule. (Violators should be violated.)
We have dined, and though the hour is early, I need to get down for a nap. Put the rest of the fish and chips in your pocket for breakfast and kill the light on your way out.
Roy West, poker author, continues giving his successful poker lessons in Las Vegas for tourists and locals. Ladies are welcome.
