Poker Questions and Answers 

It’s that time again, time to clean up my desk. What that means is that I have compiled a list of questions from readers that I will attempt to answer today in this column. These questions are in no particular order. 

Question: I play poker for a living and I have been keeping track of all of the tips that I spend. The amount is substantial since I play many hours per year. I realized how much money I could save if I stopped tipping the dealers. What are your thoughts on this?

Answer: Poker dealers provide a service, much like a waiter, waitress or a bellman. Would you even think of not tipping them? As far as I am concerned, tipping is part of a poker player’s business expenses. It is a cost of doing business. If you cannot afford your business expenses, you should get into another line of business.

Most dealers are paid minimum wage and they rely on tips in order to make a living. If you stop tipping them, I think we will lose many of the best dealers and we will end up with poorly skilled dealers. Since you make a living playing poker, it is advantageous to you to have good dealers as they deal more hands per hour and they run the game correctly.

Question: I have been keeping meticulous records of my poker wins and losses. What information should I be getting from them?

Answer: The most obvious benefit from keeping records of course is so that you can determine if you are a winner or a loser at poker. Other things your records will tell you are whether you do better when you play shorter sessions or longer sessions, whether you do better on the weekends or during the week, whether you do better playing daytime or nighttime, whether you do better at X Casino or Y Casino, whether your average losses are bigger than your average wins, etc. Of course it is important to be very accurate and honest with your record keeping.

Question: Where can I find a copy of the TDA (Tournament Directors Association) rules?
Answer: You can find the rules online at pokertda.com. If you play tournaments, it is very important that you understand the rules so you know how to protect yourself and other players at the poker table.

Question: Do you recommend playing cash games or tournaments?

Answer: As is often the answer to poker questions, it depends. If you are trying to play for a living and you have the skill necessary to do so, I would recommend playing cash games. I believe that a highly skilled cash game player can win about 70 percent of the time whereas a highly skilled tournament player is unlikely to cash more than about 15 percent of the time. It takes a very disciplined mindset to be able to handle so much failure.

If you are a recreational player, you might be better off playing tournaments because the amount of money you can lose is predetermined by the buy-in, unless of course there are multiple entries. You can also usually play longer on one buy-in in a tournament than you can in a live game.

Question: Where do you recommend I live if I want to play poker for a living?

Answer: Fortunately, I have found good games in every area of the country. If I had to recommend any particular area, I would recommend playing somewhere where poker has been relatively newly legalized. Often times, there are recreational players who are trying to learn the game when it first comes to their neighborhoods. You will probably not be facing as many professional players as you would if you live in a more established poker area.

Question: What do you think is the biggest error players make?

Answer: I think that many players don’t pay attention at the table. Nowadays I see players on their telephones constantly instead of watching the action. I’m guilty of this too, but I am striving to correct this bad habit.

I appreciate all the questions and comments and input I get from readers. If you want to contact me, my email address is [email protected].

Change of topic: I have just returned from three weeks of cruising in the Mediterranean and a one-week cruise to Alaska with Card Player Cruises. I am very appreciative of our wonderful passengers and our great staff who made these trips so enjoyable. We have recently signed contracts for poker cruises to Cuba and to New Zealand as well as other itineraries for 2018. To see our complete 2018 schedule, please go to www.cardplayercruises.com. ♠

Linda is a member of the Poker Hall of Fame and the Women in Poker Hall of Fame. She is available to host poker seminars, corporate poker events, and charity tournaments. You can contact her through her at [email protected].