Are You Losing to Bad Players?

Hi. Come on in. I picked up a bucket of buffalo wings and some fries so that we can munch while we talk of our beloved game - poker. Don't tell my doctor.

This question keeps coming up, usually in different forms, but generally it goes like this: Why does it seem that most of my losses are to bad players?" The answer is quite simple, but usually overlooked. It doesn't just seem that way, it is that way.

I shall explain. An incredibly high percentage of all poker players are bad players. So, when you lose, there is a high probability that it will be to a bad player.

To further compound the situation, many of those losses will be of the bad-beat variety, in which these players went for the long-shot miracle draw and made it. If they start with garbage often enough, sometimes it will turn to roses. Generally, it stays garbage, but bad players tend to remember the roses and keep trying. If you happen to be standing in the way when the miracle occurs, it's going to cost you some money, and possibly a bit of emotional turmoil. Your good opponents don't show you these miracles, because they're not in the pot attempting to change garbage to roses.

Change of subject: There are times when you just can't put together a win, no matter what you do. Either you can't find a starting hand for what seems like days on end, or when you do make a good hand, it gets cracked. When this occurs, consider playing a lower limit, temporarily.

Sometimes you'll find a couple of $15-$30 or $20-$40 players sitting at a $5-$10 table. They are good poker players, capable of at least holding their own at the higher limits, but something has gone wrong, and until they can figure out what, they've backed off to lower limits.

It takes a smart player to know when it's time to step back. It takes courage. You don't want your friends to see you playing in the "little games." You don't want to hear their comments. Your ego demands that you stay at the higher limit, even though you're losing your Pierre Cardin shirt. Don't listen. Step back and save your bankroll. Otherwise, all of your shirts will have those little tigers on the pockets.

Change of subject (and another question): We hear a lot about luck in the game of poker. Are some poker players luckier than others? Of course! Poker is part of life, and in life, some people are luckier than others. Some folks are born with a silver spoon in their mouths, and have an easy ride. Others come into the world and find it a place of struggle. Some people are so healthy that they can't remember their doctor's name. Others have so many doctors in their lives that they can't remember them all.

If you want to be healthy, live a healthy lifestyle. If you want to be lucky at poker, study and learn. As many of my students have told me, the more they study and learn about poker, the luckier they get. An ancient Chinese proverb states: "Luck is when preparedness meets opportunity." Are you prepared?

Change of subject: Most poker players talk a better game than they play - a much better game. I get to talk poker with lots of players. Many times, the way they talk and the way they play are worlds apart. When they talk poker, they talk smart. If they would play as smart as they talk, they would be consistent winners.

These players know what to do, but knowing and doing are two different things. The problem is that they don't have the discipline to do what they know. If you have a problem with discipline, you will have a problem winning. Discipline is, I believe, the biggest obstacle to most players winning consistently.

Good players who have given up their discipline have blown off a lot of money. When you see it happening, you have an opportunity to add to your bankroll. When you see it happening to you, save your bankroll - leave, quickly. It is almost impossible to win consistently without discipline. As I tell my students, "It doesn't matter how well you can play; what matters is how well you do play."

The buffalo wings were spicier than I like. Take the rest and kill the light on your way out.

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