Pro Tip: 35
Bad Cards or Bad Plays?
Team Full Tilt
November 14, 2005
Losing is part of poker and all serious players, including the world's best, can recount losing streaks that lasted for months. Often, the downswing starts with a particularly unlucky run of cards. A series of bad beats or impossibly tough hands eat away at the bankroll. As the bad run continues, and money continues to disappear, players are forced to confront one of the toughest questions in poker: Am I a victim of lousy luck or am I playing poorly?
John D'Agostino knows how difficult it is to find the correct answer. "Any time I lose a few sessions in a row, I start questioning myself," D'Agostino says. "But I know that some days, even if I play perfectly, I'm going to lose."
Erik Seidel notes that in tournament poker, months-long dry spells are to be expected. In the midst of such a run it's hard to know if you're a victim of expected fluctuations or if there's something wrong with your game. "It's really hard to determine," says Seidel, "but I think most of us tend to fool ourselves and tend to think we're playing better than we are."
Then there's the inevitable interplay between bad cards and poor play. The pros report that in the midst of a bad run, bad luck can lead to bad decisions. Jennifer Harman notes that when things are going poorly, she has a tendency to push hands. "Let's say I have Ace-King and I don't flop a pair," says Harman. "I'll be in there raising. But there's no point. My table image is bad and nobody thinks I can flop a hand, so I can't bluff. I might as well wait till I flop a pair. At that point, my opponents are going to call me down and pay me off anyway."
For D'Agostino, a bad run can lead to more timid play. 'I definitely made some bad days a lot worse than they needed to be. Sometimes, I started playing more passively. In the middle of a hand I'd be asking myself, ‘How is this going to go wrong?' But if I played the hand the way I usually would, I'd have won the pot earlier on." D'Agostino says that when he has that sort of mindset, he's likely to miss bluffing opportunities.
Such a streak can destroy a promising player. Harman says, "There are a lot of players who have gone on losing streaks and can't recover. They start playing bad and thinking that they're doomed forever. And all of a sudden, they're on the rail."
How do the pros get a handle on their play and determine what's causing the downswing? Harman recommends sharing hands. "I'd ask people to watch me play or I'd jot down hands and ask friends ‘Did I play this right?' If they said I was playing it wrong, I'd have to reevaluate my play because I was letting the losing streak affect my play."
"Just book a win," says D'Agostino. He notes that confidence is critical at the poker table. So, in the midst of losing streak, leaving a session with a win - even if it's a small one - can help a player regain that mental edge. "Once you can feel confident about yourself, things will start to roll," he says.
Finally, a winning player needs to develop an honest, self-critical nature. Seidel notes that he rarely talks poker, but when he and John Junada chat about a play, the conversation usually begins, "Listen to how badly I played this hand.…"
When playing online, there's every opportunity to assess your play. Save your hand histories. When a session is over and your head is clear, review your actions and see if you can spot problems in your play.
Pro Tip: 44
How Big a Bankroll?
Team Full Tilt
January 16, 2006
"Poker is a tough business," says Erik Seidel. "You can go through long streaks when you don't win anything." When things go badly, when you can't seem to cash in a tournament or win a significant pot in a cash game, you come to understand the importance of maintaining an adequate bankroll.
Just how big should your bankroll be? How much money do you need to ensure that a bad run won't put you on the rail? We Full Tilt Poker pros agree that the answer depends on a number of factors, including the types of games you're playing, the level of competition you're encountering, and your psychological disposition.
As Jennifer Harman says, "Some players can be effective on a relatively short bankroll, but others need more of a cushion. They'll get stressed out and play scared if they don't have enough money behind them." So you need to be aware of your comfort level at the table. If you're nervous about what you stand to lose in a given pot, you're probably playing too high for your bankroll. Harman, like most Team Full Tilt members, recommends a conservative approach and suggests maintaining a bankroll that leaves plenty of room for downswings. "If you're playing $10-$20 limit, I think $10,000 is about right," says Harman.
John D'Agostino agrees, "You should never play a limit where you feel uncomfortable." He suggests that a player shouldn't put more than five percent of his bankroll in play at any time.
The need for a sizable bankroll exits for tournament play as well as cash games. Erik Seidel, a tournament specialist, notes that long droughts are common for tournament professionals and that entry fees can add up quickly. "If you were to play all of the $10,000 buy-in events, you could spend half a million over the course of year," says Seidel. "Even top players can have years when then don't cash for $100,000, so having a proper bankroll is critical."
"You need a much bigger bankroll in tournaments than you do is side games," agrees Chris Ferguson. "A lot of people play tournaments without nearly enough. You easily need 100 buy-ins. Maybe 200."
Playing over your bankroll is fine once in awhile, but all the pros concur that it's important to leave yourself plenty of money to recover from unlucky hands and the occasional mistake. D'Agostino, one of the top young players in poker, offers one further tip for hanging on to your money. "Don't play Phil Ivey heads up. I tried that once and I failed miserably."
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