Another poor performance last week has seen the bankroll drop to below $10,000. On the positive side, it was only a couple of months ago that I was reporting a new record bankroll high of $12,000 so its hardly a disaster. On top of this, consider too that in the last 10 days I have withdrawn over $13,000.
Here’s my problem: after a few months winning big dollars any small wins feel like a loss. Any losses feel like the end of the world.
At times like this is I bring to mind an interview I saw with top UK cash games player Ben Roberts. For those of you who haven’t seen this guy, he comes across as the most level-headed person you could meet. His (paraphrased) philosophy is this: “In poker you have wins and you have losses and at the end of the year you add them all up and that is how you have done. You must accept that there will be losses.”
I’ve read other comments, one from London player Jeff Duval that the difference between the winners and losers at the top level is how much they lose when they are playing badly. The biggest winners manage to keep things together much better when things go against them. Some would-be winners can become break-even or losing players by losing more than they should during bad times.
Until his death earlier this month, Chip Reese, considered by those in the know to be the best poker player of all time, was noted as “smooth” player. By all accounts he never did anything that most good poker players couldn’t have done. The difference was he did the right thing almost all of the time. He played somewhere close to his best game all of the time. He was possibly alone in being able to do this and that’s why he was considered the world’s best player.
Most readers will realise that I have not been doing this over the last few weeks. Any poker players reading will probably realise that its a problem they have too. If we were totally rational human beings we would be much better poker players. Luckily most people are incapable of behaving totally rationally at all times. If they did there would be a hell of a lot less money up for grabs at the poker table.
Discipline is the key principle here. Its not enough to know the right thing to do: we must then do it. It takes discipline to do this and when things don’t go my way I become more of a gambler and less of a disciplined poker player. This is not something I am proud of but its something I can seek to put right. Starting right away!
Monday 17 December 2007
Monday 3 December 2007
November results
Big pot 'true winnings': $2,964.81
Small pot winnings: $1,133.73
Rakeback received: $154.92
True winnings (total): $4,253.46
----------
Hands played: 3,897
Hours played: 44:54
Win rate per hour: $94.73
Win rate per 100 hands: $105.17 (5.26ptbb) (excludes bonus)
----------
Bankroll at 1 Nov: $26,842.68
True win: $4,253.46
Good luck in big pots: $1,857.00
Withdrawal: $(2,979.00)
Bankroll at 30 Nov: $29,974.14
-----------------------------------------------------
My thoughts:
Results-wise this has been another solid month. I managed to maintain a 7% return in the big pots which is OK [1]. What has pleased me more is the positive result in the 'small pots'. This indicates that I have been reading situations better, winning my share of these pots and generally winning a higher proportion of pots without showing my cards.
One problem this month has been with volume. I was only able to manage 45 hours play in November, my lowest number yet if you exclude September where I took a week's holiday. Things have been busy at home as well as at work. I would normally manage 3-4 hours per week playing during my lunch breaks at work but this has not been the case in November. I cant see December being any less busy, so I can probably anticipate playing only 45 hours again this coming month.
Goals for December revolve around reducing negative aspects in my game. I have almost eliminated tilt caused by suffering bad beats [2]. I need to concentrate on the other tilt triggers that I still hang on to: when card-dead and when on the receiving end of 'cold-deck set-ups'.
When I am card-dead I need to find a way to keep from getting agitated. After an hour or so without getting involved I start itching to get in and play. I need to sit tight if nothing is happening for me. Maybe I could use this time more productively by making notes on my regular opponents, as quite often there will be significant action going on around me. This is the main reason why most players sit at many tables. I have tried this and am happy with my game at one table. I just need to play that one table better.
Cold-deck set-ups annoy me too. Set-over-set, KK v AA on a rag flop, you know what I mean. To let this annoy you is stupid: if the situations are truly cold-decks, in that the result would be the same if the players were switched, there is really no need to get annoyed by this. For each time you lose one of these set-ups, you will win one. They are part of the game; when and how often they occur is merely part of the variance of poker. The only advantage to be gained is by reacting philosophically to them, maintaining your equilibrium and hoping that your opponents go crazy when they lose to them.
[1] - if all pots were heads-up this would mean that on average I got my money in as 53.5 to 46.5 favourite. In fact, some pots will be multi-way, some will have 'dead money' from people who folded after contributing part-way, so the reality is that for every $1 invested I was returned $1.07.
[2] - there are NO bad beats. It may seem obvious when written down ,but if your opponent has a 10% chance to win the pot, he can still win the pot. Don't be surprised if this happens, and don't let it affect your game. Getting his money in this bad will ultimately result in losses, but the long run is a lot further away than most of us think.
Small pot winnings: $1,133.73
Rakeback received: $154.92
True winnings (total): $4,253.46
----------
Hands played: 3,897
Hours played: 44:54
Win rate per hour: $94.73
Win rate per 100 hands: $105.17 (5.26ptbb) (excludes bonus)
----------
Bankroll at 1 Nov: $26,842.68
True win: $4,253.46
Good luck in big pots: $1,857.00
Withdrawal: $(2,979.00)
Bankroll at 30 Nov: $29,974.14
-----------------------------------------------------
My thoughts:
Results-wise this has been another solid month. I managed to maintain a 7% return in the big pots which is OK [1]. What has pleased me more is the positive result in the 'small pots'. This indicates that I have been reading situations better, winning my share of these pots and generally winning a higher proportion of pots without showing my cards.
One problem this month has been with volume. I was only able to manage 45 hours play in November, my lowest number yet if you exclude September where I took a week's holiday. Things have been busy at home as well as at work. I would normally manage 3-4 hours per week playing during my lunch breaks at work but this has not been the case in November. I cant see December being any less busy, so I can probably anticipate playing only 45 hours again this coming month.
Goals for December revolve around reducing negative aspects in my game. I have almost eliminated tilt caused by suffering bad beats [2]. I need to concentrate on the other tilt triggers that I still hang on to: when card-dead and when on the receiving end of 'cold-deck set-ups'.
When I am card-dead I need to find a way to keep from getting agitated. After an hour or so without getting involved I start itching to get in and play. I need to sit tight if nothing is happening for me. Maybe I could use this time more productively by making notes on my regular opponents, as quite often there will be significant action going on around me. This is the main reason why most players sit at many tables. I have tried this and am happy with my game at one table. I just need to play that one table better.
Cold-deck set-ups annoy me too. Set-over-set, KK v AA on a rag flop, you know what I mean. To let this annoy you is stupid: if the situations are truly cold-decks, in that the result would be the same if the players were switched, there is really no need to get annoyed by this. For each time you lose one of these set-ups, you will win one. They are part of the game; when and how often they occur is merely part of the variance of poker. The only advantage to be gained is by reacting philosophically to them, maintaining your equilibrium and hoping that your opponents go crazy when they lose to them.
[1] - if all pots were heads-up this would mean that on average I got my money in as 53.5 to 46.5 favourite. In fact, some pots will be multi-way, some will have 'dead money' from people who folded after contributing part-way, so the reality is that for every $1 invested I was returned $1.07.
[2] - there are NO bad beats. It may seem obvious when written down ,but if your opponent has a 10% chance to win the pot, he can still win the pot. Don't be surprised if this happens, and don't let it affect your game. Getting his money in this bad will ultimately result in losses, but the long run is a lot further away than most of us think.
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