Going to POT

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/12/2011 (5068 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I believe it was the late, great Chip Reese who said it’s very easy to be a professional when things are going well, but you only understand who a player really is when things are going bad. I agree with him.

When things are going well there are numerous reasons why they are going well. You are getting put into fewer tough spots. You are winning flips. You are giving coolers and not getting coolered. You are in a positive frame of mind.

All of these things are part of running well and make the game much easier to play. The true test of what you are as a player is how do you play when all these things aren’t happening.

We all have upswings and downswings, but it’s what we do in the midst of a downswing that is going to determine our overall success. Some players move up in stakes to try to recoup their losses. This may work the odd time, but more often than not you will end up digging yourself a bigger hole — maybe even losing your roll in the process.

Another mistake players make is to gamble more. If you try to force things, there’s a good chance you might lose even more money. Other players become gun shy. They can’t seem to pull the trigger when things are going bad, but you still have to be able to make a few bluffs to avoid being exploited. On the other hand, you still have to be able to bet for thin value. Many players start losing extra bets when things aren’t going their way.

For anyone who has been on a significant downswing, you know as well as I do that the most difficult part is staying positive. We can’t change the outcome of the hands we play but trying to remain positive may be the first step to getting out of the hole.

Last week I was playing the largest weekly tourney online when in the first level I raised Q Q to 2.5 times the big blind. A player in late position moved all in for 10,000 chips. His bet was so ridiculous that it was pretty obvious that he held either A K or J J. I was ahead of both hands. One I would crush and one I would be racing with a slight edge, so I made the call. He tabled A K and when the flop came down K high and I was unable to improve, I was sent packing.

I played the hand correctly, but since I am in the middle of a downswing, I pretty much expected that an ace or king was coming. All I can do is try to remain positive. That may sometimes seem impossible, but if I don’t remain positive, it is unlikely the bleeding will stop anytime soon.

Marco Carreira is a professional poker player based in Winnipeg