The Psychology of Losing Poker

It's no secret that there is a lot of psychology to the game of poker. A basic knowledge of psychological principles can help a player plan his approach, read his opponents, and deal with his wins in a tournament setting. One of the most often overlooked psychological aspects of the game is the psychology of losing. Having a better understanding of what happens physiologically and psychologically when one loses the game can help prevent addiction and keep one focused on the game itself.  It is important to realize that when one loses a game, there is a natural physiological response that the body produces. It is uncomfortable. It makes your stomach churn, changes your blood pressure, constricts thousands of muscles and causes physical and mental anguish. The automatic recourse that one has to this reaction is to try to win, and fast. A win would certainly rid the body off this pain, but rushing into another game to quell the loss is the start of a poker addiction. Patience is a very important part of good poker play, as is keeping to be neutral to positive outlook.   Adjusting the way one thinks about the game can prevent this bodily reaction from taking place and allow the player the opportunity to make more rational game decisions, including a more rational response to losing a game. It is vital to one's poker game to make sure that he knows when he is prone to the aforementioned physiological response. It is possible to diffuse it with acceptance of the loss and additional adjustment of one's expectations for his play. Holding lofty expectations only amplifies the effect of said physiological response and proceeds to make it not only a real influence to one's poker game, but his life in general as well. A good way to normalize one's expectations is to keep records of his games and his statistics for play.

Learn the Smokescreen

Poker and sex have a few things in common. First of all, you can pour money into both with the hope of a pay off in the end, only to walk away with an empty wallet and a deep, unsatisfied feeling that is often accompanied with the humiliation of knowing you have been played for a fool. Also in poker, as well as sex, things are not always as they seem. While you be elated that the extremely attractive young lady who looks as though she walked off the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is giving you attention, this can all change when in a moment of passion you discover she has an Adams apple. While no mouthwash in the world can gargle out the shame and disgust of your Crying Game moment, the point is that you had been caught in a situation where perception and reality were two completely different things.

Billions of words have been written about the game of poker, about strategies, and about how to win at the game. Just about every utterance or typed statement comes down to the fact that poker is a game where you are trying to alter your opponent’s perception of reality (or see through your adversaries own perception altering smokescreen).

Unless you have spontaneously developed superpowers chances are you cannot see your opponent’s hand. Nor can they see yours. This leaves us with a game that is based completely on what you think your opponent might have, and how much reality you can alter in the name of winning the pot. This means all the pot odds and mathematics pale in comparison to being someone who can use guile to change how others see reality.

Remember, poker in its simplest form is about perception, not reality. Learn to change the perception and you will win at the game.

101 Poker Tips the Pros use to Win 5/5

These easy 101 poker tips helps you to make sure you're one of the few players that make money at the world's greatest game.

81-101 poker tips:

81.Don't Be Afraid Of Monsters In The Closet

I know I said to be careful of playing overpairs too fast, but you can't be afraid of monsters in the closet either. When someone goes all- in on a flop like 8-7-2, it doesn't always mean they have a set. They might have JJ, QQ or KK and your aces could be good. You have to weigh the situation carefully to make the right decision.

82.Don't Bluff Calling Stations

Calling stations call. That's their defining characteristic. There's no sense trying to get someone to fold if it's not in them to lay anything down. When you face a calling station, stop all forms of bluffing and bet all hands for value. Let the calling station feed you their stack when you have a hand.

83.Get A Mentor

There's no substitute for a skilled player by your side helping you improve. Some people may be fortunate enough to know someone who will mentor them, others might meet someone in forums or in poker leagues; but even people who don't have any poker contacts can hire a mentor. It won't be cheap, but a good mentor will be worth many times their price.

84.Know The Difference Between A Value Raise And A Stealing Raise

This knowledge is especially important in tournament play where stealing and re-stealing blinds drives the final stages. Raises from early position are usually value raises. It's hard to steal from an early position. Late position raises are more likely to be a steal. However beware of small raises from late position. The raiser might be trying to price you in the hand.

85.Let The Money Come Naturally

You can't force profits. If you try, you'll hemorrhage money. Accept the fact that you're not going to earn $30 an hour playing $0.50/$1 No-Limit. You'll have to grind it out and roll up in limits until you can play a game big enough to make the money you want. Poker is a game of skill and patience. Disciplined players profit and impulsive players go broke.

86.Use Your Betting Patterns To Disguise Your Hand

Astute players will pick up on how you play certain hands. If you want to get paid, you have to change your usual betting pattern. I once got a player to give me 30% of their stack with air when I had trips because I played them the exact same way I played a pure bluff five hands earlier. My opponent recognized the line and thought I was on a bluff when I had a powerful hand.

87.Don't Berate Donkeys

Don't insult bad players at your table even if they draw out on you. If anything you should go out of your way to praise their poor play and make them feel comfortable. You want bad players to stay at your table for as long as possible and they won't do that if you keep telling them what a moron they are.

88.Watch Out For The Squeeze Play

Let's say there are three limpers in early position. You're in middle position with 66, so you call hoping to see a cheap flop. Someone behind you raises and everyone folds to the big blind who re-raises. Now you're caught in a squeeze play. You can't call because you don't know if the original raiser is going re-raise the big blind and you don't want to commit too many chips with a pair of sixes. Fold and make a mental note of the situation. If this play is common at your table it might be a good opportunity to trap with a big hand.

101 Poker Tips the Pros use to Win 4/5

These easy 101 poker tips helps you to make sure you're one of the few players that make money at the world's greatest game.

61-80 poker tips: 

61.Leave Your Ego At Home

You know what I'm talking about. You've felt that tinge of anger when someone raises your bluff. You start thinking things like "That donkey isn't going to push me out of the pot" and you start to make stupid moves (the donkey raised you because he's trying to let you know has trips). Make moves based on logic, not ego.

62.They're Not Playing Back At You

I used to have that sentence on a post-it on the corner of my computer screen. Whenever someone raised me my first thought was, "they're playing back at me." I should have thought that they have a hand and then tried to figure out what that hand was. If I couldn't put them on a hand, then I should start to wonder if they are playing back at me. My post-it always reminded me of that fact and I started to make better lay downs and well-timed moves.

63.Play In Medium Sized Card Rooms

Medium sized card rooms are my preferred stalking grounds. These rooms are usually too small to attract the online pros and these rooms advertise like crazy and offer great bonuses to attract new players. It's a highly profitable situation.

64.Stop Saying You're Sorry

I can't stand it when I see a player apologize for drawing out on someone. First of all, you're not sorry. You're glad you won the hand. You probably even had a mini celebration in front of your computer before typing your apology. Second, everyone deserves to draw out occasionally. We've all had our fair share of bad beats so don't be sorry when the poker gods balance the scales.

65.Avoid Names Like JacknJill27

When I see a handle like that, I know I'm dealing with someone who plays for fun. Jack and Jill are a young couple in their mid/late twenties that thought it would be fun to open a poker account together so they could play. Cute. Serious players don't do this. Serious players don't let anyone else play under their name so their stats aren't tainted. JacknJill27 might as well use the handle iSpew4u.

66.Establish An Image And Act To The Contrary

Are you a loose player? Spend some time folding to establish a tight image before loosening up. Your speculative hands will get paid because no one will suspect your hand and your bluffs will get more respect. Are you a tight player? Do all the things that loose players do when you first sit at a table. Post your blind out of turn and raise your first three hands regardless of what they are. Get caught with trash once or twice and then tighten up. Players will start playing top pair/weak kicker to the felt against you.

67.Change Gears When Needed

Acting contrary to your image shouldn't be a one-time thing. Change gears frequently. Start playing loose when it's obvious that you have a tight image and vice-versa. After a couple of gear shifts your opponents won't know what to think. And keeping your opponents off balanced is a very good thing.

68.Play In A Poker Room With A VIP Store

Lots of poker rooms give you points for playing that can be redeemed for books, clothes, poker chips, and even cars and tournament tickets. It's just another way to maximize your poker profits.

101 Poker Tips the Pros use to Win 3/5

These easy 101 poker tips helps you to make sure you're one of the few players that make money at the world's greatest game.

41-60 poker tips: 

 

41.Test The Waters Before You Dive In

The best way to break into new limits is to take an occasional shot at the higher limit. When I plan on moving up in Sit 'N Goes, I'll open one game at the new limit and several at my current limit. That way I can gain confidence and get a feel for the new players before I dive in and put my bankroll at risk.

42.Take Notes On Your Opponents

I don't mean writing "donkey" in their notes. I mean write down any move your opponent makes that's unusual like "raised with 10-8 suited from middle position in an unopened pot" or "re-raised with pocket tens from the small blind." These notes will help you put your opponents on a hand when you're playing against them.

43.Buddy List The Fish

I have dozens of buddies in each of my poker accounts but none of them are actually friends of mine. All of them, however, are very poor poker players. This practice is often called "fish stalking" and it can be very profitable. If you find a couple of your fish buddies at a table, sit down and clean up.

44.Use Proper Table Selection

Poker is a predatory game. You make money when you play against players worse than you and you lose money when you play against players better than you so it only makes sense to seek out worse players. Don't just sit down at the first table with an open chair. Do a little research to see which table has the loosest and most passive players. Loose-passive players are ATM machines. They'll feed you cash all day long.

45.Use The Right Statistics When Selecting Tables

The two most important statistics to use when selecting a table are the "% to the flop" and the "average pot size." A high percentage of players seeing the flop means the table is loose and a higher than average pot size means that the players give a lot of action. You need both of these statistics to be favorable for the game to be good. Just be careful when players leave and new ones join. Fish splashing around tend to attract sharks.

46.Don't Drink And Play

I know it's fun. I've done it more times than I care to admit and I almost always end up losing money. Your judgment will be impaired after a couple of drinks and you'll start making the wrong moves and missing out on opportunities. If you're playing to win, play sober.

47.Know Your Game

Are you playing a freezeout, a shootout, a rebuy or a bounty? Different tournaments require different strategies. For example, freezeouts reward tight play and giving up a hand in marginal situations early on, however if you're in a bounty tournament it might be advantageous to try to take out the player if you think you have a reasonable chance of winning.

101 Poker Tips the Pros use to Win 2/5

These easy 101 poker tips helps you to make sure you're one of the few players that make money at the world's greatest game.

21-40 poker tips:

21.Estimate Implied Odds

Pot odds aren't the only odds you need to consider. A good player has to be able to estimate how much more they'll win if they hit their hand. Different draws have different levels of profitability. For example, flush draws are easy to spot and tend to slow players down but if you're holding 8-10 and the board is J-9-2, your draw will well disguised and your implied odds will be better.

22.Don't Pay Too Much To Draw

If someone prices you out of a draw, curse your luck and let the hand go unless you think your opponent will pay you off if you hit.

23.Consider The Turn And The River When You Draw

How much is your opponent betting on the flop? Do you think you'll see one card or do you think you'll get a free card on the turn? Remember that someone who bets heavy on the flop is likely to bet heavy on the turn if it's a blank. Your odds of making a draw on one card are significantly less than on two cards and chances are you're only going to see one card if your opponent is making serious bets.

24.Hidden Draws Are Better Than Obvious Ones

I alluded to this tip earlier. I'll pay more for a draw when I have 8-10 on a board of J-9-2 than I will with Ax of spades when there are two spades on the flop. The reason is that my opponents will notice the spade draw and shut down if it hits, but they're less likely to notice the straight draw when I have a single gapper - especially if I raised preflop.

25.Don't Defend A Second Best Hand

I see this happen all the time. Most of the time it's because someone entered the pot with ace-rag and an ace hit the flop. They continue to bet and raise the hand never considering that they're probably out kicked. Have the good sense to fold if you think your hand may be second best.

26.Stop Completing The Small Blind With Trash

"But I'm getting a discount" is the cry of the poker loser. Playing too loose in the small blind is a huge leak in most players' games. The problem with completing the small blind is that you'll either win a small pot or lose a big one. It's hard to get paid off when your trash hits but it's easy to donk off your stack when your hand is second best.

27.Raise From The Small Blind When You Have A Big Hand Verses The Big Blind

Many players just complete the small blind when it's folded to them when they have a big hand. Not me. One of my favorite moves is to raise from the small blind when it's folded to me and I have a big hand. The big blind thinks you're stealing and calls to defend. Then they proceed to play their Q7 to the felt when they hit top pair. Every time you raise they think you're trying to steal. They never consider that you might have kings or aces.

101 Poker Tips the Pros use to Win 1/5

These easy 101 poker tips helps you to make sure you're one of the few players that make money at the world's greatest game.

1-20 poker tips:

1.Be Selective With Your Starting Hands

Profitable poker begins with selecting profitable hands. A player who only plays the top 10% to 20% of the possible starting hands will generally make more money than a player who plays the top 30% to 40% of starting hands. Loose players can still be profitable players, but it requires considerably more skill to play a loose style profitably. Tighten up and watch your profits soar.

2.Practice Effective Bankroll Management

Everyone goes broke at one point or another and it's usually because of poor bankroll management. Generally speaking, you should have 30 to 50 buy-ins for whatever game you're playing. So if you buy into a $1/$2 No-Limit Hold'em game for $200, you should have a bankroll of $6k to $10k. The looser you play, the more buy-ins you should have to make sure your bankroll can withstand the swings.

3.Take A Study Day Each Week

Become a student of the game. Read all the poker books you can get your hands on. In fact, read these books multiple times. I have some poker books that I've read 5 times over and I find something new every time I read them. A few good books to have are The Theory of Poker, Sit 'N Go Strategy, Super System and the Harrington on Hold'em series. There are several other good books as well. Take some time and browse your local bookstore to see which authors you like to read.

4.Be Prepared For Downswings

If you practice effective bankroll management you'll be financially prepared for downswings, but you need to be mentally prepared as well. Poker may be a game of skill, but there is a dash of luck involved too. You need to stay focused when the poker gods see fit to squash you like a bug. Even the best players will face downswings. The trick is to work your way through it as best you can. You can analyze your game to make sure your downswing isn't due to your play or take a break. Just make sure you don't go on tilt and make the downswing worse.

5.Vary Your Play

After a while, even good players fall into a rhythm. They raise with one hand and limp with another. They only play a certain range from late position and a tighter range from early position. If their opponent checks for a second time on the turn, they always bet 2/3 pot. After a while, your opponents will pick up on these patterns and they'll start outplaying you. Change up your play every once in a while to keep your opponents guessing.

6.Pay Attention To Your Bets

Do your betting patterns betray your hand? Do you only re-raise with aces or kings? Do you raise 5 times the big blind to protect small pairs? Do you make a continuation bet every time you show aggression before the flop and check the turn if your opponent floats you when you have air? Some players have betting patterns so consistent that they might as well announce their hand. What are your betting patterns telling your opponents?

7.Control The Pot

There's an old poker saying that says "Small hand, small pot. Big hand, big pot." You need to control the pot to match your hand. It's tricky controlling the pot without alerting your opponents to your hand, but it's a necessary skill if you want to win more money.

8.Keep An Eye On The Nuts

Always know what the best possible hand is on every street and determine how likely it is that your opponent holds the cards necessary to make that hand. For example, if you're playing a re-raised pot and have JJ on a board of Q-J-10, there's a decent chance that your trips are up against a straight if your opponent is raising and re-raising. However if you're playing a re-raised pot and have 99 on a board of 9-7-5, it's much less likely your opponent is holding the 68 necessary for the straight.

9.Be Aware Of Your Position

Too many new players are oblivious to the advantages of playing in position. It's easier to trap your opponents and it's easier to make moves on your opponent when you're in position.

Things You Need To Know About Poker

1. Poker is a long-term game

The true measuring stick of a poker player is what type of decisions they make. If they make good decisions they will win in the long-run; if they make poor decisions they will lose in the long-run: It’s that simple!

So, why do so many players make poor decisions? The reason for poor decisions is quite simple, most people view poker in the short-term. These players do not hit the tables enough to think beyond a single hand or session. Even if they have heard the term ‘long-term’, it has never been explained properly, and is too abstract a concept to fully sink in.

In poker: Winning is the result of good decisions, not the other way around.

This is an extremely difficult concept for many players to wrap their heads around. It’s hard to explain to someone who just won a huge pot that they made a blunder at some point in the hand, and were merely lucky. Generally you’ll be told, “gotta get lucky sometimes.”

The truth is, just because you win a pot doesn’t mean you made good decisions during it; and just because you lose a pot doesn’t mean you made bad decisions!

You will find most of your opponents have this concept completely backwards. They feel if they win the pot they did something right; they don’t realize that for every 1 in 10 miracle they hit, there will be nine other times they miss. And, it’s these 9 other times that cause them to lose money. They remember the $150 win, and forget about the nine $20 losses.

2. Your money comes from your opponent’s mistakes

It’s extremely important you understand this concept. Poker is a battle of mistakes; the player making the fewest, and least costly mistakes, is the player who will be taking home the money in the long-run (it’s not the player who knows the most, or pulls off the best bluff). If you play in a game where your opponents make more mistakes than you do, you will come out on top regardless of your skill level. All you have to do to be a winning player is look for players that are worse than you!

This holds true for any game or stakes. If the five best players in the world are sitting at a particular table, and the 6th best player pulls up a chair, guess who is going to be the fish in the game?

3. You don’t have to be the best to make money

Another problem even the best players have is they try to beat everyone. Instead of focusing on the weaker players, they are out to prove their superiority over everyone at the table.  In a typical poker game there will be one or two players who are feeding chips to the rest of the table (at the lower limits you may find three or four players feeding the table). These are the guys playing 75% of the hands they are dealt, and calling to the river.

Good players will attempt to exploit these ‘feeders’ by isolating them in pots, while avoiding the locksmiths with all but their best hands. There is no point in continually battling skilled players, even if you feel you have a slight edge over them, when you have people who are practically throwing their money at you.

I'm not condoning total avoidance of decent players; just contemplate the risks and the reward before you get involved. Sure you can push a locksmith off a hand when he bricks, but if you're constantly playing pots against players who make few mistakes, you're fighting an uphill battle. Remember, most of your profits are coming from your opponent’s mistakes, not from your good plays. And, the worse an opponent is, the more mistakes he will make.

These small gaffes you commit trying to ‘prove’ something, can end up being the difference between winning and losing in the long-run. There is such a small margin for error in poker that a single mistake can put you in the red (Barry Greenstein guessed this edge to be around 3% for the best players, so imagine what it is for you).

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