Poker Strategy

Cold Cards
Every player goes through a run of cold cards and bad luck. Simon Trumper documented one such run once, losing 18 coin-flips (that is, times when he's 50-50 with another player, all in) in a row!

I've just broken a month's long run of foul cards and bad beats where I won absolutely nothing and couldn't even draw out on someone. No, it seems when it comes to ME being the underdog, the cards behave themselves!

Every player goes through this, but it never feels easy. Poker players, despite it being an individual's game, are very social. The best players also tend to be neurotic and often given to manic depression. The highs are very high and the lows are cavernous. One review of Stu Ungar's life shows that and he was probably the greatest card player of all time!

Ask yourself why when two players meet they inevitably tell BAD beat stories, not about hands where they won? In a game where any weakness shown can be fatal, why tell a story about how you lost a big pot? In a game where image means a lot, why tell everyone you are a loser?

Next time someone tells you a bad beat story, instead of zoning out, listen to them and think about this: Is this person telling me this story to regale me with tales of highly improbable events or is it to seek confirmation that they did nothing wrong? Almost certainly it's the latter.

I'll let you in on a secret...every player at some stage in their career feels like a total fraud. They feel like any wins they've had to date have been luck and their current losing streak is what they deserve. They feel like frauds and need to quit before they fool themselves any further.

You need to step back and realise you can't win them all, you can't even win most of them! Look at your form, look at how you are playing, correct any mistakes you can see and then realise that even the best in the world can't force a win with 72o.

"This too shall pass..."