Why Do I Play Poker?

Hi, my name is Mark and I’m the owner and one of the writers of Poker Bankroll Blog. The people behind Why Do I play Poker have very kindly given me the opportunity to write a guest post for their site.

Before I start on the main topic for this article, I want to give a short introduction to my blog. My aim for Poker Bankroll Blog is for it to become the best online article database covering topics like poker bankroll management , poker mathematics, poker strategy and much more.

I have 6 years of online poker experience so there are plenty of topics to write about. But as it’s usually the case with hobby blogs, the challenge is to find the necessary time. I’ve realized that I don’t have time to write everything myself, and as a result, I have opened up my blog to fellow poker writers in order to build my article database and get different point of views on the many aspects of poker.

All poker players have bad beat stories to tell. That’s because poker is essentially a game of probabilities (some critics claim it’s a game of luck but that’s because they don’t know better). Even if you’re ahead of your opponent with a pair of kings on a K85 rainbow flop, there’s always the possibility she catches a J and Q on the turn and river for a straight. This element of chance is the source of all variance in poker.

Variance in combination with your poker skills at the tables is what makes your stack swing from hand to hand, and your bankroll vary on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. If you’re a poker beginner, your bankroll will most likely decrease due to lack of experience, but even poker pros have bad runs. Solid bankroll management is the best weapon against variance and the related risk of ruin.

Obviously you’re much more likely to lose a 100$ bankroll playing two 50$ SNGs compared to playing 2$ tournaments. With solid bankroll management you will always have enough SNG and tournament buyins in your bankroll to outlast bad runs. Most experts recommend a bankroll around 50 SNG or tournament buyins on the level you’re playing to minimize the risk of going broke in the long run. Serious/pro poker player usually have around 100 buyins in their roll. Before making your first deposit, make sure you are aware of the consequences of your bankroll management choice.

If you’re depositing looking for quick thrills and the chance of building a bankroll with lightning speed, by all means go ahead and risk your entire bankroll on one tournament. Just be aware that your chances of success are quite low. If you’re looking to sustain your bankroll over a long period of time then stick to the 50 buyin rule of thumb. However, following this plan means that you will be grinding it out in small buyin tournaments and SNGs for a long time in order to increase your bankroll enough to move up to the next level.

If you’re a poker novice your bankroll will benefit a great deal from learning all the poker rules. I’ve written a series of articles describing everything you’ll need to start playing poker. It might also be of interest to you to join the High Pulse Poker site where they have freerolls to increase your bankroll every 15 minutes.

SNGs used to be the reason for the lion’s share of my poker winnings.  Then I got busy and didn’t play for a couple of years.  When I came back I found myself a loser.  I went from crushing $50SNGs to losing at $16’s. WTF?  Turns out, in my absence, everyone got better but me.  I had a good game for 2005.  Not good enough for 2010.

What am I going to do about it?  I’m hitting the books. Starting with one in particular, Sit ‘n Go Strategy by Collin Moshman.  It’s a good book. You should buy it. Anyway, here is quick glimpse of what I’ve learned. It will probably take four posts to go through the whole book.

Lets get started.

Low Blind Strategy.

For this section you should assume 8-10 players with low blinds and no antes.

1. Start thinking in terms of Tournament Equity.  This is a variation on Expected Value.  Basically to uses the Author;s words is your “fair share of the prize money.

2.Play super tight.  But when you do play, be aggressive. Play your premium hands and some coordinated, speculative hands. Now is not the time to make any tricky moves. This is not the time to gamble.  That comes later.

3. Label your opponents.  This is key and something I would never do because online I thought I would never see them again and I was wrong.  Truthfully, it doesn’t matter if you see them again, size them up.  It will get you more involved in the game and playing on a deeper level

4. Don’t check monsters, bet them.

5. When people bet into a monster flop they usually don’t have it.

6. Three betting means something.  Usually aces or kings.

7. Aggression Priciple.  Similar to Gap Concept. Being the bettor raiser is better than being the caller. This is because betting and raising allow the possibility of winning the pot immediately since everyone may fold.  You can never win immediately by calling.

8. Hands to play early position. Pretty obvious but here goes. AA, KK, QQ, AK You should always be willing to go all in with a big pair pre flop.  This is one of the only times you want to do this in low blind play.

9. Hands to play in middle late position. Premium hands plus  speculative hands like suited connectors and suited aces with the following caveats. Must be in  middle or late position. It’s an unraised pot and your hand could turn into something that would break your opponent.

10. Late Position Steal/Value hands criteria. Play all the hands as in early and mid position plus

1. You have a decent hand in late position
2. Everyone has folded to you.
3. You think a raise will win the pot right there.

Next time,  we’ll look at mid blind play.  Also, you should get the book.  I skipped a lot.  Anyway, I hope this helps.  Get ready to loosen up for mid and high blind play.

I think sometimes I’m too nice.  I like to think of myself as a hard-nosed player.  But I’m not.  Sometimes It hits me that I want people to like me almost as much as I like chips.  Especially at home games.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to be the dick who begrudgingly gets an invite when the game is short.  But I’m not giving away information anymore in the hopes of being liked.

Here’s my pledge.

1. No more showing my ace to make my opponent feeling good about his fold.
2. No more showing my successful bluffs even though it probably is the most satisfying activity in existence.
3. No more showing my aces in the big blind when everyone folds in hopes of some sympathy.

Truthfully, I don’t even think showing hands gives away that much information.  It just wreaks of cooperation and that has no place  at the poker table.

If there’s still some part of my personality that needs to be liked I will compensate by bringing more snacks, better beer.  But I will not show my cards.

I used to play poker to make friends.  As of today, I play to win.

Why do you play? Let me know at stories@whydoiplaypoker.net