STEADY AS SHE GOES!

This is our first full day at sea. Our ship is moving along at a nice clip of 19 knots. It’s secret in covering long distances is not, however in its’ speed, but in its’ perpetual motion. She moves along steadily 24 hours a day until she reaches our destination.

Likewise, it is not in the speed of your play in poker that matters as much as it is consistency of performance over the long haul. “Slow and steady wins the race,” as my father use to say. I’m mindful of this on the eve of the $1100 HPT No Limit main event. Before I take any big risks, I will grow my stack at a slow and steady pace. I want to have twice the chip average or double that of my opponent, before I take any coin flips or jeopardize myself going out of the tournament.

The key is to survive.

Cash games are different. I’m heading down now to play for a while. A common question I get from cash players is “when is the right time to quit?” “Is there a certain amount of money I’m up that I should quit, or if I’m losing a certain amount that I should leave?” Invariable these type of questions are asked by people who fear that their luck will run out or conversely that there should be a point that they realize that it’s not going to be there lucky day.

The answer is a bit of a paradox. Poker is a perpetual motion type of game in which mathematically one hand supposes not to affect another one. Psychologically, however, it is a different story. Players tend to carry their results with them, good or bad and it is that psychological affect that has a definite affect on how they play their cards and consequently, effects their results.

Players’, who are able to create distance between themselves and the hands they play and differentiate them, will be less likely to be affected by individual results. They will be able to see the bigger picture and; “Should I stay or should I quit?” becomes more of a useless question. When this is the case the players usually play more on time rather then results. Either a specified period of time or until they feel tired or are losing their competitive edge. Whether they are up or down money is usually not a factor in their decision-making.

Player’s who are dramatically affected by their results, however, should definitely use a money management system, rather then a timed based system for their playing sessions. The best systems are relative to the buy-in. The general consensus is if you’re stuck two buy-ins it’s time to quit. The players’ ability to handle the Outflow or negative variance usually will aversely affect their play and they should pack up shop.

It’s harder to know when to leave when you’re winning, I usually suggest continuing to play until you've lost back around 10% of what you're up. The important thing is to make sure that your biggest wins are bigger then your biggest losses. It does you no good to win all night long and then throw it all away in one big hand.

The ability to handle the Inflow of success is just as important as being able to handle the outflow. A player who cannot handle the inflow of success may just sit there until they lose it all back. So for them, knowing its time to leave when their up is also vital.

It’s another full day at sea tomorrow as we start the main event. I’m looking forward to the challenge.

Enjoy the Journey!

Kenna James