Extra Credit - Poker Class is in Session
All smart professional poker players want to improve their game. The better you get, the larger your edge will be and, eventually, the more success you will have. The problem is that most people don’t approach improving as well as they could. Some don’t even approach it at all.
The area that most people put their time and effort into is the way to play hands. They’re so concerned with in-hand decisions. Should I call this raise? Should I check the flop here for pot control? Do I have implied odds to chase this gutshot? And they should be concerned with all these questions. They’re the main part of poker.
Think of it like a high school Calculus class. Your in-hand decisions are your exams. Tests come easy to some people. They ace every exam without studying much. Some overconfident people think they’re gonna ace ‘em without studying, but come across problems they aren’t prepared for and fail. Some people study hard and do well; some study hard and don’t do well… etc., etc. If you’re serious about doing well in class (poker), you’ll prepare yourself the best you can.
But the exams don’t make up your entire grade: They make up about 60%. The other 40% is homework. I would say that, in this metaphor, your homework is putting in hours. If I win twice as much as you per hour, but you play three times as many hands as I do, you’ll be richer than I am.
So, you’ve prepared for the test, you’ve done a lot of homework. You’re making good money, but you want to make more. Who doesn’t?
The cool part about poker is that there is a ton of extra credit work you can do. Poker is about gaining an edge on your opponents. Most people spend all of their time worrying about the exams. Some people do the homework too, but almost nobody does all the extra credit. That’s how you can shoot past your competition.
The even cooler part is that extra credit in poker is super easy work, like in Geography class when you just have to color in a map or something.
So what is extra credit?
Extra credit in poker is made up of a lot of things. The main link between them all is that they are things that anyone can do, no matter how naturally talented at poker, and almost no one does enough. I’m going to touch briefly on a few of the most important ones.
Game selection
The easier the game you play in, the bigger your edge. Everyone knows that, but not everyone does something about it. I see so many good professionals play in games where they’re about average in the game. That’s just a complete waste of time. Your expectation is to earn $0/hour. So basically you’re volunteering, but not for anything useful.
Even worse, many good players play in games against even better players. Now their expectation is, say -$100/hour. They think everything is fine because they end up making money at the end of the year, but if they spent 40 fewer hours in games that they’re actually losing money in, they’d have done much better.
Bad game selection doesn’t just mean you’re playing in games in which you’re neutral or have negative EV. If there’s a $25/$50NL game that you’re playing in where you rate to make $100/hour, but there’s a great 10/20NL game that you rate to make $200/hour playing, you’re losing money by playing 25/50.
Game selection is so often overlooked, but it’s an easy fix and a crucial part of being a professional.
Seat Selection
Seat selection is a very minor part of the game, but it’s such an easy improvement to make. I’m not advocating switching seats whenever a new seat becomes slightly better than yours. That’s usually looked at as bad etiquette, especially in shorthanded games. But when you are at a table, how hard is it to take ten seconds to decide which seat is the best?
You can figure out which seats look good; but in general keep tight players, passive players, and shorter stacks to your left and loose players, aggressive players, and deeper stacks to your right. Taking those ten seconds of your time to decide where to sit will definitely improve your results.
Bankroll Management
I’m not going to lecture you on bankroll management because you’ve heard it a thousand times. I just want to mention that it is an important part of poker extra credit. Also, there are some factors that people don’t consider when evaluating the consequences of bad bankroll management.
Let’s say you’re a $5/$10NL player who makes $150/hour. You take a shot at 25/50 with your $80k bankroll. You run bad and lose $10k. Now, the obvious consequence is that you lost a big chunk of money, but I don’t think that’s a very big deal as long as you were a favorite to win in the game and you can drop back down to play 5/10. But what happens to some is that they can’t quit and they chase their losses at 25/50. Sometimes they end up going broke since they aren’t rolled for the swings of 25/50.
A much more subtle negative effect is the way that it affects your play in the near future. Maybe you drop back down to 5/10 like you should, but you’re upset so you play worse. That could cost you much more than the $10k you lost, depending on how long it lasts. Or maybe you just get put in a bad mood and don’t wanna play poker for a couple weeks. Now you’ve lost maybe another $7k by not working.
Just know that swings happen. No one is immune to running terrible for a long time. Be prepared for it.
Quitting
Quitting actually is just another form of game selection, but it’s the most difficult part. I firmly believe that people often enter a game as one of the better players and end up being one of the worst for the last few hours, especially in heads-up games between nearly evenly matched opponents.
When you get tired, you play worse. When you’ve been sitting down in one spot for three hours, you play worse. When you lose a lot, you play worse. When you win a lot you might play worse. I don’t care who you are. You don’t stay on your A game at all times. NO. YOU DON’T. (That was just for anyone who disagreed. I’m sorry the rest of you had to hear me yell.) Learn to recognize when you lose your edge. Take pride in quitting a game before you start playing your C game. Or at the very least, take breaks. Get up and walk around.
By the same token, your opponents don’t always play the same. A good game one minute could be a bad game the next, and it could consist of all the same players. Stack size situations change; players get more aggressive or timid; someone might go off tilt.
Game selection isn’t a one time deal. Every time you are dealt a hand and look at it, you’re game selecting: You’re choosing to play the game you’re in.
Observing Hands
As a pro poker player, your job isn’t over when you fold your hand. Every hand played is an opportunity to learn more about your opponents. If you play just as well as someone, but he’s doing a better job of observing other players, he’s going to have better results. He’s making all of his decisions with more information than you have.
I don’t think this needs any more explanation. Stop being selfish and think about other people for a change.
Tilt Control
Everyone tilts. YES, YOU DO. (That was… you know.) Some people tilt much bigger than others. Tilt is, by the definition that I agree with, playing differently than you normally would, usually because of emotions. So, tilt could make you play better. BUT THAT’S RARELY THE CASE. (Sorry. I didn’t need to yell that.) I don’t know what tilts you, and I don’t know how badly you tilt. I don’t know how to help you stop tilting. Everyone is different. All I can do is urge you to notice when you’re tilting, and then take steps towards controlling it.
The simplest form of tilt control is quitting. You can’t play hands differently than you normally would if you aren’t playing hands. But quitting keeps you from playing. Ideally you’d be able to keep playing, and keep playing well. What I’ve found works for me is admitting to myself that I’m tilting – sometimes out loud. Then I take a break, walk or do some pushups. Then I think of something that makes me happy and smile. I know that sounds dumb, but it helps me. Then I ask myself if I can play well, usually answer yes, and sit down and play.
Find out what helps you conquer tilt. If you can’t quit tilting, quit the game.
Everything you do to better your results including the extra credit work, puts you ahead of your competition. All of these improvements are relatively easy to make, and you don’t have to be a poker genius to implement them. Think about it. All things being equal, improving any one of these aspects of your game will increase your expected earnings.
Don’t be the kid who aces every test and ends up with a C+ in the class. Do well enough on the tests, do all your homework and extra credit, and end up with an A. (Remember, the grades represent money in my played-out metaphor.) Good luck on your exams.
