Poker Fundamental: Losing is part of the game

Poker being a game, it requires us all to experience losing as well as winning but, not surprisingly, such an unpleasant subject isn’t one we look forward to addressing. We tend to dismiss this ‘irrelevance’ (do we ever put time aside to exclusively ponder losing?) at the risk of failing to address its potentially seriously damaging implications.

And there is always bad luck on which to pin the blame. But luck in the context of a genuine problem of chronic losing is essentially negligible, serving only to ‘inspire’ the kind of weak play with which someone on tilt endeavours to right the wrongs so unfairly inflicted upon him by the poker gods (who then conjure up a wicked bad beat – like AK v AK – to punish such a futile strategy).

It is a costly habit to blame bad luck for what amounts to cumulative losses. The danger is we allow luck to put us off our stride to such an extent that not only are we continually losing money by no longer playing our best game (which, overall, has been fine thus far), but we carry on down the same treacherous path while perfectly aware of the fact.

Key factors that contribute to serious losing streaks are poor play, poor judgement and poor attitude – bad luck does play a part, but often as a catalyst that brings the worst out in us if our chief weakness is the third of these factors.

Alas we all find ourselves going down this road at some point; the trick is to recognise the change in direction as early as possible and do whatever it takes to get back on track before too much damage is done, learning something from the experience along the way. And we must also remember that another bad run is inevitable, taking precautions to cope effectively with the situation when it does arrive.

Taking a break is an obvious healthy remedy, but playing at lower limits or with a smaller buy-in, perhaps while relaxing to music (or whatever gets you in the poker ‘fun’ mood), is another way to recharge the batteries.

I’ve covered this subject before and will do so again in future as it’s something we must all face from time to time, and I know from experience that revisiting what we know to be pretty obvious can be quite reassuring for most players.

Good luck at the tables (and don’t let the bad luck get you down…)

AngusD

Wise Guys Results (28th Mar – 3rd Apr)

Win at the 32Red Poker cash tables and you may qualify for even more cash rewards with our Wise Guys weekly leaderboards. Yes, we reward our biggest winners at 32Red Poker and we reward them well, with over $1,000 in prizes every week!

Congratulations to last week’s prize winners…

32Red’s Wise Guys

32Red Poker rewards loyalty, and winners – so if you’re a winning player, don’t be shy and try out our Wise Guys weekly competition. Have fun at the tables and good luck this week!

32Red’s New Tables & New Loyalty Plan

With the virtual and real worlds increasingly overlapping it is fitting that 32Red Poker have introduced an alternative format in the shape of ‘arcade’ tables which, no doubt, will prove very popular with the generation of players used to seeing the world through a monitor. As the classic Simon & Garfunkel song At the Zoo goes: “Orangutans are sceptical of changes in their cages” but, as it happens, online poker players are way ahead of their entertaining cousins when it comes to change, and I must say that it is well worth trying out the arcade feature. This is done by clicking on Menu, then Views followed by Arcade View.

The first thing you will notice is that the important features on the table are considerably larger, namely the hole cards, board cards and the player boxes (even the other players’ cards). Not surprisingly this makes following the action during a hand easier on the eye, requiring less effort. Indeed, while the colours for the various actions remain the same – yellow for Fold, green for Call and orange for Raise – the distinct blocks of yellow of the players who have folded, for example, better help highlight which players are still in the hand. Of course I really like the traditional set-up, too, so I’ll probably switch between formats depending on what mood I’m in. Try the Arcade tables out for yourselves and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Meanwhile, by now you will have noticed 32Red Poker‘s new and exclusive 30% Loyalty Bonus. Basically, this is an excellent and very fair ‘everyman’ system as everyone receives a 30% deal regardless of how much they rake. But the best feature is that there is no need to wait until the end of the month, and no inconvenient hoops to jump through to receive your cash – simply log in, click on the Redbacks icon and redeem however many of your Redbacks you prefer for cash, your poker account being updated instantly. Alternatively, use your Redbacks for excellent value tournament buy-ins!

Good luck at the tables.

AngusD

32Red Poker introduces ‘Arcade View’

We are very excited to introduce ‘Arcade View’ to the 32Red Poker tables.

It is simple, colourful and easy to use!

To select ‘Arcade View’ you need to be sat at a table.  Simply click the Menu button, select Views and then Arcade View as displayed below…

‘Arcade View’ is already starting to prove a popular option among our new players, but it is starting to appeal more and more to our established regular players too.

Here’s a sneak peak at what the ‘Arcade View’ looks like:

Wise Guys Results (28th Feb – 6th Mar)

Win at the 32Red Poker cash tables and you may qualify for even more cash rewards with our Wise Guys weekly leaderboards. Yes, we reward our biggest winners at 32Red Poker and we reward them well, with over $1,000 in prizes every week!

Congratulations to last week’s prize winners…

32Red’s Wise Guys

32Red Poker rewards loyalty, and winners – so if you’re a winning player, don’t be shy and try out our Wise Guys weekly competition. Have fun at the tables and good luck this week!

‘Be the Bounty’ Results, 06/03/11…

Eliana claims €800 in Bounty Prizes!

122 entrants took part in Sunday’s €6,000 Be the Bounty tournament and 2 lucky players knocked out the right players at the right time to claim €1,000 in Bounty prizes!

A very many congratulations to all the players who made it in the money.

Let’s take a look at the results… Read more

Wise Guys Results (21st – 27th Feb)

Win at the 32Red Poker cash tables and you may qualify for even more cash rewards with our Wise Guys weekly leaderboards. Yes, we reward our biggest winners at 32Red Poker and we reward them well, with over $1,000 in prizes every week!

Congratulations to last week’s prize winners…

32Red’s Wise Guys

32Red Poker rewards loyalty, and winners – so if you’re a winning player, don’t be shy and try out our Wise Guys weekly competition. Have fun at the tables and good luck this week!

Does Stack Size Matter? (Part 3)

‘Magic’ Hands in Deep Stack Strategy  (No Limit Cash Games)

Most players are intimidated by the prospect of being at a cash table with a deep stack – even many of those who sit down with a full buy-in and then double up to 200BB tend not to hang around too long (if at all). Of course it is perfectly reasonable to leave with a 100% profit intact, but wouldn’t it be nice to turn that into 300%, or even more?

You would be forgiven for believing that with so much to win/lose you should be playing only premium hands, but suited connectors and small pairs are the champion pot-winners.

The ‘magic’ feature of these deep stack hands is how well disguised a flopped monster is, thus increasing the chance of emerging victorious against another deep stacked big, albeit conventional strong hand.

The usual premium hands like AK are still welcome but they are also the type of hand your opponents will expect you to play, and alarm bells will ring when the flop comes AK3 – someone with AT/AJ or even AQ will probably not risk a massive stack here.

But give them AK instead, and your call with 33 has hit a potential jackpot. If you are in position the pre-flop aggressor could well do all the work for you and realise too late that you’re not coming along for the ride with another kicker. And if you limped in early position and are the sole caller of AK’s button raise you can check-call or build the pot with a check-raise. This latter option will be even less of an indication that you have 33 if you had mixed up your play with a pre-flop raise and were called or re-raised but, either way, your opponent will be prepared to back up AK even against aggression on a flop of AK3.

All this isn’t to say you should be entering pots every time you are dealt ‘random’ cards! Nor should you make a habit of raising or calling with low pairs or 67s to an extent that you’re advertising your strategy, rather be selective with hands that have this kind of potential, picking spots in which the right player(s) – other big stacks – will be in the pot with you. Another possible banana skin to be aware of is when you manage to hit a flush at some stage with 67s but lose a big pot to a higher flush. With this in mind, particularly in pre-flop raised pots, you would prefer that your monster hand with 67 is a straight rather than a flush. Note that big stack strategy is aimed at ‘monstering’ up to an even bigger stack, so be prepared to let go of a flop such as J74 here as it‘s simply too weak to invest in (you may be ahead but is it worth it?).

Good luck at the tables!

AngusD

Does Stack Size Matter? (Part 2)

Introduction to Deep Stack Strategy (No Limit Cash Games)

Deep-stack cash game strategy is a completely different animal to short-stack play because maximum resources obviously afford us maximum flexibility. Not surprisingly, the more options that are available – and the increased situational aspect due to the game’s complexity – might well require more skill and experience, which is why many players feel uncomfortable with too much money in front of them.

However, this is certainly a fascinating part of the game and, since skill can be honed only through experience, perhaps the next time you manage to increase your stack to 200BB, for example, and if there are other deep stacks at the table, instead of leaving you could decide to give deep-stacked poker a try.

While it is true that all decisions require careful consideration regardless of stack size, with 200BB at stake it’s imperative that you think things through as well as possible. With a myriad of possibilities through the betting rounds you can’t afford to be predictable with your own play or presumptive about the opposition. When the potential winnings are high you need also to be able to read the ebb and flow of the game in order to adapt. Be aware of how other players perceive you, how this perception changes due to your actions (deliberate or otherwise), and seek to exploit this to your advantage when opportunities arise (which they will).

As far as your starting hand range is concerned, deep stacks afford you a great deal more room for manoeuvre than short (or medium) stacks. This is because implied odds mean your potential winnings in a single pot against similarly stacked players are high enough to justify bets on speculative hands (note that implied odds disappear if you’re sitting at a table full of short stacks). Consequently hands such as small pairs and ‘magic’ suited connectors become an important part of your game – you are likely to miss when the flop comes but when these hands hit the aim is to win a massive pot that more than makes up for the investment; with short stacks this approach makes no sense as the maximum reward won’t cover the accumulative costs.

Hopefully this is food for thought, and in Part 3 we will look at how we might get our hands on someone else’s big stack.

Good luck at the tables!

AngusD

Wise Guys Results (14th – 20th Feb)

Win at the 32Red Poker cash tables and you may qualify for even more cash rewards with our Wise Guys weekly leaderboards. Yes, we reward our biggest winners at 32Red Poker and we reward them well, with over $1,000 in prizes every week!

Congratulations to last week’s prize winners…

32Red’s Wise Guys

32Red Poker rewards loyalty, and winners – so if you’re a winning player, don’t be shy and try out our Wise Guys weekly competition. Have fun at the tables and good luck this week!

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