Poker Article - "Looks Like the Wrong Wednesday to Give Up Poker”

“Looks Like the Wrong Wednesday to Give Up Poker” - by Al Spath

How many times have you said to yourself: “I’ve had enough, the random generator is fixed, there is definitely a cash out jinx associated with online cashier requests and lately I’ve seen more bad beats than I can stand!” If it’s not you saying that, you are laughing hard at those that are spewing this rationale for losing, or you are agreeing with a rant in a popular online forum. How many times have you attempted to kick any habit like smoking, over eating, drinking, even gambling, it wasn’t easy was it?

It’s quite common to have players tilt at the tables, but it is becoming more prevalent for this “undesirable” trait to spill into the discussion sections online. Here are some recent quote’s that just may make you scratch your head in disbelief:

• “I shouldn’t even be playing; once a failure always a failure and it seems that I am a pure failure at everything.”
• “Seems like every one I talk to has gone on a bad run in the past week. The more I learn the worse I play.”
• “Never in my three years have I seen so many pocket pairs, sets, and beatings on the river like I have seen since January 1st.”
• “I've also heard about a lot of other weird hands that others have told me about that EXTREMELY rarely happened before, that happens several times a day now.”
• “So a check of the mechanics of the hands being dealt is a reasonable demand.”
• “I see a definite pattern of "unlucky" breaks that always seem to occur when a player has success of some kind. I am not talking solely about one particular site but also online poker in general. The fact is it is in the best interest of the online poker room to have everyone win at times.”

Those who believe the opposite will freely and repeatedly offer their opinions:

• “There is no "pity pot" time in poker. Poker is about skill and sometimes luck. You keep playing and learning and you will become more skillful and you will win more.”
• “You’re never a failure if you enjoy what your doing...you’re only a failure if you give up and don’t try.”
• “A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits.”
• “I've played at a couple of dozen real money sites, and the same thing gets said at them all. The same people probably lose their shirt playing the Martindale way at roulette too.”
• “GET OVER IT!!!”

As you can see, players are quick to pick sides and “console” their compatriots, or readily offer their learned opinions on the realities of the issues and turn it back to the true ingredients that cause players to lose: which is skill, lack of experience, patience and discipline! Sure, players can run into a losing streak where things go wrong, sometimes radically wrong, but skilled players don’t blame the world, they look within, figure it out and then move forward returning to their winning ways.

For the record, here is why I see so many players complaining online about “losing” (they don’t seem to post or complain when they win):

• The amount of hands dealt per hour online is a minimum of 3 times as many as in live play, and most players are multi-tabling and see up to 6 times the amount of hands per hour.
• Online pots are contested to the river at a much higher percentage than live, therefore more so called bad beats are revealed.
• More players see the flop online as opposed to live play and get “connected” to a hand and stay way too long vying for the comeback win.
• Players’ online play in anonymity, shame or embarrassment is not a concern and they play too many hands in hopes of occasionally catching lightning in a bottle.
• Freeplay and low limit games (not available in most casinos) foster bad play and deliver players ill equipped to handle the real money world with its increased number of good players.
• It’s easy to blame the RNG, the jinx of a cash-out transaction, or blame others for their inability to control their own bankroll losses, their emotions, and in some cases, even their gambling habit.

We can all agree, it sucks to lose, but whose fault is it? Should we all come to the consensus that the “sites” have rigged online play so players will get discouraged and eventually quit and go away? Hardly a smart business move! Should we believe that sites are capable of targeting players who make a withdrawal and put a “hex” on them so they don’t win and stop raking for the site? Come on, this one makes me laugh out loud. And finally, those who say: “I’ve had enough, I quit, there’s no way to win online,” I’ve got a news bulletin for you. Less than 3% of all players are “winning players” so if you expect to win, start reading, studying, observing, practicing and learning from your mistakes and mistakes of others so you can climb out of the loss column or up from the “about even’ status and join the top 2-3%. Today is not the right day to quit and unfortunately there is no “patch” so the choice is obvious, learn all you can to compete if poker is your passion.

 

Don't quit too soon, fight through it, seek good material to read and study up on, and get a friend or hire a mentor to shadow you, it might only be a few adjustments needed to turn your game around.