One of the biggest mistakes beginning poker players make is playing in games that are too rich for their bankroll.
I know this is a fact because, to my regret, I have done it myself.
The truth is that most poker players are proud of the way they play. They also sometimes overestimate their talent level, thinking they are better than they really are.
In my younger days I learned to play chess. It was fun and much more challenging than checkers. I taught my children to play chess and we spent many happy hours going after the king.
One day I met a real chess player. He showed me what the game was all about, destroying me in less than half a dozen moves. I quickly lost interest in chess after discovering I really didn't understand the game and haven't played a chess match in 15 years.
Golfers are rated according to their handicaps. A golfer with a six handicap will beat a golfer whose handicap is 12. It will be no contest unless the player with the bigger handicap gets awfully lucky and manages to sink a couple of birdies on the fly.
Before you enter a cash game, you should ask yourself how much cash you are willing to invest. If you answer is $200, take that money to a game where your opponents have no more than $200 in chips in front of them. That would probably be a $4-8 game, either Texas Hold'em or Omaha High-Low, preferably with a kill.
Now if you are like many poker players and you become a regular winner at $4-8, you will start thinking about trying a bigger game -- say $8-16. You reason that if you can win X amount of dollars in the $4-8 game, you will be able to double or triple your money in the bigger game.
That is the time to put on the brakes. Your thinking isn't just wrong. It is terribly wrong.
First, you have to look at the number of chips the $8-16 players have stacked in front of them. You have bought in for $100 or $200, but your opponents have anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000 to play against your small stack. Their chances of wiping you out are dramatically higher than your chances of beating them.
You might win a hand or two. But in the higher game, the blinds are bigger than the lower limit game and those big blinds, not to mention the raises, will quickly eat away your chips.
Just one big pot where everybody is playing the equivalent of a 'nut' hand can wipe out your bankroll.
Stick with the lower limit game. It will relieve you of stress, the game will be much more pleasant, and your chances of winning will be considerably higher than in the bigger game.
When should you give serious consideration to moving to a higher limit game? When you have accumulated enough cash to sustain some big losses and still have the funds to return for more action.
Being a consistent winner at poker demands that you use wisely your power of choice. It will make the game fun and profitable. And I know you would rather be a winner than a loser.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
