No matter how good a poker player you are, the time will come when you cannot seem to do anything right.
Even Doyle Brunson has run into this and when the King of Poker runs into a problem, you realize it has to be universal.
A member writes, 'Dear Geno. I have been following your columns on the website and admire your winning ways. But do you ever get into losing sessions when no matter what you do, nothing seems to work out? This has been happening to me. I happen to live in Las Vegas and regardless of what I do, the cards refuse to come to me. HELP! What should I do? Philip M., Las Vegas, NV.'
Yes, Philip, the cards can turn on you.
Over the years, from time to time, I can assure you they have turned on me. It can be very frustrating for this to happen. It can even make a person consider turning from poker to another avocation. That is how serious the problem can become.
My late friend David Molina had a phrase for such a situation. When a serious problem confronted either of us, David would smile and say, 'This, too, shall pass.' And David, bless him, always turned out to be right.
There are several steps a poker player can take when his luck changes from good to bad. The first and the easiest, of course, is to simply stop playing for a while. That will end the pain of losing, at least temporarily.
The second is to revamp your game. Pick up some good instructional books by real poker players and read them from cover to cover. Analyze their advice. Practice playing poker at home and follow their instructions. If it means changing your basic strategy in how you play, by all means, do it. You have nothing to lose.
Tiger Woods was one of the most successful players in golf history. For a while, he was almost unbeatable on the PGA circuit. But then Tiger ran into some personal problems and suffered an injury that affected his golf game. Suddenly he was playing like a hack.
He made some extraordinary efforts to change his game. He hired instructors who worked with him on various aspects of his swing and his putting. As we go to press, the jury is still out on Tiger, but at least he is making a real effort to bring his game back to its high standard. A lot of fans are pulling for him. I personally hope he makes it.
Sometimes a person's poker game deteriorates because he is depressed or physically ailing. You may need to have a checkup by your doctor. Or if you have not been eating or drinking correctly, you may need to make an adjustment in this department.
One method I have devised to improve my winnings is to take a three by five-inch index card with me to the table and make a mark for each hand I do not play that would have been a loser.
You may need to reduce the number of hands you play. Say you have been averaging one hand in every 10. That may be too high a percentage. Keep track of your losing hands and change your ratio of play to one in 20. Stick to your schedule. The results may surprise you.
It may also help to change your play to another casino. The people you have been playing against regularly may have caught onto your game. Do you give away your hands? Do you have tells that indicate when you have the nuts or when you are bluffing or even making a poor draw? If this is so, you need to change your game and you need to do it quickly.
Remember Molina's words, 'This, too, shall pass.'
You may have to change to another game, say from Texas Hold'em to a high-low or maybe even a stud game. But whatever it takes, do it.
If you have been playing cash games, perhaps it is time you tried your luck at tournaments. People play differently in tournaments than they do in a cash game. The change may do you a world of good.
Let me know how this advice works out for you. If it can happen to Doyle Brunson, it can happen to any of us. Good luck.
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 ).
