Aaron "GambleAB" Bartley
August 22, 2005 One of the most important free poker
tips has nothing to do with how to
play Aces in late position or how to adjust for the
maniac in seat three. It's how to manage your money in a
way that will make it grow as quickly as possible with
minimal risk.
Some of the most highly skilled players in the game
have gone broke (repeatedly) simply because they played
too high, too fast, too often. How can we make sure this
problem never happens to us? It isn't a matter of
smarts, but rather, one of discipline which I will
explain in this free poker lesson tip.
The most important step is to be honest with
yourself. You should know your relative skill level at
all times. Suppose you're a $1/$2 No Limit Holdem poker
player who's had a great night, and you're toying with
taking a shot at the $5/$10 game. Your bankroll is up to
$1,500, but you would need to bring at least $500 to the
table in order to play comfortably at the higher level.
Why would you risk putting a third of your bankroll
on the table to play in the $5/$10 game? For starters,
your bankroll isn't big enough for the stake; more
importantly, you also need to consider that the skill
level of the $5/$10 players is greater than the
competition you're used to. (That's not always true, of
course. There are some very skilled $1/$2 players and
some weak $5/$10 players, but it's not unreasonable to
assume that the higher-level games are filled with
better players.)
As I mentioned before in this free poker lesson tip
it's all about discipline. This is where self-control comes in. One slip-up can
spell disaster for a bankroll, and watching six months
of hard work disappear in six hours of foolish play is
enough to crush anyone's spirits.
The safest course of action is to continue doing what
you're doing. You're beating the $1/$2 game for a tidy
profit every week - stay right where you are. Continue
proving that you can beat the game. While you're doing
that, your bankroll should grow accordingly. Beating a
game for six days is proof of very little. Beating the
same game for six months is better evidence that you are
a winning player.
Start tracking your results. You can buy tracking
software or easily create a database of your own. Put in
all of your information after each time you play -
limits, time at the tables, profits/losses. Go over your
information every few weeks, both for your recent play
and for your entire poker lifetime. Try to spot bad
trends before they get out of hand. If you've been
playing well at a certain level over a long period of
time, only then should you consider moving up to the
next highest level.
Above all if I get anything across in this free poker
lesson tip, know where your money is at all times and
how it is being used. Ask yourself, "Is this too much
risk for me considering my current bankroll?" If the
answer is yes, do the responsible thing and change
tables. Months later, you'll be thankful you did.
I hope this free poker lesson helps you better manage
your chips and makes you an all around better poker
play.
Aaron "GambleAB" Bartley
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