"Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up.It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve. Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be eaten. It doesn't matter weather you are a gazelle or a lion, when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."Last time, we talked about the general theories of poker, which consisted of the following points:
#1 Poker is a drawing game.
#2 Luck is a part of all forms of poker.
#3 The more outs you have, the better.
#4 There are two types of starting hands, made and drawing. Each has their benefit.
#5 Given the above information, card selection is critical to your success as a player.
#6 Using proper card selection you should be using big cards and/or big draws.
That's about all that we covered last time. The past article here goes into more depth about these concepts, and a few more. If you haven't read it, I recommend that you do so, as it will be more beneficial to this lesson.
The basics of what I will call "card smarts" is a lot of other things that go outside of the actual mechanics of the game. Specifically, I want to talk about game selection, bankroll management, and some of the other intangibles.
I want to talk about bankroll management first as this has always been a "tough" situation for me. It was always difficult for me to really discern your proper buy in, and what it should be. Along with that, if you don't know how to properly buy in, then you can't discern your bankroll. Bankroll management, (as Vanman will attest) is the single most critical component of your success in poker. He was the one who really got me started on the concepts of playing with a very conservative bankroll. So here are some rules that I have set up for myself. Most of what I am looking at is developing as I work my way up as well, so if you disagree, please don't hesitate to let me know.
Bankroll Management - If you have less than 300 times the big blind (BB) in your bankroll, you probably shouldn't be playing the game. This goes doubly (or possibly triply) true on the Internet. I will say that I am playing "above" my limits if this is the case. Currently I am sitting on about $200 in my bankroll and I am multitabling three tables of .50-1. In reality to properly handle the swings, logic tells me I am required to have $900.00 in my bankroll. (This is 300x BB per table). So why am I playing so low? I want to share with you a secret that deters a lot of players. This bankroll requirement is for people living off of their bankroll. What I mean is that if you are a pro player, working to "crack your monthly nut" (make enough to cover living expenses), then you need to make sure you don't go broke. This 300xBB rule will almost assure that. Think back to the first time you played 2-4 or 3-6 in a casino, how much did you lose? I remember exactly what it was: $82 dollars at the 3-6 tables. It was the most I'd ever lost gambling in my life, but there is a reason they call it the "idiot" end of the straight. Now, if I had a proper bankroll to play 3-6 I would have had $1800 saved up somewhere to play. If I lost $82, it's not the end of the world, I go back the next day and play again. It's less than 5% of my bankroll. Now if I only had $300 when I started that $82 is a whopping 27.5% of my bankroll. That's a significant difference if I am playing for a living!
If you are just building your bankroll or are a leisure player with no intention of supporting yourself on this endeavor, then by all means play whatever you like. For limit games I recommend a buy in of no less than 25 big bets. To figure this up properly take the top number (ex. The $10 in a 5-10 game) and multiply it by 25. The reason for this is that it would allow you to see a total of 8.33 hands down to the river. Using proper hand selection you should be winning around 30-50% of the pots you are involved in, if you are properly aggressive about it. I personally sit in the 4-8 games at Choctaw for $200 and it is just about right for the bankroll. Remember, this is the minimum I recommend, and if you drive an hour to Choctaw and can't scratch up $150 for the 3-6 games, you are in trouble. For no-limit, it's a whole different animal. I highly recommend that you have no less than 100xBB for your session, and TommyTwoToes, Vanman, and on tilt recommended to me anywhere from 300-500xBB in your bankroll to play the game. This equates to $200 for a 1-2NL game or $500 for the 2-5NL game, usually these are the caps at the table as well, but some tables let you "buy up" to the big stack, which I recommend you do if possible, the big stack is the power in a NL game and you want to be it if possible.
Game Selection – There are two different ways to look at game selection. Live games will actually offer you less selection opportunities due to the fact that you are often queued up to the first table that is available to you. Table changes can be difficult and most room managers really don't care. My recommendation would be that if you play in a room constantly, to make sure and contribute a bit of that bankroll to the hosts as well. A $5 tip goes a long way in making sure that you will get seated first for a table change. Past that you sit where you can and try and move to a favorable table as soon as possible. Regarding actual selection, you want players weaker than yourself. The Rounders adage (slightly changed) says: "If you can't spot the sucker at the table, it's you.". There are differences for each game that you play but your weaker players are always going to be loose and they will often be passive. However, weak aggressive players in NL are the most profitable for you in the long run, as they like the gamble, and will gamble to suck out on you. Sometimes they win, but sometimes they don't and the times they don't will pay you more than when you lose. In limit you want something a little bit different, you still want loose players, but the more passive players who "know how to lay it down" are your best targets. They are my personal favorites (and hard to find too!) because they know their cards, they know their position, but they don't know the person-to-person effect of cards, and assume that if you raise (as 'Action' Greg says): "You've got the goods". They are the ones you can put occasional moves on profitably. Table selection is simple if you look at it like a lion. Which brings me to my final point for this lesson (as it's already gone long)…
Attitude - The green felt is the grass and your opponents are gazelles, some are faster than you, others are not. The lion isn't going to eat the fastest one until he gets stronger. He's going to pick on the weak one that is not focused, broke down, or just plain sick. And remember a lion doesn't take a bite and say, "Thanks for the snack!" He mauls them, tears them to shreds, and he sure as hell doesn't apologize for accidentally tearing up a horn, a leg, or an eye…even if it was a lucky shot. And neither should you apologize for luckily tearing out their eye (in terms of chips). Gazelles don't have those horns for no reason. Your attitude at the table is critical to your success.
I need to reiterate this for you, as a new player: your attitude both on and off the table is critical to your success. I don't mean being a jerk like Matusow, a freak like Magriel, or a sweetie like Harmon. I mean your overall process, as a player has to be one of focus and improvement. Most people walk up to a table and say, "Deal me in!" and donk off a quarter of their stack. Lions don't do that, lions come in aware of what is going on…and they wait. And you should too. If you get dealt premium cards and you are in the BB it's time to play, sure, but you don't need to be in a three-way pot after cold calling 2 bets with Q/9h from the BB. Even if the lion walked an hour to Choctaw, he's not going to go after the first thing he sees, and neither should you.
Off the table you should also keep this in mind. Most gazelles leave the room and go home, not even putting the cards in their brain. Never thought about it! They lost, they won, and tomorrow is another day of running around with those heavy ass antlers on their head, that's enough trouble for them. The lion plans and the lion learns from his experiences and tomorrow he tears through the gazelle because it doesn't surprise him this time.
While I obviously like the analogy I will say this: Plan for the table, and when you get there, don't be afraid. If you don't look at the poker world like a lion where the only badasses are bigger lions…then you will turn into a gazelle yourself and be eaten. It's your choice.
