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Retaining Winning Records
It takes courage to keep records on your winnings/losses, but it
pays off in so many ways. See the truth about your poker game.
You’ve heard the saying countless times from anyone who likes plays poker or likes to gamble: “I think I’m up overall.” The words usually follow a losing session. When I tended bar, there was a fellow who came in who just loved to gamble. Any given weekend, he would be on the phone or internet watching the latest sports betting lines, and during the week he’d occasionally stop in and mention how he had a good night at the casino. I recall one morning (it was a golf course bar so we opened early) he stopped in for a soda and said, “Went by the casino last night on a whim. Won $1000 playing high-stakes blackjack.” How much he had in the bank I don’t know, but I do know this guy loved the action of sports betting and hitting the casino. Poker players are no different -- they love the game, but also thrive on the action that the game brings. Another guy who worked with this gentleman also came in. I mentioned that our mutual friend had a big night at the casino. He said with a smile, “He likes to talk about his wins but he won’t mention when he loses.” Sure enough, I had never heard a casino loss story from the guy –- only the big scores. Most gamblers, while they can share a story of a horrible or fantastic day or session at the casino (or card table, track or sports book) don't give you any specifics on how well they are doing for the month or year. More likely, you’ll get the response, “I’m hot lately -– keep getting 21, keep winning on those video poker machines, keep crushing them at the holdem table.” That’s nice, but it doesn’t tell you much. A player can have a huge score and still be down for the year, or suffer a very rough night and still be ahead. Any good poker player will tell you there will be ups and downs at the card tables. But anyone taking the game seriously will be able to give an honest answer (if they want to) about how much they are ahead overall or down overall. If you take poker seriously, you should be able to do that too. Why? The comeback many people have is: “Well, it's just entertainment.” It may be, but that’s your money at the table, and it's certainly more fun to come away with more money then perpetually leave a loser. Keeping records can help you do just that over the long haul. Following are some reasons why record-keeping is so important to do, and why you need to move away from the mentality of looking at a night at the poker table as just like a night at the bar or out on the town. It's very simple, and a short amount of effort can reap big rewards in your play. Reason #1: You'll know if you are really up or down. It can be very exciting to have a solid session, and very frustrating to have a lousy one when the cards don’t come or you suffer some rough beats. Poker, however, must be looked at as one big session. By keeping records, you will know how well you are doing over 50, 100, or 1000-plus sessions. Doing this will give you an idea of whether or not you are playing at too high a level for what you can afford, or if it might be time to move up to higher stakes if you are constantly winning. Numbers also don’t lie -– if you have a gambling problem it will be black and white for you and hopefully cause you to realize that you need to take a break from poker and aren’t good enough to use it as a sole source of income. Reason #2: You'll know what you can and cannot beat. Good record-keeping entails keeping track of what you play. Maybe you are a great holdem player, but lousy stud player. Keeping track of what games you play at what levels tells you where you are at your best, and where you need improvement, allowing you to play the game that gives you the best chance for success, and build up your knowledge of other games. Reason #3: You'll know who you can beat. When you keep records, you also can write down whom you play against or things you may have noticed when you play against particular opponents. This is especially good for home games, where you play against the same players week after week. By writing down things you have picked up at the poker table, you can have a better idea of what they may do the next time you play. What to write down. Of course, you need to keep track of wins and losses if nothing else -- but just doing that doesn’t tell you enough. Here are the basics of what you need to keep track of besides how much you win or lose in a given session: When and how long: Keep track of how long you’ve played and when you played. See if you play better at a certain time of day. You can also see if you play better in set amounts of time. Compare sessions: You may find you do best playing 2 hours, and lose when you play longer than 5. By keeping track of this information, you can set yourself up for success and become more disciplined. Where you play. Some people play better in home games; others at the casino; and still others online. A good player will be able to do well in a variety of settings. By keeping track of where you play, you can find out which venues offer you the best chance for success. You may find that you are doing better online than at the casino; this could be because you do not pick up on tells or play differently against people whom you can actually see. Doing this also reveals what you need to work on, helping you to become a solid player at different settings rather than just an online player who can’t seem to win at the “brick and mortar” table or vice versa. The games & levels you play. It may seem like everyone plays holdem, but there are many variants of poker. Maybe you play with a wild card in your home game; maybe you vary between stud, holdem, and draw. Write down what games and limits you play at so you know where your strengths and weaknesses are. Expenses. I keep my expenses in a separate category from my numbers on how much I’ve won or lost, but expenses associated with playing are important to consider. Expenses apply mainly to brick & mortar casinos, and refer to how much you spend on gas to get to the casino or game. Online of course there are no expenses, except the fee (if there is one) to fund your account. How To Keep Records. Now that you know why you need to keep records and what to write down, what’s the best way to go about doing it? Some people prefer the traditional pen and paper route, keeping a notebook or binder with the sessions listed and a running total of how much you are up or down. There’s nothing wrong with this, but I prefer using my PC. There is a website service that I use that allows me to track all of my sessions: www.pokercharts.com. Besides giving me the information above, the service tells me how much I am earning/losing per session on average, what my average rate of return is, allows me to take personal notes from each session, and has numerous ways I can view the data via graphs. Popular software available includes Poker Tracker, PokerStat, and StatKing. Information on purchasing these can be found with a quick online search. It Takes Time. Finally, remember that it takes time. You can’t think you are the next World Series of Poker champion based on your performance over five sessions. You need multiple sessions logged to begin to see a pattern emerge, and know that in that time frame there will be variance. It may seem like lady luck is out to get you or shine on you at times, but with the nature of the game (opponents always changing, randomness of the shuffle, etc.) there will be swings. Remember: It’s one big session. Give it time to see how patterns emerge. Keeping records may sound like a hassle, but it takes a matter of seconds to key information into software or write down statistics in a notebook. It’s also tough to write down losing sessions -- we all want to win, and for the solid player, it seems like they should win every time. Even the pros don’t win every time. But most keep records every time. By putting in the effort to track how you play, you set yourself up for long-term success at poker. You won't be one of the countless players who say “I think I’m ahead” but can instead say, “Had a rough night tonight, but I’m up $105 for the month so far, and next week’s another game.” Record-keeping will allow you to learn so much for just a few seconds after each session, so don’t be lazy! You’re spending hours at the poker table, so maximize your investment by learning from your experiences.~~ |
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