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Thursday 25 June 2015

Ten "Commandments" of Poker - 1. You shall have no other games than poker

The actual Biblical commandment is "You shall have no other gods before me". I am writing a series of the 10 commandments of poker kinda playing around with words of the biblical 10 commandments. So first one is:

1. YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GAMES THAN POKER

Well I have seen a lot of really great poker players do so well in poker, but after a while they disappear from the scene. What happened to them? Some would tell me they lost on casino games like baccarat, blackjack, some bet on horses, sports etc. Almost every poker player has a leak. But the rule is, don't have one, or at least keep it to a drip.

Poker rooms are often in the back areas of casinos, and they purposely design it that while you're waiting for a game, there are many tempting games around you for you to pass your time. GENTING, Malaysia's only legal casino runs poker tournaments once every few months. But they structure it in a way that you will spend 2-3 days at GENTING but play only 2 hours of poker a day. What do you do the rest of the time? They are banking on gambling. Free rooms my ass! I am paying for the rooms everytime I sit down at their tables!

A while back I set myself this rule. NO table games, NO gambling, NO sports betting. Most poker players have a gambler hidden inside. And for us to feel the excitement of gambling, we would bet big amounts, often one bet is like 1-2 buy ins or more. Imagine putting 100-200 big blinds on a hand that we don't have the edge!!! How negative EV is that?!?! We can grind for hours for a 10 big blind profit per hour, but would throw all that at a game that swings 100-200 bb every minute. That is just bad mathematics and poor bankroll management.

Stu Ungar, the best poker player of his time, and arguably the best poker player of ALL TIME, had debts from horseracing and a drug-use lifestyle. Although he would crush any table he played at, his poker winnings was not enough to cover his lifestyle choices and end up he would losing his life due to poor heart condition caused by long term drug use.

Hence boys and girls, YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GAMES THAN POKER, period!


3 comments:

  1. is winning 50 bb a standard profit?

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  2. Hey LT, I wondered how much was a standard profit. My bbs per hour was at 11+, which I learned was a staggering amount. Maybe I have been running really good or the games are very good. I think 50 bb per session is a decent profit, especially if you're a grinder. Some people want to strike it big in one shot and that doesn't happen often. And the harder they try, the more trouble they get in. Set yourself a reasonable goal but consistently hit it. Then you will end up being profitable.

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