This weekend, I head off for a few days in the woods with my son’s Scout pack. It’s an annual camping outing we both enjoy very much. Even though just about everyone there will have years of Boy Scouts of America camping excursions under their belts, we are still required to go over a rules & regulations checklist before we leave home, and again when we arrive.These rules are there for several reasons: to make sure everyone has fun, avoid personal conflicts, and allow us to co-exist with the nature around us. But most importantly, the rules are there to make sure we all stay safe and get home in as good of shape as we arrived. The checklist seems redundant – but necessary.
Everyone should have a poker checklist, to make sure we get out of each session as healthy as possible, both in terms of our finances and our sanity. Here’s my Do’s & Don’ts, and hopefully, it will work for you:
DO keep a bankroll management plan. It doesn’t have to be the one Fox recommends, or Jennifear, or dozens of other ones online. Hell, if you’re fine with putting everyone in play for the right opportunity, and re-deposit or rebuild if it doesn’t work out…that’s fine by me too. But have something concrete and consistent in mind to determine what games you will play every day.
DO NOT sign up for something out of your price range. The single most important “click” you make in a session is the initial registration. Tournament lobbies on the big sites shift fairly rapidly, and you can misclick when opening one. Do yourself a favor and make sure it’s the right one. Double-check, and unregister to fix a simple mistake before it becomes a huge one.
DO find a “buddy system.” In Scouting, the “buddy system” means you never go off into the wilderness by yourself. You go with a buddy to ensure smart choices and return safely to your camp. The poker jungle is as scary as almost any campsite you could pick – although the one I’m off to comes with a “bear safety book”, so I’m more intimidated by this trip than the average Sunday. For your poker safety, it’s important to find a set of buddies with whom you can review hands, strategize and dream about the future.
DO NOT play something at the expense of sleep. If you have to get up at 6 AM for work or school, don’t sign up for the nightly $10 rebuy on Stars at 10 PM Eastern time. If you go deep, you won’t sleep. Unfortunately, this means many of you may share my shoes and pretty much write off big-field NLHE MTTs online. I’ve played less than 50 so far this year, and I miss them. But since I don’t play for a living, I like sleeping better.
DO play only when you’re thinking clearly and emotionally grounded. If you’re stressed over a work or school assignment, upset about something your kids did, angry at a significant other…you won’t be focused enough to figure out if the guy spewing chips in Seat 8 is truly a LAGtard or just on a card rush.
DO NOT play if you’re drunk or high. Not if you want to play seriously, with profit as your goal. If I want to live it up at a friend’s home game, or goof around online after a night out, it’s OK. Not the same as a real poker game, to me, and neither my head nor bankroll approach it that way.
I’m sure most of you can present counter-examples to each point on my checklist – especially the last one. Dozens, if not hundreds, of players better than I will ever be defend marijuana to the death. I know many successful online players ply their trade with a bong ready for regular hits throughout a session. I also cannot deny having a buzz would smooth out the emotional swings that poker so painfully dishes out.
I’ve heard this line of reasoning with all kinds of games and activities. I always threw darts better after a couple beers. Some of the best pool players I ever met couldn’t get going without a drink or two first, to loosen up their shoulder (and their nerves). Musicians play better with a bottle onstage, and sometimes much stronger offstage, judging by the number of rock legends with habits and overdoses. I even had a good friend who claimed he was a better driver after a few drinks, because he was normally in that state when he took lessons in the simulator in high school.
Is it preferable to rely on a substance to put you in whatever mental state you need to play? Or to learn how to achieve that state clean and sober, and leave the baggage that comes with a drink or a joint behind?
At the end of the day, though, that’s just my personal opinion, and my list. If you truly play best with a bong rip to start the morning, followed by a shot and a beer back…then start your list with “DO have a bong, a shot and a beer.” As long as you know what works for you, and are willing to take it seriously.
It may seem corny, but make a list, write it down, and leave it by your monitor setup. The physical act of putting it to paper marks a significant commitment to taking the game, and your success seriously. Be prepared for greatness, and greatness is far more likely to find you.
Canada
United Kingdom
Costa Rica
Australia
Mexico
Denmark
Russian Federation
Sweden
Brazil
Germany
