"Once you make a withdrawal from a poker site, you are destined to lose money."

This is a theory that has run rampant across poker sites for as long as online poker has existed. The idea behind it, of course, is nearly the same as the losing players' lament of "rigged RNGs" and "action flops." Some people have gone so far as to say the poker rooms are penalizing you for making a withdrawal by giving you bad cards and bad beats! When I first heard this theory, my first reaction was obviously that this was just hogwash, and that normal swings were to blame for this "phenomenon." It's the brainchild of the stupid-stitious folks who cannot possibly think they are to blame for losing! <READMORE>

I'm here to tell you today that "The Withdrawal Curse" is real! However, not for the reasons you may think.

Okay, the good news: The online poker rooms aren't cheating you. There is a random number generator that is in place to guarantee the randomness of the shuffle, and it's easily much more random than the shuffle of a human dealer. You are still getting the same percentage of good and bad cards, hands, and bad beats that you always have.

The not-so-good news: You may now be more likely to lose money over the next week or so. It is true that winning leads to losing, especially if you are not careful.

Most people have a natural tendency to blame bad luck for their losses, while crediting themselves for their successes. Variance runs both ways. Therefore, you may have more confidence in your ability after you win. While confidence isn't a bad thing, this may lead to playing games at higher levels when you just aren't quite ready. You may not have the ability to beat the new game.

You may forget that if you are playing twice the limit, you need twice the bankroll to withstand potential negative fluctuations. If you withdrew your bankroll to what you had before your most recent success, you may have withdrawn too much to successfully attack the new level you are playing.

You may expect to win at a new level because you have been winning, and if you lose, you might not drop down a level until you take a good whipping. At that point, the lower limit may become boring or not as important to you, causing you to stop paying attention, and causing further losses.

You may become used to having a higher amount of money in your bankroll, just as you did right before you withdrew. After a small loss, you may be upset that you are not at your all-time high, and then subsequently try to play catch up. Remember, the first consequence of withdrawing is that you now have less money to play with. You did not become a superstar overnight, so don't try to play like one. Chasing losses is always a bad strategy.

It's hard to learn how to handle losses, but rarely do people think about how to handle a win! Make sure you understand that there are challenges that you must guard against after a big win, such as keeping your ego in check.

Okay folks, so in summary, here is the recipe for avoiding The Withdrawal Curse:

If you want to try a higher limit, go for it! If you do, however, be prepared by having a sufficient bankroll to ensure that negative variance does not bite you in the rear. Make sure that the game at the higher limit is good, and that you are not facing ALL very tough players. Observe as you play, and remember the old adage, "If you can't spot the sucker at the table, then it's you." Don't ignore lower games if they have exceptionally bad players in them. Also be prepared to step down a level as soon as you suffer some.

Since you have good emotions after withdrawing, be careful to ensure that you don't lose your positivity by taking some tough losses right away. Don't take high risks looking for that "BIG SCORE." Remember what brought you to the point of withdrawing, and do it again. Remember that luck happens, and that you not only have to be just as good as your new, tougher opponents; you must actually be at least somewhat consistently better in order to beat them, as well as the rake. As long as you are feeling positive, you will at least be paying better attention to the game and your opponents, which will allow you to remain in that very same "zone" that caused you to be able to take some money from poker.

Good luck to everyone, and I hope you make many withdrawals. Don't let the Withdrawal Curse get YOU!

Jennifear is a proud Contributing Writer for Pocketfives.com and a Presto Award Winner. She teaches private low-limit poker lessons, and you can find the details of this at Jennifear.com. A discount on these lessons is available by supporting pocketfives.com by joining a poker site through one of their links.
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