Poker Articles

Bink!  GG! Wheeeeeeeeee!!  All the congrats and good game offerings are in the chat box after the conclusion of the last hand in a big tournament and you click the cashier of your account only to see more money than you ever imagined a strategy game could provide to you.  So what do you do next?  The standard 25/50, 100/200 NL shot?  Buy in to every $1k online event or every tournament you can?  With more money comes even more responsibility and discipline than prior to winning if you want to keep that money. Not only does winning a tournament bring a large influx to your bankroll, it requires both the professional and amateur player to exercise an increased degree of responsibility and discipline if they want to keep their spoils from the recent tournament victory.

A win that substantially improves your bankroll involves a whole different emotional perspective than your approach prior to the big win.  From some of the big wins in my career, I get a sense of how I’ve emotionally responded both positively and negatively. For the most part, the first large score usually provides the biggest problem for a player because it is uncharted territory, and the first huge tournament win will test the poker player’s discipline in bankroll management the most. I think some of these basic ideas probably apply to every person building up a bankroll.

1. Increasing the volume/ buy in amounts:  This is the first step that almost always occurs.  The bigger events I used to try to satellite in don’t seem to matter anymore if I just buy in. Of course, this is the case with more money, but are you emotionally prepared to handle bigger swings?  Can you now look at your detailed spreadsheet and see a multiple thousand dollar loss as opposed to the win?  In that cash game you just stepped up, do you have any experience against the caliber of player at that level.  Every single time I’ve had a big win, I seemed to instantly forget the prior steps I took to get me to that point.  The 1-2 tournament at a time approach turned into 3-4 or 3-4 turned into 8-10 (or 15).  Now, the skills that got me to the big win, understanding opponents, paying attention, taking advantage of situations were neutralized by my immediate drive to play more and use my skills in that manner.

2. Resting on your bankroll:  Prior to the big wins, I did everything I could to learn more about the game.  I was ready to read books, watch videos, read articles, discuss strategy, and now because of a huge positive result, I lost the motivation to improve because since I won I know everything right?  Obviously, this isn’t right in the game of poker.  There is always a way to get better and learn more.

3. Not appreciating the win:  Not more than 2 hours from my last win, I once again started complaining about never being able to win a race.  Poker breeds negativity in so many players because bad things happen every single day when we play.  To maintain some sanity, appreciate your win a little bit.  Don’t complain for at least a few days.  Better yet, it’s almost better to just take a day off or too and let the win sink in.  There is some sort of euphoria that affects how I play after a big win.  That euphoria often leads to a player cashing it all out and spending it on a nice car or a big screen TV.  I don’t disapprove of those things at all, but rather how you approach buying them after a big one.  It’s easy to get an inflated sense of your poker ability and believe that the next big win is only another week away.  More often than not, that really is the case, so enjoying your win is often better done by planning conservatively for the future and understanding how much of your bankroll you will still need to be comfortable.

4. Trying new things at a higher level:  It is my belief that in order to succeed in almost anything, you need to build from the ground up.  The same goes for different types of games in poker. If you win big in a tournament, don’t go stretch your bankroll in cash games if you have no experience and vice versa. For example, if you win a tournament for $20,000 and you sometimes supplement your tournament bankroll by playing a 200$ buy in 1/2 NL cash game, it isn’t a good idea to jump into a $1000 5/10 NL cash game just because you can now afford.  It is highly unlikely you will be successful without putting in the same kind of work from the ground up by learning the game, practicing against weaker opponents and them stepping up to a higher level within the proper discipline of managing a bankroll.

5. Confidence:  One of the biggest issues for any poker player in confidence.  Large losing streaks lead to not believing in your ability and playing worse.  Large wins can lead to overconfidence.  One thing I remember from my early playing days was when I would play the $20-$30 buyins.  I won one tournament and then thought I could simply buy into every $100-$300 tournament offered.  Needless to say, this didn’t quite work.  Finding the balance is how I believe you can often see players putting up significant back to back results.  A tournament victory will give you confidence, but it is important to remember the amount of time and volume between each victory.

Plenty of articles give advice on how to handle your emotions after a large downswing or a tough bad beat.  Some advise not playing until you are emotionally stable again, to take some time off, or for the worst of us perform a self-exclusion.  Winning does equal things to our emotions and not being able to handle a win emotionally can be detrimental to maintaining that new level of bankroll.  Every poker player should be aware of the things that more money does to them.  Loser’s tilt isn’t the only thing that can emotionally harm your bankroll in this game.

* kice32 writes more about poker and other topics at http://kevinice.blogspot.com