For becoming a good poker player you must have at least two things one is skills and other is luck. It is impossible to win a game without skills and luck. If you are a good player you will never take your opponent for granted because when you started taking your opponent lightly you start loosing.
The good player finds opportunities to make profitable agreements with other players. For instance, he can sometimes make an agreement with a loose player that each time either one wins a pot they will pay the other, for example, five dollars. Such an agreement will bring the good player a steady side income. Even when the loose player is a big loser, he will usually win more pots than the good player. Most poor players will gladly make such an agreement because they erroneously believe that a winner must win more pots than a loser. Also, most losers desire an association with a winner (the good player); such an association helps the loser feel on the same level with the winner. Often a loose player happily maintains such an agreement indefinitely without ever realizing that he is providing the good player with a steady, side income.
Compared to John Finn, Sid Bennett plays in twice as many hands, wins about fifty percent more pots, but loses nearly three times as often. He jumps at John’s suggestion to pay each other five dollars every time one of them wins a pot. Two years later, Sid is still pleased with this arrangement as indicated by his comments:
“At least I keep collecting these side bets,” he smiles as John wins a huge pot and gives him five dollars. “Don’t understand why you made such a stupid bet.”
MONEY EXTRACTION
The good poker player is involved in a long-term process of extracting money from the game as well as from each individual player.
1. Winning Too Fast
Extraction of money at the maximum rate is not always in the best, long-term financial interest of the good player. Uncontrolled money extraction can cause the following problems:
- Players who would be long-term sources of important income may quit the game.
- Stakes or rules may be disadvantageously changed.
- Unfavorable attitudes may develop.
- Game may break up.
These problems suggest that the good player can win too fast. To extract the maximum money, he often decreases his winning rate in order to control the flow of money. In other words, maximum money extraction may require a slower winning rate.
2. Uncontrolled Money Flow
Over a period of many games, uncontrolled money flows in a pattern similar to that illustrated. As the good player accumulates performance data on each player, these money movement patterns become evident.
Data for a game with an uncontrolled money flow are tabulated on page 142. Notice the heavy losses absorbed by poor players A and B compared to players C and D. In this game, the good player E is extracting winnings through normal, uncontrolled money flow. But poor player A may quit, for example, because continuous losses hurt his pride. And poor player B may insist on lower stakes because his sharp losses cause an acute financial strain. The good player may be risking his future earnings unless he alters the money flow to a controlled pattern similar to that illustrated.
The ideal money flow pattern for the good player occurs when he wins at the maximum rate that each player can tolerate. … This usually means winning less from the poorest players and more from the better players.
3. Controlled Money Flow
The good player evaluates the money extraction patterns 011 both a short and long term basis. If a controlled pattern seems desirable, he then determines how the money flow should be altered (extent and direction). In a controlled pattern, he usually extracts money more evenly from his opponents. In other words, he extracts less from the poorer players and more from the better players. Controlled money flow shifts everyone’s performance.
This controlled pattern costs the good player an average of $22 per game. But if the money flow were not controlled, the continued heavy losses of poor players A and B could have destroyed the game and cost him the $17,400 that he won over these hundred sessions. This $22 per session is his insurance premium for keeping the game at favorable conditions. He keeps accurate performance records to determine the cost, value, and effectiveness of his control over the money flow. This control normally costs him 10-15% of his net winnings.
The good player usually takes control of the money flow during the early rounds when his betting influence is the greatest at a minimum cost. He alters the money flow patterns by the following methods:
– Helps and favors the poorest players at the expense of the better players whenever practical.
-Drives the poor player out with Imt round bets when a better player holds a good hand. And conversely, he uses first round bets to keep the better players in when a poor player holds a good hand.
- Avoids playing alone against poor players; this decreases his advantage over them at a minimum cost. When betting against poor players, he makes image building and long term strategy plays at less favorable investment odds.
