The Downside

The Downside

It is strange to me that so few players know what their downside exposure is playing
poker on a regular basis. You see players daily who cant believe the bad luck they are having or the bad beats they are taking. They get made when they lose, they throw cards, blame the dealer, ask for deck changes..there is no end to it.

My self playing 5 sometimes 6 days a week expect monthly at least 2 days that
you will have a miserable session. It seems that there is no way to avoid it.

In addition you are going to go through a month or two of sideways to downward bias each year. And every few 3 or 4 years you are going to go through an extended downswing that is going to really test your resolve.

Now these are just general guidelines. And they assume you are a winning player. If your a losing player the above doesn't apply since things are going to get pretty miserable for you on a regular basis.

The consensus seems to be you should have 300 big bets to play on a regular basis. At the game I play in which essentially is 40-80 Omaha 8 or better that would come to a 32,000 bankroll. My experience is if your a good player in omaha 8 200 big bets is adequate. But in Hold em...300 and if your playing mixed games with triple draw games included more like 500 big bets.

Nothing I have said here is a revelation but you would be surprised how many regular players have no clue. You have to be mentally prepared and educated as to the downside so that it doesn't effect your game and you realize what is going on.

Limit poker is a grind. There is no easy money in limit poker. Your knowledge of the game, technique, knowledge of the players, money management, self control ...all have to be in top form to make money at limit poker.