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as it is important not to think in terms of
individual pots - not to chase money you have
contributed to an individual pot so it is
important to realize you are not playing in
individual games. Each individual game is
part of one big poker game. You cannot win
every game or session you play, anymore than
a golfer or bowler can win every match he
or she plays. If you are a serious poker player,
you must think in terms of your win at the
end of the year or the end of the month -
or, as sometimes happens, of your loss at
the end of the year or the end of the month,
which, of course, you want to keep as small
as possible.
Thus, whether you are winning or losing on
a given night is not in itself important,
and above all it must not affect your play.
It's easy to get steamed, or disgruntled or
discouraged, when you're losing. However,
you must be disciplined enough to play every
hand correctly, regardless of how you are
doing.
Similarly, you should not allow the fact that
you are winning or losing to affect your decision
to stay in or quit a game. From a money making
point of view the only criterion for playing
is whether you're a favorite in the game or
an underdog. If you're a significant favorite,
then it's a good game, and you should stay
in it; if you're an underdog, then it's a
bad game which you should quit. Never quit
a good game as a small winner just to ensure
a winning session. By the same token, don't
continue playing in a bad game Just to get
even.
Even for tough professionals, quitting a game,
particularly when they're stuck - that is,
when they've lost money - is sometimes a hard
thing to do. So long as you remain a big favorite,
you should stay, even if it means using toothpicks
to prop up your eyelids. But if the game has
changed so that you're an underdog, you should
quit whether you're a winner or loser. When
you're stuck, you should examine the reasons
why you're stuck. It may be just bad luck,
but it may not. Are there too many players
better than you? Is there cheating going on?
Perhaps you yourself are playing worse than
you normally do. Are you tired or distracted?
Are you thinking about the football game you
bet or the woman who's been "busy"
the last four times you asked her out? Are
you shaken up over a bad beat earlier in the
session when someone drew a fourth deuce to
beat your aces full? Making money is the object
of poker, and making money involves saving
it on bad nights as well as winning it on
good nights. So don't worry about quitting
a loser. If you have the best of it, you will
win in the long run just as surely as a roulette
wheel will win for the casino in the long
run.
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