Take the Hit and Move On

Hi. Come on in. Chilly weather here on the high desert. I've made a nice rabbit stew in my crockpot. Aunt Bess taught me the recipe, so we have just the right amount of potatoes and carrots. You'll love it.

Today, let's talk about the unpleasant side of poker – losing, and how to cope with that. You don't have to cope with winning, but you do with losing. Let's cope.

Of course, I have at hand one of my ubiquitous Roy's Rules to cover the situation: "You don't have to get it all back today."

Get back what you can today without knocking yourself halfway into oblivion with a marathon session. If you can't get it all, there's tomorrow. Even if you've taken a few beats and are down a considerable amount, stay with your solid game. Don't panic and start playing every hand and going for long shots. I've seen players get back most of it, and instead of escaping with what they could, they try to get back those last few dollars and go down the tubes.

If you promise not to reveal my dark secret to anyone, I'll tell you that the same thing happened to me many years ago. It was a sharp but very valuable lesson. I was in a $5-$10 draw game in Gardena. After five hours of unfruitful play, I was down exactly $100. I had played almost my full normal session, but decided to try to get even before heading home.

Continuing with what I considered to be my solid game (and with a bit of luck), I had gotten back $98 at the end of an hour. Instead of calling that close enough, I kept playing for the sake of those $2, which was not smart.

A few hands later, the loss of a small pot took me to $27 down. (I should have been smart enough to get up at that point, but I wasn't.) Several moments later, I had a good hand cracked and was down $77. The upshot was, I ended up losing $110 before I got smart and left.

The next day, my mindset was messed up, but not by the loss of $110. The $110 was no big deal, but I didn't like having to start my playing day by making up a loss from the previous day. That's how I thought of it, and as I thought of it, I thought that was not the way to think of it. So, I decided to think of the previous day's loss as the previous day's news. That day was gone. I'd play for today.

Among the toughest things for most poker players to do is get up and take a loss. We all want to stay and get even. However, if you aren't playing your best game and you aren't a favorite at the table, get up. One of the lessons I stress to my poker students is, "Losing is meaningless. It just doesn't matter." Simply put, it means that your play is not based on winning every day, but on winning in the long run. There is always tomorrow.

Change of subject: I know there have been times when you've sat for an entire evening, playing a good, solid game of poker, and after five or six hours, you're $7 ahead. Wow! Meanwhile, someone across the table who has been playing like a fool all evening is ahead $700. How can that be? You're playing a strong game of poker while this guy is just splashing around and making a pile of money. Well, that's why they call it gambling.

If you play your solid game of poker day in and day out, in the long run, your results at the end of the year will be good, solid winnings. His, if he keeps records, will be solid losses. (By the way, he probably doesn't keep records. Losers usually don't, wanting rather to fool themselves into believing they are "just about even or a few dollars ahead.")

The game has been experiencing an influx of new, uneducated players. Give your blessing to each of their wins. If they didn't win occasionally, they wouldn't come back, and there would be no chickens to pluck. As you now can plainly see, "Losing is meaningless. It just doesn't matter."

When you see Aunt Bess, tell her how much you enjoyed the rabbit stew. I've filled a big baggie for you to take for your breakfast. It's time for my snooze. Kill the light on your way out.

Roy West, author of the bestseller 7 Card Stud, the Complete Course in Winning (available from Card Player), continues working on a hold'em curriculum in Las Vegas for both tourists and locals. Ladies are welcome. Get Roy 's toll-free 800 number from his ad on Page 60.