"The important thing is to keep playing, to play against weak opponents and to play
for big stakes."- Warren Buffet
This is my motto for online poker. In fact, I might just make it my signature
statement. Warren is speaking of playing bridge in this situation, but boy, does it
ever apply to poker!
"The important thing is to keep playing," if I don't have a bankroll because I blew
it on playing some game that was out of my league, I'm out of the game and can't
continue to make money. Taking shots is one thing, but over estimating your
abilities and over extending your bankroll is just arrogant. Spending your bankroll
is akin to being a quitter, IMHO. Bankroll management is key in our game, if you
don't have any tools you can't do any work. Our Bankroll is the tool of our trade.
No money, no play, it's that simple.
"To play against weak opponents," Many people have ego problems that keep leading
them to play tougher and tougher games. I guess that their motivation is different
than mine. My motivation is to make money at a hobby that I enjoy, not to beat the
best players in the world. I think that eventually one will lead to the other, but
I'm not going to risk a substantial portion of my bankroll against players who have
developed their game far beyond mine. "You can sheer a sheep many times, but only
skin it once" has a key thought in it that you may not readily see. I'm looking
to sheer sheep, not fight wolves! That's why I don't play my current stakes on
some of the more populated sites. I'm a 4 lb bass in a 2-acre pond where I'm
currently playing, but if I were to move over to Poker Stars... well, a 4 lb bass is
snack food in one of those games. Yes, a Brian Townsend who is driven by ego to
conquer the game will run up the gamut of the poker world faster than me and will
probably always be a better poker player than me, I'm okay with that. I just want
my little piece of the pie on a steady and consistent basis.
"And to play for big stakes." This is kind of a see rules 1 & 2 statement, if you
manage your bankroll and stay in the game and you consistently play against weaker
players with the occasional, calculated shot taken to move up in the poker world,
eventually you will play higher and higher stakes that will give you a bigger and
bigger return. 8 months ago I was playing $10NL with a $24 Bankroll. This was the
smallest stakes game that was available to me and I was consistently playing weaker
opponents. In the last 8 months I have moved up to $100NL and I still feel that I
am one of the best players on the site and stakes that I am playing. Do I want to
move up to $400 and $600NL, yes, when I'm ready and when my bankroll is large enough
to sustain the variance of that stake. Without bankroll management, I am likely to
become just another shooting star.
That's my $0.02 on how this snippet of Buffetology relates to poker.
My kind of post, LL. Nice work! May I suggest an avatar change? Perhaps with a fishing pole or a 4-lb bass in his other hand...
10/18/07
Anonymous
says
If the strategy is good enough for Warren, then it's good enough for this card dude. Keep the gems coming and detsroy the weak every chance. An old time player form UCLA (University on the Corner of Lenox Avenue) use to say, never give weaker players an even break.
10/19/07
Anonymous
says
Good Job! Really nice reading with many important lessons for all of us. The trick is to have enough discipline to always remember and practice Buffet's 'bon mots'.
10/20/07
i agree again.. but... i have a question.. how do you identify the wolf on the table.
and when is "its time to quit" do you take a percentage of your bankroll to the table
or when you loose your buy in so many times?? its a good strategy but how do you know?
SEIKO DOG
10/27/07
If you can't spot the sucker at the table, it's probably YOU! You never have your whole bankroll on the table, unless you have an irregular situation. Bring enough to the table to play the game w/o being scared of becoming short-stacked. Keep reserves in case bad things or the worst happen. You are still young in your poker career, you will understand in time. Try doing a search in 2+2 for bankroll management.
10/29/07
Post your comment below
