Marcus Bateman / Marcus Bateman / 16 March 2009 / Leave a comment

Chaos theory is a branch of mathematics that deals with problems where the number of variables become so high that mathematics ceases to be able to provide accurate explanations about the future.

The reality of poker and chaos theory is that although these small details may well have a big effect later, you have no idea which of the little details will do what, and worrying about them is basically just a waste of time

The idea of a butterfly's flapping wing in South America causing a hurricane in Africa is a good example of this, with a tiny motion in one place possibly causing a massive one elsewhere.

Poker has these sort of effects constantly. That new seat you get moved to in a tournament where you suddenly can't hit a hand, that argument you had with your partner that just pushes you into making a frustrated call hours later, or even just that quick toilet break where you end up actually missing a hand where you would have won a monster pot. Many gamblers become obsessed with these minute details, refusing to leave the table for even a second, desperately trying to move to a seat where they feel they are going to be lucky, or cursing tiny events that they feel have now had massive consequences for them.

It is easy to start becoming overly concerned about these minute details, and this often has negative consequences on a player's actions. The reality of poker and chaos theory is that although these small details may well have a big effect later, you have no idea which of the little details will do what, and worrying about them is basically just a waste of time. Although you may feel that the new table you have been moved to seems much more unlucky than the last, or that a certain dealer always seems to send you junk, in reality everything is equal over the long run and worrying about these things will have a much more negative effect than anything else.

Most of poker is out of your control - you simply have to try and make the right choices about each hand that presents itself. Although little things will make huge differences to features of your game, you will never know exactly which ones or how. Worrying about small details will simply make your game become worse and worse as superstition and obsession take over from your rational mind - which is clearly never going to be good to your bankroll in the long term.

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