Leniency with Losers

Marcus Bateman / Marcus Bateman / 24 August 2009 / Leave a Comment

Firstly, people tend to play worse when they are losing, and this makes it considerably easier to win their money.

This is one of the most obvious, yet constantly ignored, pieces of table etiquette in poker, and one which pays big dividends if adhered to.

Whether the player is a big whale who usually drops a lot in the game, or simply a good player running bad/tilting, you basically always want to cater to the needs of the players who are down a lot, pretty much regardless of the request. This is for two key reasons.

Firstly, people tend to play worse when they are losing, and this makes it considerably easier to win their money. All players skills deteriorate the more they are stuck, and although some fall apart quicker than others (the very best just tend to leave), everyone gets worse when losing, and this gives you many great opportunities to increase the odds of winning more money from them. Whether they want to move stakes, play a different variant, or even swap seats, catering for the desires of players down a lot usually adds to your win rate considerably.

The second main reason to cater to losing players is the one most over looked by players - lessening the impact of losing. Poker can be a very brutal game, one which can render people in very extreme mental states at points, and is important to try and lessen the extreme effects amongst players who are losing, simply because abuse or refusals to meet demands frequently will end in the worst possible result - them leaving the game then and there, and possibly not returning in the future if their experience was particularly bad.

Although showing bluffs or the odd well timed comment are useful tools in tilting players, once someone is losing and stuck you no longer need to keep pushing them. In this state you want to try and keep them as sane as possible to try and hold them in the game. This approach also has the added benefit of creating a long term good environment for any losing players. Reducing the pain of losing (and thus the chances of them returning and continuing to lose) gives you much more long term chances at winning the money.

As Amarillo Slim so accurately observed when he said: 'You can shear a sheep many times, but only skin him once', you are much better off trying to keep the playing environment friendly, accepting, and lenient for the losers, as over the long run such an approach will win you vastly more money than any other.

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