Complaining about luck - consequences on behaviour

Live Cash Games / Marcus Bateman / 13 August 2010 / Leave a Comment

Complaining about your luck at the poker tables is a bit like moaning about getting wet if you go swimming.

Everyone knows the player type - sitting morosely at the table, moaning to anyone who will listen about the beats they have gone through that day, how cruel life is, how bad they are running etc etc. On the face of it this can just seem like the incoherent ramblings of someone down on their luck and out of pocket, but it actually has a great deal of information about how a player will be behaving, and taking note of it and reacting to it can hugely increase your chances of prolonging these players 'bad' streak.

Most people complaining about bad luck will hardly ever bluff. As they have told the table that they are running bad and have suffered numerous bad beats, they have effectively telegraphed the information that they have been getting it in ahead consistently to the table (after all you can't get bad beats getting it in behind).

This sets up a basic psychological wall that this player now has to conform to. No one wants to look stupid at the table, and someone moaning about their bad beats will look a bit ridiculous three barrel bluffing someone and getting caught - a fact that subconsciously forces them to tighten their game up to such an extent that they basically never bluff.

If your reason for losing is simply bad beats, then you are effectively admitting that your game is watertight apart from showdown luck. This means exposing your game to a particular scrutiny of its solidness, which basically removes a host of moves essential to winning poker (bluffing and getting it in behind when the price is right) through social shame at having to back track on your previous statements about always being ahead.

People moaning about their luck at the tables usually play a particularly weak brand of bad tight aggressive play, easily run over by the observant players, often going broke with hands like top pair/over pairs in spots which they should not be, and generally falling victim to all of the usual problems involved with never bluffing and playing far too tight.

Running bad is a fact of life in poker, but dealing with it frequently separates good and bad players by a huge margin. Complaining about your luck at the poker tables is a bit like moaning about getting wet if you go swimming, and is nearly always a sign of weakness and of a players game becoming dull, tight, and predictable - a point you should be using to your advantage at every available opportunity.

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