Maximising wins

Cash / Marcus Bateman / 08 January 2010 / Leave a Comment

Although it is always tempting to pick up and leave after a modest win, it is crucial that you try and really maximise your returns when ahead.

One of the most serious and common mistakes that nearly all poker players make is to give up early when winning. Coupled with the fact that most people play far too long when losing (the desire to chase losses is a very powerful one), over the long run these two effects can add up to a disaster in terms of your bottom line.

One of the problems with poker is that due to the large amount of luck involved, players often overlook how important the psychological edge of winning is over their opponents, and simply miss the opportunity to really gain the maximum advantage they could. Perhaps the best example of this concept in a game where it is clear for all to see is in pool.

Pool is a game of luck and skill much like poker, and although having a few key differences in terms of the psychology of the game (most notably the fact that when your opponent is at the table you are powerless to do anything), this point is illustrated perfectly in pool. Confidence and domination of your opponent both in shots and scoreline is a huge factor in how pool matches end, and one that is very obvious to both observers and players, simply because the skill and luck in pool is visible to everyone. As a player grows in confidence and domination of the scoreline, so future shots become easier, and winning margins can become very large.

Poker is not like this in terms of how visible it is to everyone, but it is like this in terms of future plays being made easy and winning margins made larger by previous success. Although the fear of a bad beat or unlucky run denting a win frequently forces players into their shell or to leave entirely, this is a big mistake, as just as in the obvious case in pool, your likelihood of winning more increases dramatically the more you have already won. As your confidence and stack grows, so your opponent's confidence and ability (and hopefully stacks) shrink, and taking advantage of this makes a huge difference over the long run.

Although it is always tempting to pick up and leave after a modest win, it is crucial that you try and really maximise your returns when ahead. The very big wins in poker come when you achieve a near total domination over your opponents, and this can only really be achieved through not relenting when already slightly ahead.

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