Managing the Poker Mentality In-Game Emotion and Financial Resources

Online poker is as much a mental game as it is about the cards in play. Knowing how to manage the game as well as how your opponents are playing too makes up a lot of how the table will play out. We run down some top tips on how to stay in the game and keep your financial spending in line.

Knowing when the risk is worth it

Online poker has a way of rewarding those who take a risk but also tends to slap those in the face or take too big a risk or play too many high-jeopardy hands too frequently. Striking a balance usually pays off.

Potentially, look at the pot. If you’ve got an outside chance of Royal Flush and the pot is small enough then why not try it? You’re not banking too much on the most improbable combination so the dopamine you’ll get from it will probably be worth the $3 pot. If the current stake is in the hundreds and you’ve got nothing, take a back seat.

Bluffing, of course, is always a risk. If you’re on the table with some very gullible players who’ve fallen for every big raise before, then you might be able to keep the run going. Yet, falling for your bluff might be a bluff of their own and eventually, you’ll be caught out. Be sure to assess your opponents before making outrageous bluff risks.

Another key point is to look at the table. How have the other players been playing? Are they risk-averse, have they been steadily collecting chips or being rather gung-ho and are they down to their last few cards? Also, how many players are left on the table? These factors will all contribute to your chances of your risk paying off.

 

Even if you’re on a winning streak you must always consider the risk. It can be easy to overlook the potential loss when you’ve won a few hands. This is potentially the most damaging state to be in, if you find yourself under-thinking the cards it’s best to get up and take a break so you can reset.

Managing Pressure and ‘Tilt’

Another mental state you can find yourself in during an intense poker game is Tilt. Most poker players will go through this phenomenon. Whether you’re consistently losing or just lost a hand with particularly good cards, tilt is where you bring the emotional baggage from the prior hand or even before your next play.

This means that you don’t see the cards for what they truly are. Instead, you visualize top-and-bottom endgames as players often fold with very good hands or go to the showdown with exceptionally weak cards when tilted.

While you might not want to stop playing, it’s often advised that when you are suffering from this that you leave the table and do something else until you can think clearly again. Whether that means re-joining the game later or simply finishing, removing yourself from the streak is the best way to beat tilt.

If you want to weather the storm (although not always advisable) is to play passively for a few hands. Fold on anything that is marginal, fold on many hands as you regain your composure. This will allow you time to emotionally check-out while also studying the actions of others.

Spend Management

One of the first things to do is to allocate what you can afford to lose. Doing this and knowing your limit will vastly improve your experience. Allocate $20 per month (or whatever amount suits your personal budget) to online gambling and under no circumstances add more until a month has passed. Yes, it seems like a speed limiter on your fun but, not having enough money to pay your bills or put food on the table is much worse than playing fewer hands of online poker.

Some players manage this by having a specific bank account for their gambling endeavors, which is a good idea so that any frivolous casino-related spending doesn’t creep into your everyday finances. Either way, this is truly the golden rule that you can use if you want to try to win real money by playing at these online poker websites then it should stand you in good stead.

At the end of the day, you must remember that most of us aren’t professional poker players. This is a pastime that we want to be better at but until we are good enough to be invited to the WSOP tour, we must be realistic with our poker spend.

 

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