Message Board : Too Much Money on the Table/Hit and Run?

Ed and all,

This is my first post here, or on any message board. Please be gentle if I breach any ettiquette.

Ed, I have been reading your books for a few years now and I found your blog about six months ago. All I can really say is: Thank you. Your material has helped me cross the line between a marginal loser to a winner, and lately to a pretty good winner.

My question is this:

Should a player be aware of how much money they can psychologically handle having at risk at one time, and stop if they win their way up to that amount, or should they just get over it, and always stay at a game where they feel they are a favorite?

I just came back from a weekend in Vegas where I crushed a couple of 1$-2$ No Limit sessions for a bit more than $1000. At both points when I got that much money in front of me, it started weighing very heavily on my mind. In each case there were a couple of other good players at the table who had between 50%-70% of my stack covered, and I had the thought that if I was to catch a beat or make a bad play that cost me that kind of money all at once, that it would disrupt my confidence for a while and probably be bad for my state of mind for the rest of the weekend. I wanted to continue playing at my best for the remainder of my stay in sin city, so in both cases I picked up, cashed out, took a break, then sat down again later with a fresh buy-in.

Was I totally wrong to do this? Am I off base with my thought about the psychological effects of this type of situation? Do I need to just get over it and tough it out when large sums of money (relative to my bankroll) are potentially at risk?

Thanks for the reply DonkStar.

For clarification, I would not have blinked an eye if I lost a few of my $100 buy-ins at these games. In fact, the day before we left I did just that, and, well, I didn’t blink an eye.

I had started my trip with about a $5000 bankroll, so I don’t have much of an issue with losing or winning amounts in the range of a few hundred dollars. But when I got up to an amount that represented 20% of my entire bankroll, I started worrying that if I took a loss of say $700 all at once from one of the players who was also pretty deep stacked in the game, that it would kill my confidence.

I have no doubt that you are absolutely right that one should not sit in a game where they can’t stomach getting stacked for a few buy-ins. But by extension, with my bankroll, I certainly wouldn’t feel comfortable getting stacked for $1000 if I decided to take a shot at a 5-10 No Limit game, so it seems to make sense that I wouldn’t feel comfortable getting stacked for that much or close to that much in a 1-2 game.

Does that make sense?

PokerDisciple said:

Thanks for the reply DonkStar.

For clarification, I would not have blinked an eye if I lost a few of my $100 buy-ins at these games. In fact, the day before we left I did just that, and, well, I didn’t blink an eye.

I had started my trip with about a $5000 bankroll, so I don’t have much of an issue with losing or winning amounts in the range of a few hundred dollars. But when I got up to an amount that represented 20% of my entire bankroll, I started worrying that if I took a loss of say $700 all at once from one of the players who was also pretty deep stacked in the game, that it would kill my confidence.

I have no doubt that you are absolutely right that one should not sit in a game where they can’t stomach getting stacked for a few buy-ins. But by extension, with my bankroll, I certainly wouldn’t feel comfortable getting stacked for $1000 if I decided to take a shot at a 5-10 No Limit game, so it seems to make sense that I wouldn’t feel comfortable getting stacked for that much or close to that much in a 1-2 game.

Does that make sense?

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Chris Fergusson has bankroll rules that require him to get up when his stack at a table exedes 20% of his roll.  It’s not wrong, it’s good bankroll management.  There is simply nothing wrong with taking profit, particularly if you have limited experience playing 500BB deep.

http://www.fultiltpoker.com/pro-tips-archive.php?player=Chris%20Ferguson&tip=100

 

He’s using the same technique in his 0-10K challenge.   Since he passed the 10K mark, he has been seen shortstacking the 5/10NL tables at full tilt.  That he short stacks drives the regulars crazy and they complain bitterly over at 2+2.

 

I agree with the rest of the posters.  Specifically:

JJS said:

So the poker equivalent is, if you wouldn’t
buy into a table with $1,000 then I think you shouldn’t stay there once
you get to that amount.  

 

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I have heard the 10% of your bankroll is the limit … I think that is more for online play where it can be much more volitile when you have 2-5 tables with 10% each!   I think 20% for low limits ( linve or 1 online table ) is much more reasonable.

JJS said:

So the poker equivalent is, if you wouldn’t buy into a table with $1,000 then I think you shouldn’t stay there once you get to that amount.  Cash out, buy back into another game at a level where you feel comfortable.  Put the rest into your bankroll, and if you are a winning player then your bankroll will grow to the point where you will feel comfortable buying in with that $1,000.

 

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Thanks JJS, I think your answer really crystalized a good way to think about this particular question.

 

You guys rock -

PokerDisciple.