How Good Are You?

One factor that many gamblers fail to take into account when determining where or what to play is the level of their skills.

Let's say you have a home game of poker. You and your friends meet once or twice a week at a neighbor's house to play poker. Let's say you have been involved with this group for six months or a year. One morning you decide to take a tally on the results.

What you discover shocks you.

You find that you have been a regular loser at the game. In fact, you are stunned to discover that you lose 90 percent of the time that you play against your friends.

Believe it or not, this happens much more than people realize. If this is happening to you, I have one piece of advice: get out off that game as soon as possible and find another place to play.

Let's face the facts. All poker players or gamblers for that matter do not possess equal skills. There are some players that are simply better than others when knowing the odds and making judgement calls.

We have a saying in poker circles: never play over your head. If you constantly find yourself in deep water in a poker game, you are probably playing over your head.

Most poker rooms have a number of different level games where a person can play. The limits may range from $2-4 to $50-100 or even higher.

Now if your poker skills are at the $2-4 level, you would be foolish to challenge players who are seasoned to play in the $50-100 range. Yet I see people doing this all the time, usually with disastrous results.

There is no substitute for skill. Sure, luck plays a role in all forms of gambling. You can do well for a brief while if luck is on your side. But over the long haul, it is skill that will be the factor in the outcome of the game.

When I started playing limit poker, I felt comfortable in the $4-8 game. There was a level above it, $4-8 with a kill. But even making that small jump made me hesitate because the people who played that game were generally better players than the ones in the smaller game. And to make the leap to $5-10 or $10-20 was almost unthinkable.

You need to analyze your gambling skills to determine how good you are. Be realistic with your analysis and don't over-estimate your skills. It could be fatal to your bankroll.

If you find yourself a consistent loser at a certain card room, change casinos. Better yet, change games or limits. Make the game comfortble for you. Once you find a game where you are a consistent winner, stick to that game until the results change for the worse.

There are a couple of games I won't play in because my chances of winning are so slim. If you don't feel good about sitting down at a certain game, don't do it. Find something else to occupy your time and your money.

I find it is also helpful to have a conference with other players or dealers who are familiar with your play. Ask them point-blank, what am I doing wrong? And listen carefully to their answers. They will tell you how good you are. The next move is up to you.

Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.

(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).