Stop Giving Away Chips

The game had been going on all day and some of the players were growing tired. A young player in his 20s had made repeated trips to the ATM to replenish his supply of chips. But nothing he did seemed to work.

His last ATM trip had added $200 to his stack. Angrily flinging his chips onto the table, he lost pot after pot until finally he was broke. When he got up to leave, the dealer politely asked him if he was coming back. He muttered something beneath his breath and stormed from the table.

One of the old timers him leave. His nickname was Pops. Some nights he won, other nights he lost, but never a lot. He was a steady player and we all respected him.

Shaking his head, Pops said, 'He'll never win. He gives away too many chips.'

Pops was right. Players who give away too many chips whether it's a cash game or a tournament rarely win.

In my younger poker playing days, I was like the kid who went all in. I played far too many hands with a limited bankroll and would often head for my car in the parking lot, broke and miserable.

The funny thing is I knew I was playing too many pots. In those days I was drinking, and the more I broke, the wilder I played, hoping for magical flops that rarely arrived.

I played my good hands well, but pocket high pairs rarely come in Texas Hold'em. I would win a big pot with pocket aces, and then lose a series of little pots by playing cards I had no business playing. Before long, my chip stack would be decimated.

A couple of my friends at the poker table told me I was playing too many pots. They said nobody could overcome the rake and losing bet after bet before connecting with a winner. We were playing limit poker, so you couldn't go broke on a single hand. But it could still get darned expensive.

In desperation, I came up with a plan to limit the number of hands I played. I bought a stack of three by five index cards and would place one on a table. Then each hand I was dealt I would check on the card. If I didn't make a bet, I would give the card a checkmark. But when I bet, I would draw a line through all the checks and start all over again.

If I found I was playing one hand in five or 10, I knew that was too many. One hand in 15 or 20 was better because the quality of my hands went up.

My losses diminished and my winnings improved. The other players sometimes asked me what I was scrawling down on the card and I joked, 'I'm writing a book and taking notes.'

If you find yourself constantly losing at poker, look at the number of hands you play. Then stop giving away your chips.

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 ).