The Last Resort

A reader writes, 'I just can't seem to win at poker.

'I have been on a losing streak so long, it's beginning to make me paranoid. Seriously, I used to win at the game, but for the past couple of months, I have booked nothing but losses. Can you help?'

That is a huge question. Can I help?

My answer is a firm 'maybe.'

The reader who posed this interesting question did not provide details on why he is such a consistent loser. The intriguing thing about poker as well as blackjack is they are skill games as opposed to pure chance. There are only a handful of skill games in casinos, by the way. A skill game is one where your actions, good or bad, have an effect on the outcome.

You can pull the handle of a slot machine as hard or as soft as you wish, and it won't make a difference in the outcome. That slot machine is linked to an intricate connection of slot machines that are pre-programmed to pay out at a certain rate, and this is something nobody can change.

But poker is a different ball game entirely. You aren't playing against the House in a poker game. As I have told the regulars on this site time and time before, your chances of winning are better at poker, blackjack and even dice are far better than any other casino games, providing you know what kind off strategy to follow.

I have been a consistent winner at poker over the years. But I have also gone through losing streaks, some of them prolonged. I waited out the streaks until they ended and the good cards returned to me. But I believe I could have shortened those losses by adopting the policy I am about to reveal to you.

The first step in halting a losing streak is to analyze your game.

If you are incapable of self-analysis, no problem. Get a friend, preferably someone who understands poker, to analyze your game. Analysis has several goals.

Are you playing too many hands? If so, cut down on the starting hands you play. If you are playing too few hands, you might try playing more, especially if you are on or to the right of the button.

You should also analyze if you are a passive or an aggressive player. In other words, ask yourself, 'Am I a calling station or do I raise when I have the potential for a really good hand?'

Passive players rarely win. They can sometimes hold their own in a game when all of the other players are aggressive and max out all the raises. But to be a consistent winner at poker, you need to adopt an aggressive stance.

Now I don't know what this particular reader is doing to stay on his losing streak. I strongly suspect, however, that he is a calling station who has lost so much money that he is afraid to raise, re-raise or even cap a bet with the final raise.

If this is the case and you continue to be faint of heart, I have a suggestion for you: stop playing poker.

Take a long cruise. Go to DisneyWorld or Sea World. Take that vacation in Alaska or Tahiti that you have promised yourself. But get away from poker. It isn't your game, at least for now, and for you to continue would be foolish.

Poker is a psychological game. I won a big poker tournament years ago when I was so aggressive that I stunned even veteran players who had played Omaha High-Low for years. They admitted to me later that they had never seen such aggression overwhelm the other players and win a major tournament.

I am not writing this to boast, but to encourage you. If you are a consistent loser at poker, change gears. Go completely the opposite direction you have been going. Switch from passive to aggressive or vice versa. It will throw the other players off and will give you a new and hopefully winning perspective that will pay off richly.

Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.

(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter. If you have a unique gambling story to share with him, you may qualify for a cash award. Send your story with all the details to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).