Thursday, February 5, 2009

It's Time to Leave the Table

By Eddie Parker

There are many things you need to learn in order to be a good poker player, and one of the most critical lessons is knowing when it is time to stop playing. There will be times when you really want to keep playing, but you have to get up, while other times you will want nothing more than to leave a game behind but you won't be able to. This is all part of the process of becoming a world-class player. Anytime that your table has run out of luck or the money isn't coming your way is a good time to call it quits.

Exhaustion

Anyone who has played a long game, or a daylong poker event will tell you that playing poker is exhausting. There are a lot of factors that a player has to think about during a game, and by the end of the day they can be completely worn out. Think of the last time you had a tough exam, and how you felt afterwards. This is the type of metal drain that playing poker can cause, and after a few hours you may feel like you've just run a long race or climbed a mountain.

As you begin to tire, your will have less focus and may possibly start making errors. While the best players out there have no problem working through their exhaustion, unless you are a seasoned player this is not a wise idea.

Until you have mastered the art of playing cards through your exhaustion, the smartest thing to do when you start to feel tired is to leave the table before you start losing.

After a while you will find that the exhaustion is pushed to the back of your mind and you can continue with your entire concentration on the game, but before that can happen you will need to know when it's time to call it quits.

This is the time when you must get up and leave the table. Even if you aren't ready to be done playing yet, just get up and take a break. You would be amazed what a meal break will do for you. At very least just go eat some food and take an hour long break. That will give your mind a chance to recharge and you will be much better when you come back.

Tilt

Tilt is another good reason to leave the table as it is interfering with your concentration. Anytime you let a previous hand or game bother you instead of putting your full concentration on the game at hand you are on a tilt. This can be unwise as you will be eager to "make up" your bad hands and may start making poor decisions.

Just like fatigue, it takes a lot of playing to get over tilt. Eventually you will get over it and just realize that poker is a brutal game. After so many bad beats you will just start to accept them and realize that it is going to happen.

If you find yourself getting upset or emotional over a hand, it is time to leave. There is an unlikely chance that you are going to be able to concentrate enough to play the game well, so just take a rest. Instead of beating yourself up over the hand that you got beat on, go for a walk and clear your head. Once you can be 100% in the present you are ready to go back and try your luck at the tables again.

Anytime you feel like you should leave the table, take your own advice and do it. If anything it will make you a better player for when you come back. - 16887

About the Author:

No comments: