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Maryann Guberman has been a writer and editor with many gaming publications, including Sports Form, Card Player, Poker World, Player's Panorama and Systems and Methods. She also has written and edited numerous books on gambling.

Nov. 20, 2004

Bad Cards, Bad Streaks, Bad Luck, Bad Karma

Anybody can win unless there happens to be a second entry. -- George Ade

Online poker rooms began to flourish long before poker became the sport du jour on television and savvy players who knew a good thing when they saw it jumped in with both hole cards to take advantage of an undereducated public. Players in public cardrooms known for their tight aggressive play who could just grind out a profit at the tables now needed two cyberhands to rake in the chips.

Somewhere along the way, though, the tide shifted imperceptibly. Those novices who were contributing to the wallets of the pros were now beginning to win.

These players didn't necessarily become better educated. Rather, they began to multiply like John Wyndham triffids, and eventually tables of timid, underbankrolled, uneducated players began to become populated by fearless players who still didn't necessarily understand the importance of starting hands and position but who could outlast and decimate the pros simply by numbers.

Having one or two reckless fish in a game is the seasoned player's dream. Having an entire table full of fish is his nightmare.

Having a table full of players who think they can play the way the pros on the World Poker Tour televised tournaments play can spell disaster in upper case, and that, it's sad to say, is one of the big problems with an educated player's game.

In a recent email exchange, a gentleman (relatively new to online poker) ruminated about how much money he has lost in a relatively short time playing in a particular cyber room. Also, my friend Paul, who had heretofore accumulated nearly $1,000 playing in low-limit games, began to experience numerous losing sessions. In at least two sittings, he did not win a single hand! His bankroll plummeted.

Each player wondered about cheating and while I will reiterate the believe that collusion online exists, I don't think it happens at every table every day. Remember, we're talking about the ability of anyone in the world with a computer, an Internet connection, and a bankroll, to buy-in at any poker room.

As I write this, for example, www.pokerpulse.com tells me there are 1454 hold'em games in action. What are the chances that you will sit down at the one table where people are cheating.

As for the poker room setting up a "random" number generator that's biased toward the hose, why would that be necessary? Next time you play, keep track of how many hands the house deals an hour and the rake of each hand. Then average it out. A lot of money disappears into the invisible drop box in cyberspace‹enough to make cheating kind of superfluous.

So what's to account for those horrendous losing streaks? Why are you experiencing an inordinate number of bad beats?

Surprisingly, I found a tentative answer at rec.gambling.poker. One individual suggested you go to the free play area of any major cyber room and jump in. "You will experience

every form of bad play ever known to poker and will have to, in order to win or survive, learn how to deal with these people," the poster wrote.

While I won't quote directly, the individual said, in essence, that the people who are now playing online are trying to emulate the TV players. By immersing yourself here, you will learn how to deal with these reckless players.

That powerhouse starting hand and the skilled way you play it is still going to win in the long run. The question is, can you outlast all the short runs that add up to the long one?

Here are a few

1.Don't overplay your bankroll.

2.Keep track of your hands as you play them add up the losers.

3.If you lose half your session bankroll and haven't gone to the river more than one out of ten times you've been in a hand, move to another table.

4.If moving to another table doesn't show improvement, quit for the session.

5.Keep track of the players at your table by name and by their action. If you find one or two are always at your table and always beating you, move to a different poker room entirely (but not before you inquire about possible collusion).

6.Don't participate in the chatting. Watch it for any hints that will help or hurt your play but don't let it interfere with your concentration‹and most importantly, if someone disrespects your play, smile with the knowledge that they haven't put you on tilt.

I'm not certain this is the end-all answer to the problem of bad luck, bad streaks and bad karma but I think it's a beginning. If you have any other suggestions, let me know.