Poker News

John Vorhaus

So this guy Paul writes to me with grave doubts about his game. He’s a low limit player of modest experience, and he thinks he’s playing well, but he keeps getting his ass kicked in the fish pond that is low limit internet poker. Per Paul: I wait patiently to get my money in the best spot, play strong starting hands, and get completely wiped out by thefish across the table because he out draws me. I raise when I have my strong hands to better protect them against these types but it seems so futile. If it’s suited, they call. If it’s connected, they call. They call with anything and everything. And they seem to always pull it off. Tonight it was, J-5. That’s what he called me with, J-5 off. I had AK suited. I caught an A, but he caught both a J and 5, the 5 on the river. He called with middle pair all the way. Ugh.

Yeah, ugh. Paul, I feel your pain. It’s a common pain and a common lament. The worst part is… you’re probably not doing anything wrong. You’re being thoughtful and conscientious about your game and, well, getting slammed. That happens. Remember, though: Almost everyone loses at poker. How so? First, almost everyone is about equally skilled. Second (though confirmation bias suggests otherwise) everyone is equally lucky. We’d all be on a level playing field, then, were it not for the rake, which tips a significant percentage of everyone’s stake into the house’s hands. Whether online or in the realworld, then, if you’re paying to play, you have to be above average — probably significantly above average — to win.

Now you tell me you’re thinking about playing higher, to get out of the fish pond and into a game where people respect your raises. That seems counterintuitive to me. If you were to play higher it would be on the assumption that your strategy — which isn’t working at the lower limits — would work up above. Many have pursued this line of thought, rationalizing that they can’t beat bad players, only good ones, who know enough to fold from time to time. That’s not just counterintuitive; it’s flat-out wrong. Bad players are the ones you have to beat to show a profit in this game. It’s the core wisdom of poker: Don’t challenge strong players, challenge weak ones; that’s what they’re there for.

If you can’t beat the small games, it doesn’t seem reasonable to think you can beat the big ones. Rather, and rather more fruitfully, take a good, hard look at your own game in the game you’re in. What might you be doing to hurt your own cause? Are you pushing too hard when you don’t have a hand (even though you know they’ll call)? Are you loosening up your own starting requirements to match theirs? Are you playing down to their level? Are you getting frustrated and going on tilt?

You can beat the low limit games. They may be the only beatable games around, since the overwhelmingly low quality of play will give you a chance of overcoming the rake. But to beat those games, or any games, you must constantly police your own play for leaks, and keep working to improve your game. Good players beat bad players in the long run — that’s fundamental — but only the best players show any profit at all.

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