Beating Variance
I am running really bad on Bodog right now due to variance, and some tilt on my part. Variance is a measure of the up and down swings your bankroll goes through. Variance is not necessarily a measure of how well you play. To try to offset said variance I am trying to read up on everything I can find about it. I was at 2 + 2 Forums and was answering a question on how I deal with variance and I have basically 4 steps to deal with variance. I may chose to do just one, or a combination of the four or I will do all four to try and break through when mistress variance rears her ugly head.
1 Take a day or two off from the tables and re-read sections of my Poker Books that most directly deals with how I am playing at that time.
2. tighten up and play only the very best hands in an attempt to break the cycle of downswing.
3. Drop down in Limit
4. Play low buy in SitNgo and donkey it up as much as I can as a form of stress relief. I usually play a couple of .60 cent SitNGos at Absolute because everyone can afford to lose $1.20 and, you never know, sometimes you finish in the money and that helps break the cycle, too.
I, also, found this interesting post by Bill Rini at High Variance Poker vs. Low Variance Poker of which the following comes from.
Poker is a game that often rewards poor play and punishes correct play. It seems to follow that the higher the variance, the more likely poor play will be masked and correct play will look foolish. [sic] if you reduced the variance, perhaps you can produce better overall results by producing a more skilled player. If you change the focus from BB/100 to attaining mastery, you change many of the fundamental obstacles to becoming a long-term winning player
My plan for breaking through at Bodog is to take a day off from there and when I do go back on Thursday or Friday, to play very, very tight and try to break through to a winning session.
I found another excellent article on Variance at World Poker Tour Magazine, Living with variance…UPS & DOWNS OF POKER.
The following are some excerpts from the article.
Variance is a part of the game, you need to prepare for and adapt to it. It’s a two-pronged attack – part practical and part psychological. The practical part is recognizing that downswings happen and applying sensible bankroll management so that, should one hit, it has only a minimal chance of causing you serious problems. The psychological part is mentally preparing yourself for downswings and, when they happen, ensuring that you continue to play your best game.
The ability to rise above the bad beats, the downswings and the unplanned tournament exits is something that doesn’t come easily to anyone. Just take a look at Phil Hellmuth’s temper tantrums or Mike Matusow’s blow-ups. Yet how you cope with variance in many ways defines you as a player.
Playing your best game when you are winning is comparatively easy. It’s far harder to stay focused when you’re experiencing what seems like the worst luck imaginable.
What you need to do at all costs is avoid going on tilt. This isn’t as easy as it sounds, because tilt doesn’t just mean the wild reckless play that usually comes to mind when we mention the word.
Ultimately, you just need to keep plugging away. There’s nothing you can do to pull yourself out of a downswing except to keep playing good poker, so do whatever you can to facilitate that. Drop down a limit, play at a different site or casino, maybe take a break from poker altogether, whatever it takes. Eventually there will come a time when you can look back on the downswing and put it in its proper perspective.
1 Take a day or two off from the tables and re-read sections of my Poker Books that most directly deals with how I am playing at that time.
2. tighten up and play only the very best hands in an attempt to break the cycle of downswing.
3. Drop down in Limit
4. Play low buy in SitNgo and donkey it up as much as I can as a form of stress relief. I usually play a couple of .60 cent SitNGos at Absolute because everyone can afford to lose $1.20 and, you never know, sometimes you finish in the money and that helps break the cycle, too.
I, also, found this interesting post by Bill Rini at High Variance Poker vs. Low Variance Poker of which the following comes from.
Poker is a game that often rewards poor play and punishes correct play. It seems to follow that the higher the variance, the more likely poor play will be masked and correct play will look foolish. [sic] if you reduced the variance, perhaps you can produce better overall results by producing a more skilled player. If you change the focus from BB/100 to attaining mastery, you change many of the fundamental obstacles to becoming a long-term winning player
My plan for breaking through at Bodog is to take a day off from there and when I do go back on Thursday or Friday, to play very, very tight and try to break through to a winning session.
I found another excellent article on Variance at World Poker Tour Magazine, Living with variance…UPS & DOWNS OF POKER.
The following are some excerpts from the article.
Variance is a part of the game, you need to prepare for and adapt to it. It’s a two-pronged attack – part practical and part psychological. The practical part is recognizing that downswings happen and applying sensible bankroll management so that, should one hit, it has only a minimal chance of causing you serious problems. The psychological part is mentally preparing yourself for downswings and, when they happen, ensuring that you continue to play your best game.
The ability to rise above the bad beats, the downswings and the unplanned tournament exits is something that doesn’t come easily to anyone. Just take a look at Phil Hellmuth’s temper tantrums or Mike Matusow’s blow-ups. Yet how you cope with variance in many ways defines you as a player.
Playing your best game when you are winning is comparatively easy. It’s far harder to stay focused when you’re experiencing what seems like the worst luck imaginable.
What you need to do at all costs is avoid going on tilt. This isn’t as easy as it sounds, because tilt doesn’t just mean the wild reckless play that usually comes to mind when we mention the word.
Ultimately, you just need to keep plugging away. There’s nothing you can do to pull yourself out of a downswing except to keep playing good poker, so do whatever you can to facilitate that. Drop down a limit, play at a different site or casino, maybe take a break from poker altogether, whatever it takes. Eventually there will come a time when you can look back on the downswing and put it in its proper perspective.
posted by Wolverine Fan | Wednesday, December 06, 2006
1 Comments:
Its nice to see someone dealing with variance in an intelligent way. All to often players (myself included) will throw a pity party for themselves.
I like the idea of dropping limits or playing some micro SNGs, but I don't necessarily like the idea of playing tighter. In my experience, when you make a conscious effort to play tighter, you are playing scared. You miss opportunities, or players have a good idea of hwat you are holding, or you allow people to suckout by not betting high enough. This can only prolong that feeling of variance and really is a form of tilt.
Just focus each day on making correct decisions. If/when lady luck gives you the old kick in the sack, accept it as part of the game and play it off as though it means nothing to you. I sometimes think, "Wow, that was some bad luck on that hand. I'm glad I got that out of the way."
Good luck.
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