Poker is a long-range game. Almost all players I know attach too much importance to their recent results. This often leads to them changing their strategy incorrectly, which can cost them dearly. And this happens because they do not understand or do not know what variance is in poker.
Those who have won a lot lately come to the conclusion (sometimes falsely) that they can outplay anyone. Then they increase the number of hands they enter the pot and start participating in too many pots. It ends with at least a decrease in income, and in the worst case - losses.
Those who have lost a lot in recent times are looking for changes in strategy that are often either too aggressive or too passive. They become convinced that their previous game needs to be corrected, and they correct it. Sometimes these changes are completely wrong, but people want to do something.
How else can short-term results affect your game? - When you start copying another player's style that shows victorious results. And along with the style, you copy all the strange tricks that this player uses. Sometimes these techniques can be correct. But what if you started copying the style of the person who just flooded?
Quite often it happens that a new player appears who immediately starts winning big, despite the fact that he seems to violate the basic concepts of poker. I remember one such terrorist with whom I often played in the early 90's. People told me that this is one of the best players in town and he is a cut above the rest. Well, I still see him a lot now, as he now works as a dealer in one of my favorite poker clubs.
A lot depends on happiness in poker! But only for a short distance! Shortly. If there are many players, then you can always find one who has unusually high performance. I'll say more: their streaks of luck can last much longer than it seems possible.
I don't want to point the finger, I personally know one Las Vegas player who has had a great positive balance throughout the year. By my estimates, he plays almost 50% of all his hands, and every time he uses non-standard moves. At times he looks like a genius, with all his tricks. His hand is especially difficult to read. Others say that his success is based on the fact that he is very strong "psychologically". The truth is, being mentally strong is very easy when you're lucky.
As I said, I have seen this many times. Maybe it will take time, but his streak will definitely end. Changes in happiness can lead to psychological breakdown. A person can break down when he begins a streak of the same incredible bad luck.
It should be remembered that a loose and aggressive game can cause you to lose even faster than past wins. When this happens, this “psychologically strong” player usually breaks down and tries to regain his happiness, often not understanding how to play poker correctly.
One of the reasons for not doing too many tricky moves is that often technically correct play can seem strange and confusing to poorly understood opponents. For example, if you have eight or nine suited in the small blind and are raised from the button, then reraising is correct against most players. This is because your hand is too good to fold against a possible attempt to steal the blinds, and you want to get a bet from the big blind.
However, when you play this way and show your hand at the end, most typical players will think that you like non-standard moves and are not always straightforward. Note that this has the same effect if you take the same eight-nine suited and re-raise to a player who has raised from position 1 and is likely to have a strong hand.
Author: Mason Malmuth
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