Looks Like the Wrong Wednesday to Give Up Poker

by Al Spath

• "I shouldn't even be playing; once a failure always a failure and it seems that I am a pure failure at everything."
• "Seems like every one I talk to has gone on a bad run in the past week. The more I learn the worse I play."
• "Never in my three years have I seen so many pocket pairs, sets, and beatings on the river like I have seen since January 1st."
• "I've also heard about a lot of other weird hands that others have told me about that EXTREMELY rarely happened before, that happens several times a day now."
• "So a check of the mechanics of the hands being dealt is a reasonable demand."
• "I see a definite pattern of "unlucky" breaks that always seem to occur when a player has success of some kind. I am not talking solely about one particular site but also online poker in general. The fact is it is in the best interest of the online poker room to have everyone win at times."

• "There is no "pity pot" time in poker. Poker is about skill and sometimes luck. You keep playing and learning and you will become more skillful and you will win more."
• "You're never a failure if you enjoy what your doing...you're only a failure if you give up and don't try."
• "A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits."
• "I've played at a couple of dozen real money sites, and the same thing gets said at them all. The same people probably lose their shirt playing the Martindale way at roulette too."
• "GET OVER IT!!!"

• The amount of hands dealt per hour online is a minimum of 3 times as many as in live play, and most players are multi-tabling and see up to 6 times the amount of hands per hour.
• Online pots are contested to the river at a much higher percentage than live, therefore more so called bad beats are revealed.
• More players see the flop online as opposed to live play and get "connected" to a hand and stay way too long vying for the comeback win.
• Players' online play in anonymity, shame or embarrassment is not a concern and they play too many hands in hopes of occasionally catching lightning in a bottle.
• Freeplay and low limit games (not available in most casinos) foster bad play and deliver players ill equipped to handle the real money world with its increased number of good players.
• It's easy to blame the RNG, the jinx of a cash-out transaction, or blame others for their inability to control their own bankroll losses, their emotions, and in some cases, even their gambling habit.

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About the Author

Al Spath is the "Dean" at PokerSchoolOnline, and has authored: the "Poker Journal." In addition to having one place for all your poker records you'll get advice and tips on reading hands, playing live, reading tells and so much more (www.alspath.com). Al's poker expertise coupled with his insight and ability to communicate effectively to both large and smaller sized audiences, make him an ideal speaker for any company, convention, college, or organizational group venue. Al co-hosts a monthly radio show with Konan Luce and Cowboy Kenna James (The Online Poker Insiders) - stored podcasts available at (http://www.pokerpages.com/poker-podcasts/)

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