Limit Your Downside Risk

Poker is a life-long game. The true final score of your poker game is not decided until after you have completed the final hand you play in your life and can tally all of your winnings and losses. However, poker is played and tracked session by session. You can limit your downside losses in a session without limiting your possible upside gains. There are a several reasons to do this. Limiting your downside losses can help with each of the following:

Prevent you from going broke

For example, some players make it a rule to quit when they get down $100 during a session. Setting a reasonable downside limit with respect to your bankroll will keep winning players from ever going bust. NOTE, I said winning players. If you are not a winning player, please check-out our guide, Texas Help 'Em, an online players guide to winning at low-limit Texas Hold Em.

Prevent you from going on TILT

The likelihood of going on TILT increases for most players during their bigger losing sessions. Going on TILT, much more often than not further increases the players rate of loss. It is during these losing sessions when that little devil that sits on all of our shoulders pops up and starts yelling at us how the 95 of diamonds we are currently holding is going to get us back to even. Ignore him and lay it down no matter how much he tells you "but its suited"!

Prevent you from playing at a tough table

Although over your poker life you will lose at many weak tables, probability implies that you are more likely to lose at a tough table. Capping your downside losses will get you away from many of these tougher tables and allow you to spend some time with your family and friends away from the computer. Yes, my girlfriend likes this rule, well, sometimes! Prevent you from playing when your table image is weak This is a less publicized argument and more subtle, but I believe it to be an extremely powerful concept. I believe poker sessions are subject to the snowball effect. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Winning players have been showing down good hands to get there. They are now much more likely to be able to take down pots simply by betting and inducing everyone else to fold. This is called running over the table and is extremely profitable in limit Hold 'Em where often no one catches a strong hand.

The exact opposite occurs for a losing player at the same table. Although the presence of a weak table image may increase their payoff when they hit a hand, it will prevent them from getting people to fold in the majority of hands. Since they will have many more vulnerable hands than strong hands, playing with a weak table image will be detrimental to their win rate. Capping your downside loss will assist you in leaving tables where you possess a weak table image.

For a further discussion on table selection and player tracking as well as additional keys to becoming a consistent winner at online low-limit Texas Hold Em, please examine my website at www.texashelpem.com.