Thursday, November 30, 2006
Just pick a seat already!
They say that one of the most important decisions that you can make as a poker player is where you decide to take a seat. I agree. This decision may be more important than what game you play, limit vs. no limit, the stakes, whether you play a loose/aggressive style or a tight/aggressive style, whether you smooth call an early position raise with AQo, or any other intra-game strategic decisions.
The other night I was faced with a dilemma. I had the choice of 2 games. The first game was 5 minutes from my house, the players (as a group) were fairly weak, action was very live (people would peel off $100s to rebuy like I peel off $20s), and the game should last for about 10 hours. Perfect. On the downside, I don’t know any of the players at this game, and beside the potential to win some money, I didn’t see myself having all that much fun.
The second game was 40 minutes away, the players (as a group) were much stronger, the action would be OK (but nothing compared to the game listed above). On the upside, it should be a lot more fun. I know, and am friends with several of the players at this game, so even if I loose some money, I’ll no doubt enjoy myself more.
So the decision really boils down to a fundamental question. “Do I play poker with a primary objective to win money (and a secondary objective to have fun)? Or do I play poker with a primary objective to have fun (and a secondary objective to win money)?” (By the way, winning money is almost always fun, right?)
The answer to this question should guide decisions like the one listed above. For the true poker player, who measures his/her success by counting the $s won, the decision is easy – play the game with the highest monetary expectations – game #1. For the recreational player, who has several intermixed objectives (Did I have fun? Did I win money? Did I learn something new? etc…), the decision is more difficult. For the recreational player, the decision is based on which game provides for the highest combined expectation of these various factors – game #2.
I chose game #2. I guess that means I’m not a “hard core” poker player. OK.
