Poker Strategy and Psychology - Increasing Your Tournament Buy-In Amount
One of the most common mistakes I still make in online poker happens before the game actually begins! When deciding which online poker tournaments to play, I sometimes increase my normal buy-in stake too much.
Normally I play tournaments within my own strictly defined buy-in levels. In my case, usually in the range of $5 to $10 plus the poker room fee. This gives me plenty of choice from single table Sit and Gos (SNG) through to some big Multi-Table Tournaments (MTT) which can carry big prize money.
This is fine and works well for me. But whenever I hit a good run of form and make some money, I'm too easily tempted to forget about my normal $10 buy-in rule. I get excited and buy-in at $20, $30 even $50 tournaments. What usually happens is that my winning streak deserts me and my poker bankroll reduces fast!
Psychologically I'm not sure why this is. Is it because my game isn't good enough for these buy-in levels? Maybe, but I think a more probable reason is that mentally I'm not comfortable losing that bigger buy-in amount. Consequently, my normal game changes and I play too tight, playing with 'scared money'.
It can be frustrating not being able to make the step up to a higher buy-in level. Perhaps the solution for me is to continue playing successfully at my existing level. This will build up my bankroll to a level where I can comfortably afford several tournament entries at the next level. This means mentally I can relax a little and maybe not play too tight.
Experience has taught me that I play some of my best poker when I actually don't worry about losing. How about you?
Good luck at the tables!
Mark
One of the most common mistakes I still make in online poker happens before the game actually begins! When deciding which online poker tournaments to play, I sometimes increase my normal buy-in stake too much.
Normally I play tournaments within my own strictly defined buy-in levels. In my case, usually in the range of $5 to $10 plus the poker room fee. This gives me plenty of choice from single table Sit and Gos (SNG) through to some big Multi-Table Tournaments (MTT) which can carry big prize money.
This is fine and works well for me. But whenever I hit a good run of form and make some money, I'm too easily tempted to forget about my normal $10 buy-in rule. I get excited and buy-in at $20, $30 even $50 tournaments. What usually happens is that my winning streak deserts me and my poker bankroll reduces fast!
Psychologically I'm not sure why this is. Is it because my game isn't good enough for these buy-in levels? Maybe, but I think a more probable reason is that mentally I'm not comfortable losing that bigger buy-in amount. Consequently, my normal game changes and I play too tight, playing with 'scared money'.
It can be frustrating not being able to make the step up to a higher buy-in level. Perhaps the solution for me is to continue playing successfully at my existing level. This will build up my bankroll to a level where I can comfortably afford several tournament entries at the next level. This means mentally I can relax a little and maybe not play too tight.
Experience has taught me that I play some of my best poker when I actually don't worry about losing. How about you?
Good luck at the tables!
Mark
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