POKER ROOM REVIEW ARTICLE

Dealing With Burnout Part 2: Making Drastic Changes

But what if the problem has festered and you have gotten to the point where you just hate to play? Forcing yourself to sit down at the tables may not be a strategy that will work, so it’s time to consider major poker surgery..

I’ve done it, so rather than providing a survey of the literature, I’ll just describe what I did to change my game..

Typically, a drastic change takes one of two forms: .

An extended break from the game or changing the game you play. .

By extended break, I don’t mean taking a few days off. .

That’s a common way to deal with a losing streak, especially when part of the reason you’re losing may be that you’re simply exhausted..

We’re not talking about recharging your batteries here… .

we’re talking about getting away for at least a couple of weeks to give yourself time to restore your former love of the game..

If you have the bankroll for it (or you have another source of income), don’t be afraid to take a month off, or more..

Take as long as you need, but remember that you’ll have to commit to working on your game at some point. Picking up where you left off won’t help..

I recommend that you set a schedule for your return at the start of your hiatus. For example, I’ll pick 2 weeks as the intended break. Escape from the game completely for the first week. No poker playing, reading, watching, or thinking (expect to have trouble with the thinking part).

Then use the second week to ease yourself back into the game.

Pick a poker book that covers fundamentals out of your collection and start rereading it..

My favorite for this kind of thing is The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky, but just grab any book that you remember helped you back in the day when your play was improving. Another helpful re-introductory technique is to open up a table or two (if you play online) or go to the card room and railbird for a while.

Watch the games and wait for that magical moment when you say to yourself, “I can beat these guys.”.

At this point, there should still be some days remaining until your “poker timeout” expires. Resist the urge to jump back in; let your vacation run its course. Finish reading your book instead. .

When you started your vacation, you were losing or breaking even, and right now, you’re doing no worse, but at least you’re working on your game. Keep the positive energy high, and remember it isn’t a bad thing if you’re anxious to start over. .

It’s exactly what we hoped would happen..

I’ve taken breaks, and cut them short, and felt that I didn’t gain the full benefit. I’ve also stayed the course and have come back to the tables full of energy and desire…and I think it’s a better outcome.

Yet there are times when taking a break just isn’t enough.

Let’s review your situation. You’re losing money or breaking even over an extended period of, let’s say, at least 10,000 hands. And you’re having no fun at all to compensate for the lack of profit.

And finally, if you’re being honest with yourself, you may feel that this won’t change because you’ve come to hate the game.

You have come to a “Y” in the road, and it’s time to make a hard decision.

Quitting is valid, and if you feel like that’s for you, then I wish you the best. But why not consider learning to beat a new game? That’s what I did, and here’s how I did it.

I’m going to describe a winning strategy, so feel free to copy it.

I played limit Hold’em professionally for over 3 years. Earlier this year I went through a 20,000 hand breakeven streak. I still made money, but my income was below normal.

For me, it was a watershed moment. I decided that I’d rather not rebuild my limit game. I could have, of course, because I firmly believe that streaks like this are a result of game conditions changing faster than a player adjusts.

You fix it by taking a step back, realizing what’s happening, and learning to adjust.

But I was just sick and tired of limit Hold’em. There are 4 games that are popular enough to support a professional’s needs: Limit Hold’em, No Limit Hold’em, one of the Omaha variants, and Stud.

I’ve played them all and picked NL Hold’em (cash games, not tournaments) on which to concentrate. I had no particular reason other than I saw the current boom in NL poker as an opportunity to play against the newest players.

Stud is my favorite game to play for enjoyment, so it was last on my list. I didn’t want to ruin it for myself in case things didn’t work out as planned. I’ll get to it, eventually.

The first thing I did was take one of those breaks away from the tables, but I didn’t do it as a vacation. Rather than getting away from my old game, I started learning about my new game.

This is as good a place as any to mention that the skill sets needed to beat any of these games are quite different. You must consider them completely new games. A lot of limit Hold’em players get killed when they try to play NL, because it’s easy to make the assumption that simple adjustments are all that’s required..

My no limit knowledge isn’t deep, but at least I know how wrong that thinking is.

There really isn’t much literature available to the new NL player compared to the shelf-sagging collection that’s out there for the fixed limit game.

And while I don’t want to turn this article into a book review, here is a list of titles that will definitely help you along. I personally consider all of these required reading, and recommend them in the order listed.

I humbly suggest not stepping out of the kiddie pool until you’ve gotten pretty far down the list.

 
Getting Started in Hold’em (Miller) has a valuable introduction to NL.

The Theory of Poker (Sklansky) will help you think correctly on a conceptual level.

The Little Green Book (Gordon) is a great primer for both cash and tournament play.

Pot Limit and No Limit Poker (Ciaffone and Reuben) tackles concepts that will be important as you gain experience. Read the whole book, not just the NL Hold’em part.

Harrington on Hold’em Vol. 1(Harrington and Robertie) is an excellent tournament book and fits into this list because V1 covers early tourney stages which are very similar to cash games.

Super System 2 (Brunson) has a great section on NL but he’s way too aggressive for me. I haven’t decided whether or not that’s a flaw in my game. Read it anyway if you love poker.

There are a number of books that aren’t on this list, some of them written by WSOP champions. If you have time, by all means read them. You’ll be sure to learn something, but please notice that the books on the list above cover most of the relevant material, and were written by people who can teach as well as play.

Read at least the first 3 before you start playing. Don’t be in a hurry to spend your tuition money, which is what you should consider any losses you suffer when you start out playing your new game.

By the time you get back from the bookstore and crack a couple of those books, I’ll have Part 3 ready.

I’ll describe the method I used to go from no-knowledge beginner to profitable NL cash game player.

Part III Coming Soon...