In the beginning there was the limeade and I thought life was pretty good. Then came Sonic's diet limeade and I thought I'd reached nirvana with 'unlimited access' and no sugar blues. But now, my friends, my life is complete. I need nothing more. Enter the Sonic Low Calorie Diet Cherry Limeade. Bliss. Utter bliss.
I'm going to stop playing poker on the weekends. Without even looking at Poker Tracker stats, I know my worst sessions are from Friday through Sundays in general. Yesterday and today were mediocre to bad with a string of cold cards, steady bleeds and out-plays mixed in with a few bad beats resulting in a downward dip in the bankroll. In one session I was called a derogatory name (denoting a profession mostly engaged in by women) when I caught and ace on the river to go with the two aces in my hand after going all-in and the guy calling with trash. In another session, a fellah was rudely insulting another guy who cracked his 'power-house' hand with a lucky flush - they both were all-in. I told him he was rude and he told me to go to hell. Sigh.
I was on the highway Friday night, on my way with co-workers to a graduation ceremony, and I was thinking that managing one's bankroll is like driving on the highway. Bear with me - it's not a crazy notion. I am a defensive driver in that I don't tailgate and I hate driving on the highway in 'packs' - those groups of vehicles on each other's tails. I follow the '2 Mississippi' rule and will slow down or speed up accordingly in order to maintain my 'cushion of safety.'
It's a less stressful way of driving in that if you are constantly on someone's tail, then you are hovering on the brake, scouting for a hole to get around them, and most likely boxed in by other vehicles around you - and probably getting steamed at all those idjuts in your way. If someone hits their brakes in front of you, then you are risking life and limb to stop in time and avoid a crash. Maintaining a healthy distance between you and the other cars on the road allows you to relax and enjoy the drive. If there's trouble up ahead, you have plenty of time to stop and avoid danger.
Playing limits in poker which are not suitable for your bankroll is like tailgating and driving in packs. You have to be constantly alert and riding the brake to avoid a crash beacause the stopping distance is too short. And if you have a bad session you're probably going to get steamed at the idjut who just took your stack and then not have enough to come back and squish him to mush. With the proper bankroll, you have more room to maneuver - speed up, slow down and enough room to stop safely if you need to brake hard - you may skid and go off the road, but you'll avoid the crash and be able to get back on the road when the traffic clears.
I've experienced this firsthand in the past couple of weeks. My bankroll has finally reached a stage which is proper for the limits I typically play. It's allowed me to reload without a second thought if I lose an all-in hand, or to press an advantage with the right amount of aggressiveness. I've also been able to stay at a session longer, giving me the time to recover losses and end it on the plus side. With a short bankroll, I was not free to do that - I concentrated mostly on protecting the bankroll at all costs. This was a very conscious choice, though, in order to build the bankroll. Since November, I've been determined not to drop another dime of my money into the bankroll - it was to be built solely by winning pots.
It's still vital to protect the bankroll. I mostly resist playing limits not suited for it - but not entirely. I do occasionally step up to sharpen my senses, so to speak. The last time I did that was the $3/6 session earlier this month which was responsible for over $200 being added to the bankroll - so go figure. But it's critical to know when to slow down or stop - and with a healthy bankroll and the proper limits, it's just easier to do that. You can withstand the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune and have the wherewithal to make an heroic comeback.
So, fasten your seatbelt at all times and, when on the highway (or at the poker table), remember:
A vehicle cannot stop on a dime. That is why the two-second following rule is so important. If you can maintain a proper distance with the lead vehicle, you can properly stop safely before hitting it. In an ideal situation, perception of a stopping situation is about one second and reaction to that situation is an additional three-fourths of a second. Again this is for an ideal situation, the variable for this situation is weather, speed, road conditions, fatigue, alcohol or drug use. The faster the speed, the harder is to stop.
