Profits vs. Affection
We all want to be liked, but some players dislike winners, even if they are pleasant people. They take other people’s money, hurting both their wallets and their egos. Winners accept being disliked as part of the price of success, but some losers deliberately trade money for affection. For example, they don’t bet when they have the nuts, or they show a winning hand without their bet being called. These actions may make them more popular, but they obviously reduce their profits.
Indicate where you stand on this trade-off by circling the appropriate number:
Profits vs. Being Deceptive and Exploitative
This trade-off is closely related to the previous one, and it makes some people extremely uncomfortable. Winners constantly deceive opponents, and they exploit every advantage. Many winners will do whatever the rules allow, while many losers are restrained by their scruples or fear of being disliked. For example, they may be so uncomfortable that they don’t bluff often enough, or they may refuse to take advantage of a beginner, drunk, or tilted player. They’ll certainly win less than equally skilled, but more deceptive or ruthless players.
Indicate where you stand on this trade-off by circling the appropriate number:
Profits vs. Ego Building
Winners forego ego building to increase their profits. They don’t try to prove anything, assess their strengths and weakness honestly, select soft games, attack the weakest players, and avoid the toughest ones.
Many losers do exactly the opposite. They sacrifice profits to build their egos. They may take reckless chances to prove they are macho gamblers, criticize weak players, challenge tough ones, and brag about their brilliant plays. These actions may make them feel good, but cost them lots of money.
They also refuse to assess their abilities honestly. They don’t want to know why they lose. Instead, they just complain about bad luck to protect their egos. If you doubt me, just ask yourself one question: “Why do you hear so many bad beat stories?” People tell them all the time—even though they give away valuable information—to protect their egos by blaming losses on bad luck.
Indicate where you stand on this trade-off by circling the appropriate number:
Winners’ Laws
This chapter has six Winners’ Laws, and the first one is the most important and unpleasant.
1. Accept that trade-offs are unavoidable.
Professor Friedman won the Nobel Prize because he understood and accepted reality. He preached that we must realistically analyze both costs and benefits because we can’t avoid trade-offs. He insisted that refusing to make trade-offs and demanding everything is disastrous.
2. Accept that you can’t satisfy all your motives.
You must also accept this corollary, you must sacrifice some desires to satisfy others. If you don’t plan your trade-offs, they’ll be made for you, and they probably won’t fit your priorities.
3. Understand your own motives and priorities.
Since you have to pay for everything you get, you must understand the importance of various motives and the amount you will pay to satisfy each one.
4. Learn which trade-offs each game or strategy requires.
Since each game or strategy requires somewhat different trade-offs, you have to learn what they are and then relate them to your own priorities. You can win more money in a higher-stakes game, but the risks are much greater. You can make larger immediate profits by playing against only weak players, but you’ll be frustrated by bad beats and you won’t develop the skills you need to move up and increase your long-term profits.
If you play very tightly, you will have low variance, but win less money. If you become more aggressive in tournaments, you will cash less often, but have a better chance to take first place.
5. Don’t kid yourself.
Because various motives are not clearly defined and they conflict and overlap with each other, you can easily rationalize. Instead of admitting your real reasons for doing certain things, you may give good, but false, reasons.
For example, you may play above your skill level and bankroll to get the kicks of taking foolish risks and challenging tougher players, but not admit it. Instead, you may claim that you’re doing it to develop your skills so that you can increase your long-term profits. You may even be partially right. Most actions are taken for many motives, not just one. So take a hard look at your decisions and ask yourself, Why did I do that?
6. Make the trade-offs that fit your priorities.
Pick the situations and strategies that are most likely to satisfy your most important motives. These motives are closely related to your personal definition of “winning,” which I will discuss momentarily.
For example, if you’re a multimillionaire, want status and fame, and don’t really care about your profits, the tournament trail may be ideal. Conversely, if you’re supporting a family and want a normal family life, don’t even think about the tournament circuit.
Or let’s say that you have an adequate but not huge bankroll and have a strong need to maximize your current income. However, you also want to develop your game so that you can move up and make more money. If you choose larger, tougher games, the risks may be too high. If you play only in weak games, you won’t develop the skills you need to move up someday. You can balance these motives by:
• Selecting games with a mixture of weak and tough players.
• Avoiding the tough players most of the time.
• Studying the tough players.
• Challenging them only when the cards and position favor you.
This sort of complicated compromise can be made only when you thoroughly understand your own motives and objectively appraise both your own and your opponents’ abilities. If you aren’t objective, you’ll almost certainly make bad trade-offs.
How Do You Rate?
This chapter has asked many questions in unusual ways. You have rated your motives by assigning percentages to them and circling numbers. It’s time to see what all this information means.
Look at the overall pattern, especially inconsistencies between the distribution of percentage points, your trade-off ratings, and—most importantly—your actions when you play poker. For example, you may have assigned a higher percentage to “make money” than to “fame and status” but frequently pass up juicy cash games to play in tough tournaments.
If you see an inconsistency, something is wrong. A certain motive seems to be more or less important than you originally thought. So re-assess your motives.
Your Personal Definition of “Winning”
Your belief about whether you are a winner or loser depends ultimately upon your definition of winning. If you do not clearly understand that definition, you will probably do things that take you in the wrong direction. For example, if you really want to become a top player, you must challenge tough players and tough games even if you drastically reduce your immediate income. Conversely, if you care only about grinding out the maximum immediate income, you should never challenge tough players and games.
Write your answers to the critical questions:
• What is my personal definition of winning?