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It’s not a sexy subject, but we all know how vital bankroll
management is to your poker
career. A great way to help
out with managing your roll is
to keep records of your play.
Accurate records not only help you keep track of how you’re
doing, they also allow you to
analyze your game and keep you
honest with yourself. We all
like to believe that we’re
winning players, but that’s
not always the case.
Here are a few key categories/stats to keep track of every time
you play:
·
Overall bankroll (so you never play over your head in games that
are too big)
·
How long you played
·
What game/limit you played
·
How much you made (how many big blinds or big bets won per hour)
Keeping records of these basic elements really helps put your
game in perspective.
Personally, I like to dive in
even deeper, so I keep track
of my emotions as I play. How
you feel when you play and
what frame of mind you’re in
are vital to the outcome of
your session – don’t
ignore these factors.
Keep track of things like when you get tired and how long into a
session you are when you start
to get tired. When you play
bad or below your standards
and make mistakes with your
play, note when they happened
and what factors contributed
to these mistakes. Whether you
admit it or not, poker is a
game of emotion; it literally
pays to keep track of yours
– and hopefully keep them in
check.
Keep these records on a daily basis and go back through them each
month to analyze your play. Be
honest with yourself about
what you see. You’re looking
for patterns: I lost again
while playing this game at
this limit for this many
hours; I lost again when I
played for an hour too long or
I won more than normal when I
played a shorter session.
If you notice a pattern and see that you’re losing at one
particular game or limit, ask
yourself: “What am I doing
wrong here?” The truth hurts
sometimes, but don’t let
your ego get in the way of
becoming a winning player.
When the records show that
you’re not doing well,
it’s time to move down to a
lower limit, reassess your
game and start over again.
Seeing these records laid out in front of you allows you to be honest
about yourself as a poker
player. The numbers never lie,
and that’s why it’s so
important to keep accurate
records of your play. |
