Basic Poker Strategy-Scared Money
November 26, 2007 - Chris Welsh
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Are you playing with scared money? The term doesn't refer to the state of mind of your cash, but rather the effect your cash- or lack thereof- has on your state of mind, and your ability to win. Read on to learn how to avoid playing with scared money and improve your game with this basic poker strategy tip.
When a poker player is said to be playing with scared money, it means that he or she is, essentially, playing with too small a bankroll at their current stakes. The bankroll is too small because the player is afraid of what will happen if they lose what they are playing with, which means that he or she is preoccupied and not playing their best. Scared money means scared poker, and that is about the worst way to play the game.
If your bankroll is too small to handle the swings of the game you are in, then you are going to be playing scared. If you hit a low on the swing, regardless of how well you are playing, you could tap out all your cash if your bankroll is too small. Then what? You can't build the roll back up, because you have nothing to play with. So you play the game guardedly, don't take the chances that the odds dictate you should take, and wind up losing it all anyway.
So how do you avoid it? Manage your bankroll properly. There are a lot of formulas out there about how much $ you need to play certain stakes. The most common is 300 times the big blind. So if you are playing in a fixed limit $1/$2 game, you need $600 to absorb enough losses, so that your good poker play can recover and profit in the end. The exact amount will depend on your playing style (tight player? You need less money because you will be risking less, and the reverse is true). When it comes to no limit, be ready to have as much as 500 to 1,000 times the big blind.
Playing scared poker is like a self fulfilling prophecy- you are worried that you will go bust, your worry makes you play poorly, and because of that you go bust. Manage your bankroll properly to avoid playing with scared money.
(Editor's Note: Sign up with Paddy Power Poker and check out their poker tips online)
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