No matter how good you are at poker, bad variance is a certainty. After all, poker does involve a fair element of chance, and there will be plenty of times where you make the correct play again and again, only to keep losing money. At times like these, you may question your poker skills, think about dropping down a limit, or even ponder quitting the game altogether.
Of course, there are certainly much better ways to deal with negative variance than any of the aforementioned thoughts, and here is a look at some things you should keep in mind when bad beats and poor luck arise.
Deal with Negative Variance Better than Opponents
The most obvious statement that could be made in this discussion is that every player struggles with bad variance at certain points in their poker career. That said, you can’t avoid it because there’s always times when the cards don’t go your way. However, you can actually gain a slight edge over opponents by handling negative variance better than them. The more you can keep your composure and avoid tilting, the more overall profit you stand to gain when everything is tallied up.
Shorten Playing Sessions
One strange dichotomy that arises in online poker involves people playing less poker when they run good, and more when they’re running terrible. The reason why is because players are more satisfied during the good times, and more determined to fix the “problem” when they’re not doing so hot. That said, you could be mixing -EV play in with negative variance by extending bad sessions even further. Assuming you play a lot of hands in a day, try backing off to see if this helps matters at all.
Don’t obsessively monitor Results
Poker is obviously a game where you need to check your results in order to improve. But obsessively monitoring your play is a sure recipe for disaster during negative variance periods. Now it’s not easy to avoid checking your bankroll early and often, but don’t get into the habit of measuring your playing ability on one or two weeks’ worth of play. Instead, set a 3-month or 6-month playing goal, and measure your success at the end of this period.
And, of course, continue learning poker strategy along the way no matter which way luck is going for you!
