It’s Time to Seriously Examine the State of Your Play

by John Wenzel 

Every year about this time, some poor ink-stained wretch on deadline will write a column about his or her “New Year’s Resolutions” or “goals for the coming 12 months.” The piece is always lame and is nothing more than a pitiful attempt to hide the fact that the writer has plain and simple run out of ideas, or would rather just blow off the article and go play poker or head to a holiday party. It’s pathetic!

So without further ado, here are a few New Year’s Resolutions for denizens of the poker world.

1. Don’t type anything into an Internet chatbox about another player that you would not say to his/her face.

2. Don’t call other players “bad” unless you have been a successful winning player for, say, at least ten years. Even after ten years, don’t call other players “bad.”

3. Don’t call yourself a pro player if you still go on tilt.

4. If you regularly risk 10 percent or more of your bankroll in one session or tournament, you are not a serious player, you are either a very recreational player or an idiot about to go broke. A real pro would not risk more than 3 percent in any one session.

5. If you are serious about improving, attend a poker boot camp this year.

6. On January 1, establish a separate bankroll just for poker, away from all other necessary daily expenses. Use this money only for poker and keep a careful log of your wins and losses, along with details about them (game, opponents, location, time of day, length of session, etc.). The separate bankroll will take pressure off you, as well as allow you to be honest with yourself when you examine your bankroll and make New Year’s Resolutions 12 months from now.

7. Most of all, don’t make the mistake that I feel 90 percent of poker players at all levels make: Overrating your skills. If there has been one thing more than any other that has made me money over the years, it is playing against players who think they are better than they are.

Well, that’s it. This is as good a time as any for all of us to sit down and take stock and do some serious thinking about the state of our play. Now if you will excuse me, I have a party to go to, and then I think I’ll play a little poker.