Poker Rule One

Apologies if this post seems a bit preachy - it's aimed as much at me as at anyone else.

The first rule of any game involving money is simple:

Never bet more than you can afford to lose

Usually I prefer "guidelines" to "rules", but for me that is a cast-iron rule. In fact I like to go further and say:

Never bet more than you can comfortably afford to lose

Anything can become addictive, especially if - like me - you have a slightly obsessive personality. Poker is especially dangerous because of its alluring combination of luck and skill, risk and reward.

Even if you think you're on to a "sure thing", don't risk what you can't afford to lose. If you keep betting on 99% certainties then you will lose one day.

What about holding the nuts, is it safe to risk excessive loss then? It might be if you're a person who never, ever gets anything wrong. In the heat of the moment we can overlook things and in our desire to win can see what we want to see. More than once I've been surprised by a hand I simply didn't see coming.

It's not just money either. Even if you control your financial losses, there are other potential costs. If you're coming home from work and playing poker until 3AM, will you be any good at your job the next day? Will you even be fit to drive safely? If you're spending all your free hours at the online poker tables, what will happen to your relationships and your social life? If you stop going to the gym and live on pizza, what will happen to your health?

Poker is a game of control and the most important thing to control is yourself.

Labels: general, poker