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SUBTLE LOSSES OF JUDGMENT: PART II
In Part I we examined some factors that cause subtle damage to judgment in poker. I listed habitual play, subtle tilt, and misinformation as “enemies of sound judgment.” In addition, I touched briefly on some of the errors poker players make as a consequence of these factors. Now let’s look at these errors a bit more closely.
Typical Resulting Errors
1.Playing extra hands.
This is one of the easiest errors to fall prey to when your judgment is slightly impaired. There are a number of reasons for this. It is all too easy to rationalize playing substandard hands in holdem. You can tell yourself, “The very best players play some extra hands and, hey, I am really a good player. I probably should be playing these hands.” You can give too little credit to your opponents, thereby convincing yourself that they are so unskilled that you can play more hands against them. It is, of course, also easy to simply to give in to temptation with a slightly sub-marginal hand in the hope of turning around a downswing.(*The psychologist in me can’t help pointing out that this is really the hope of easing some distressing emotion. Adding to any of the above contributors to poor hand selection can be misinformation, or a simple lack of knowledge.
Even fairly good players often lack sufficient knowledge of hand selection to make correct decisions consistently in less routine situations. The result can be that errors which seem trivial preflop are compounded as you get into trouble on the later streets, or are made so frequently that their cost cuts significantly into your hourly rate.
2.Calling opponents down too much.
This is one of the most common effects of diminished judgment in poker play. It is a good example of the kind of play that can become habitual. We all enjoy picking off a bluff, but it is possible to get into a mode of too frequently thinking your opponents are trying to steal the pot from you. So you become something of a calling station whenever you have a hand like middle or bottom pair. How does this develop? In holdem the seed for its development is learning that often none of the players in a pot flops much. Having a period of repeated success at catching bluffers can then set the tendency in motion.
It may also result from subtle tilt. Frustrated, you put the desire to win pots ahead of the goal of playing well, and, so you begin to “call’em down, ” trying to win any pot you possibly can. Of course becomes a habitual caller will prove terribly costly. When you are playing with your best judgment you carefully pick your spots to call a player down with a weak hand. When your judgment has lapsed, you may do it more indiscriminately. For example, say you are in the big blind with: Two players call, as does the small blind. The flop is:
The small blind bets. He is a player who bluffs excessively when he’s stuck, but is currently not stuck, and is playing his “A” game. You raise. The other players fold. Now the small blind reraises. Given no further information, if you are a good player, playing with sound judgment, you will probably either fold now or take a card off and fold if faced with another bet if you haven’t improved. However, if your judgment has eroded, and you have developed the “call’em down ” syndrome, you may well go to the river. Perhaps with the rationalization, “Well, this guy really bluffs a lot sometimes. He may really
just be on a draw.” Then you will probably be shown a poker hand like or two pair.
When your judgment is sharp it is easy to see the folly of such habitual calling. But when you have left your better judgment behind such play never seems far wrong – at least while you are engaged in it. You know you are taking a risk, but you can justify (i.e., rationalize) it; and you know one thing is certain: You might win the pot.
On Tilt: Part II – The Professional Attitude / Subtle Losses of Judgment: Part I
Subtle Losses of Judgment: Part II / A Poker Player in Therapy