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For a long time I had a problem with my poker game. My problem was that when my chip stack got low, I would begin to push – or in other words, I would make stupid decisions because I was trying too hard to win a pot. This was ignorant of me, and it was costing me money.
Here's an example of what was happening. Let's say I was playing 2/4 hold'em. I would buy-in for $100, and take a few bad beats and/or not hit my draws. Eventually, as my chip stack got shorter, I would push more and more. By the time I was down to $20 - $30 or so, I was making really dumb decisions, such as playing highly questionable hands, or calling raises and praying for a miracle. In short, I was letting my chip stack affect my poker playing style to my detriment.
Part of the reason that I let my play quality deteriorate so much when my chip stack got low is that I would begin to feel like with only $20 left, it was a lost cause – I would think to myself that there was no way I could get even, so I should just gamble. I was wrong.
No, it's not exactly easy to get even when you lose 80% of your money, but what I eventually realized is that if I still had 20% of my chips left, I still had a chance. As long as you have chips in front of you, you should play your best game. I now play my best game, even when I only have less than 30% of my chips left. Guess what? I tend to “come back from the dead” a lot more now than I ever did when I would gamble. Don't get discouraged when your stack gets short. Catch yourself.
Of course, it's okay to let your chip stack size influence your game a little, especially in No Limit, but you can't get down to 20% of your buy-in and play so stupid that you're just throwing your money away.
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