Jul 15 2008
Money Management-The Difference Between the Ams and the Pros
Alright. I’m not going to get into a lot of detail, as much as I’m going to justify the posts I plan on following this one. Money management really is the big differential between professional gamblers and recreational gamblers. People think it’s knowledge of the games, and to a certain extent it is. But, the biggest knowledge that the pros have of the game is that the odds are always slightly against you (unless you’re counting cards or cheating). Poker players have a little more light at the end of their tunnel, but they also understand that you never know who you’re playing against or what their skill level is.
That being said, professional gamblers control the one thing that is not luck. The choices they make about their money. Some key points I’ll discuss in following posts: appropriate bankroll; how to decide what to bet; understanding and using table limits; when to cut losses; when to quit while you’re ahead. All of these are important factors to people who actually make money gambling.
And, as a final note, nothing I say in the following posts is meant to judge you or tell you that the way a winning player should manage their money is the way you should manage your money. In fact, it’s not the way I manage my money when I play. If you’re a recreational player, you should be more concerned about having a good time. That means sometimes rolling the dice with less of a bankroll than you “should” have. It means sometimes continuing to play when you should quit, especially if you sit down at the start of a short hot or cold streak.
So, look foward to posts on this topic, and know that I plan on being a little hypocritical.
