Head Case/Terrible Bankroll Management

[MediaPA]

I do have a gambling problem, and it is something that surfaces when gambling is 'easy access.' When I drive to AC on occassion, I take 100 or 200 dollars, play 2/4 or some BJ and am perfectly content (go to have fun). However after a few days in Las Vegas, I went slightly on tilt losing my 800 BR and withdrawing another 1k and losing that. After today, I am going to take a long break from poker online.

I am playing online for the money but also for the rush of it online. I'd never sit in a $5k max buy in NL table in a casino. I'd twitch the whole time. There's no redeeming social qualities to the online game like in low limit B&M stuff.

From a business perspective, is it smart to do the things that I've done? Absolutely not. There is nothing worst then having early success at high limits because you get confident that the results are repeatable up there for one reason or another. It's sort of the whole Rounders mentality. If I catch a hand and get paid, I'm going to be even or better. Fortunately, I've yet to get caught on a big bluff or showdown the worst of it.

To answer what I've been doing to improve my game, I've been reading the posts on here for a while as well as RPG. I've recently started reading HEAP and TOP plus some other books. Do I have a plan for long term success? No, because my bankroll management skills/(desire to get even if I start to lose) are not where they should be. I'm always looking for the quickest way back to even. Drop 100 playing 1-2 NL, go play 5-10NL, lose there, go to 25-50NL. Pick up one big hand somewhere in that run and I'm even/up or broke.

So, I'm going to limit myself to freerolls once or twice a week. I can't continue to play online because as someone said, I'll eventually go broke and won't be able to get back. down 1200, 3000, 10000. 25000 seems the next level on my current progression. Everything in life has a pattern. I need to end this one while I'm up and my biggest concern is figuring out the taxes.

[Dan Mezick]

Good poker well played will be boring (ie, lacking emotional content). It's a job, like counting cards in blackjack to make money.

If you risk too much of your bankroll on any one session, you invite all kinds of problems. Most of these have to do with the emotions.

How many players reading this thread know for a fact what their ROR (risk of ruin) is?

It's a function of bankroll, losing-session frequency, and typical loss-size per session.

If you have $1000 and you are playing 5-10, you are playing to high, for example if:

When you lose, the typical loss you will experience at these stakes is $200; and

If it is very likely you will experience 5 losing sessions in a row. (not at all uncommon)

The higher you play relative to bankroll, the closer you are to actualizing RiskOfRuin. That kind of situation tends to replace a cool head with wide emotional swings in the average human being...

You have to ask yourself: does poker thrill you? If the answer is yes, it's time to seriously question what your poker motives actually are.

Remeber, the choice to play very close to your RiskOfRuin is a DECISION that you and you alone make.