I read a very interesting conversation this week between Phil Galfond and David Benyamine on Full Tilt Poker. Basically Benyamine admitted to having a $6 million downswing and was even questioning the integrity of the RNG on FT……that is a pretty staggering thing to say from someone who has won millions online.
I think that what Benyamine needs to realise is that when he was winning all that money, someone else was on the recieving end of those cruel runs. But I am still convinced that most people (even experienced top class players) are still unaware of the full weight of variance that is inherent in poker.
I think that very few players have experienced downswings upto the third standard deviation and beyond. In fact most players dont ever go beyond two standard deviations during their entire life. But if you play long enough and you have to remember that Benyamine plays several tables at once over many hours a week then sooner or later he will encounter the run from hell akin to what Brian Townsend went through last year.
I suppose that I was well prepared for this part of the game coming from a blackjack background but I would imagine that I still am some way short of encountering the far end of the bell curve. I whinge and moan about last year but that 100k was 20 buy-ins and nothing more and I was probably to balme for some of that.
But I do think that mental preparation is everything and I tell myself before every session that poker is purely luck and I have no right to win or expect to win. This may sound negative but yet it doesnt detract from my game. In fact it helps me to take outdraws and beats and bad runs when they arrive. I really do think that most skilled and knowledgable players expect their skill to do too much.
I once read somewhere that your level of skill in poker and the effect that it has is akin to the people who uses the brushes (if thats the correct term) in curling and the effect that it has on the stone (minimal at best).
I really think that you can achieve anything with the proper mindset and I have been going through my Zen Buddhist rituals lately to help me with different aspects of my life including my poker. I certainly need to improve my emotional state and I am going to elevate this to my primary goal this year.
Had a good session last night and again today in the 25-50…..won just short of eight thousand dollars over the weekend……GOOD OLD POKER OFFICE!
See ya soon
CAKE POKER…..THE SITE WITH ONE OF THE BEST RAKE DEALS ON THE NET AND THE SITE THAT DOES NOT ALLOW TRACKING SOFTWARE.
THE DEAN CAN BE CONTACTED AT Carl@Pokerquest.f9.co.uk FOR COACHING AND ALL OTHER POKER AND GAMBLING RELATED MATTERS.
