There are several pitfalls in the world of poker and gambling that can or will lead to a player’s downfall. Some of them will just go broke. A few will just chip away at their bankroll until they are left with nothing. Others will break you down and discourage you until you no longer have the will or desire to stay on top of your game. We all know how hard it is to achieve this in the world of poker and if you can’t stay on top of your game for most of the time, chances are that your success will fade into the background.
Drugs and drink eliminate more gamblers from the scene than all other elements combined. A select few survive for a while or even years before it gets the better of them and the path to failure is set. There is no place for anyone in a winner's life if he or she does not put in the hard work. If you need or want to persist, then at least give yourself a break between bad habits and getting back to work at the tables.
Another weakness that sends many players back to where they came from is not being able to say no to constant requests to borrow money. Sure, you trust the person or it may not be a large amount, so you give in. Most people pay, but many don’t. This isn’t considered by many to be a big deal if you’re making money every day. But we all go through downswings early in our careers that can be catastrophic and we need to have some extra cash in reserve. Over time, the amount that is borrowed adds up to a good amount for most. After a few years, many players have more borrowed money (that they probably won’t see again) than the sum of their bankroll or net worth. How can anyone survive like that? That amount alone can ruin everything for the person. Instead of having a healthy bankroll and playing progressively higher, they are now stuck grinding at lower limits with small win rates because they foolishly gave away their precious tool, money.
It’s hard to say no, but later on it will be easy to not regret the “no’s” as you see and hear from all the players at the tables who are stuck. One of the ways I’ve found to say no is to just say no, especially to people I have no contact with outside of gambling. For those followers who are always broke and begging, I like to tell them that every time I lend them money I get unlucky and lose it really fast. This seems to comfort them, and as long as they believe that they are where they are because of bad luck and not bad play, they can understand what you’re saying.
For most others who you find it hard to deny your hard-earned money so they can continue to lose, ask for something more valuable than the amount you can lend them and hold on to it until repayment. Also consider charging a good interest rate for the loan. You deserve this since you are the one taking the risk and having to worry about getting the money back and how it might affect your playing and outlook. The expression “good guys finish last” applies to financial loans to people who are not collateralized or are good friends with the desire and ability to pay back on time.
Not being able to handle the swings involved in gambling can leave one begging for help over time. There is little safety in living the life of a gambler, and even less so if you do not conduct yourself as a business professional would. The highs (wins) and lows (losses) need to be equal in relation to your disposition in order to maintain the delicate balance of mental state that is so important to functioning at high efficiency. Especially if the negative sessions are too consuming, this tends to cause most people to play more passively to lessen the negative swings and minimize the pain. This, of course, leads to worse play, which can be easily exploited by better players, and increases losses. Over time, this is the curtain for these people, as there is no cure and no return to good old winning play. The cure can be described as the person losing sensitivity to balance their emotions with the constant monetary swings as a way to survive this type of downfall.
Playing long sessions means playing tired. It takes a lot of practice to learn and get a good feel for how tired you can be and still outperform your opponents. This is difficult, as you have to accept that you will become deficient at some point. It requires looking within yourself and admitting when it is time to quit if you are tired or losing interest with your mind elsewhere. New players coming into the game with no experience should also be a determining factor, because after a long time sitting there your thought process wears out. Basically, knowing when it is time to quit is crucial. Often when playing long sessions, you do poorly even when you try to stay in control. You often end up quitting late, coming back late, and wasting more time when you could be fresh. In practice, you are trading playing fresh for playing tired and that can't be good.
Sitting down and spending some time admitting your weaknesses and making a list of them can pay off in spades. That way you can have them staring you in the face and then eliminate them as you learn to deal with the consequences of each one. We all have a list of weaknesses in our minds and we need to locate each one and eliminate as many as we can that will hurt our long-term results. Every pitfall and fall we encounter that can be corrected adds up to a lot of money that can add up to future security and success in our lives in this game.
Translated and adapted from: The Downfall of a Poker Player
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