Lessons from poker

[meliquiades]

During the online poker boom of the mid-2000s, I played full-time for a few years.

I'd be hesitant to describe myself as a "pro"; I was young and not playing particularly high stakes. But I was churning out hands (playing 24 tables at once) and making an hourly well ahead of what anyone would pay me at the time.

Anyway, I haven't played poker (online) for many years now, but a lot of the lessons I learned during those years have served me well when sports betting. Here are three of them:

Don't be results orientated

Poker is very much a game of ups and downs. It is common for good moves to backfire and bad moves to pay off. Accordingly, it was extremely important to separate your actions from results. For instance, if I managed to get an opponent to bet all their chips against me with a worse hand, only for them to hit one of the only two cards in the deck they needed to beat me, I needed to keep my head up and acknowledge I'd done the right thing, despite losing.

But equally, if the roles were reversed, I couldn't celebrate knowing I'd made a bad play.

When it comes to sports betting, it is much the same. If I call a tight game between strong defences, bet on a 0-0 draw, and then watch a tight game finish 1-0 due to a freak goal out of nowhere, I know to tell myself that if I keep doing what I'm doing, I'll come out top in the long-run.

Information is power... but only if your opponent doesn't have it too

People who play poker a lot tend to run programs which provide thousands of statistics on their opponents. This is fine, and the information is great for informing decisions. But it becomes worthless if the other players has the same information, and knows I have this information. If the stats show a crazily aggressive opponent, but that opponent knows I have this information, they can easily adapt their game to fool me.

With sports betting, it is easy to get carried away with information. "Messi is injured so it makes sense to bet against Barcelona". Well, no, because obviously the bookmaker knows this too, and has already adapted their odds accordingly.


There's no system, only constant improvement

I eventually fell out of love with poker and stopped studying the game. My results quickly went downhill. It is the same with sports betting. Finding an edge is hard, but possible. The thing is even if you find one, don't bank on keeping it very long. For a couple of years, I had a lot of success betting on football from very obscure leagues. I had an algorithm which was great at spotting games where bookmakers had not priced up correctly. But very quickly this edge vanished, as the bookmakers improved their own pricing strategies.

Would love to hear from anyone else who played poker seriously online and now bets on sports...

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[maydna]

I don't know with the poker game because I never play on that game but all I can say for any gambling game including poker game, the result will always about win or lose, no matter the game and no matter how good you played. But I guess that you are one of the pro poker players because you are playing for a full-time in a few years.

I agree that information is power because if we can collect as much information from many sources, it will help us to make a strategy in any games and we can increase the chance to win although we still need to depend on the luck factor.

How can I say that you are a pro gambler? You are stating by yourself on this:

For a couple of years, I had a lot of success betting on football from very obscure leagues. I had an algorithm which was great at spotting games where bookmakers had not priced up correctly.

So you got an important lesson from poker, and you will know what you will do in every time you playing gambling besides to expecting to get a win in the poker game or other gambling games. But you need to remember that not all of your day will get lucky because you never know when your luck will come.

[NavI_027]

How can I say that you are a pro gambler? You are stating by yourself on this:

For a couple of years, I had a lot of success betting on football from very obscure leagues. I had an algorithm which was great at spotting games where bookmakers had not priced up correctly.

What? I don't see any thing on that quote which supports your statement. OP mentioned that he became successful on sports betting and not on poker. Nah, nevermind.

Anyway, IMO it doesn't mean that you are already considered a  pro player just because you have many years of experience. That's not the only qualification. It also depends on how good your skills are, your win rate and how big the assets (money and possessions) you earned through this game.

[shoreno]

How can I say that you are a pro gambler? You are stating by yourself on this:

For a couple of years, I had a lot of success betting on football from very obscure leagues. I had an algorithm which was great at spotting games where bookmakers had not priced up correctly.

What? I don't see any thing on that quote which supports your statement. OP mentioned that he became successful on sports betting and not on poker. Nah, nevermind.

Maybe he was trying to say that the op is not a pro gambler because he is depending on his algorithms or methods/strategies  .  pro gamblers are already aware that there are no working strategies because gambling only based on luck   .   if they lucky they win and they save thier winnings  , they use their winnings on other profitable and less riskier activities but they play still gambling on other times  .

[Tytanowy Janusz]

Maybe he was trying to say that the op is not a pro gambler because he is depending on his algorithms or methods/strategies  .  pro gamblers are already aware that there are no working strategies because gambling only based on luck   .   if they lucky they win and they save thier winnings  , they use their winnings on other profitable and less riskier activities but they play still gambling on other times  .

Poker is more like trading. You need to cut losses and know when to pass even if you already put tones of money on table. Here strategy might work because you don't play against casino where you have 47% probability of winning where casino has 53% (roulette example). In poker, you play against another player. Before looking into cards you and your opponents has exact the same probability of winning and this probability changes after each card you see. With bad cards you have low probability of winning that's why you should cut losses. And that's strategy that would work in poker.

[carlfebz2]

Maybe he was trying to say that the op is not a pro gambler because he is depending on his algorithms or methods/strategies  .  pro gamblers are already aware that there are no working strategies because gambling only based on luck   .   if they lucky they win and they save thier winnings  , they use their winnings on other profitable and less riskier activities but they play still gambling on other times  .

Poker is more like trading. You need to cut losses and know when to pass even if you already put tones of money on table. Here strategy might work because you don't play against casino where you have 47% probability of winning where casino has 53% (roulette example). In poker, you play against another player. Before looking into cards you and your opponents has exact the same probability of winning and this probability changes after each card you see. With bad cards you have low probability of winning that's why you should cut losses. And that's strategy that would work in poker.

When we do talk about probabilities then these card games do really have it and comparing it to other games like luck-based ones isnt really right at all.
Experience and skills is needed with this kind of game but overall these factors wont work out if luck wont be on your side.Therefore, all these 3 things will needed along the way.

[angel55]

I'm not much of a poker player myself.  It is definitely a mental game that requires a lot of skill.  Whether that is staying calm, reading your opponents, or just making the right moves more often than not.

[mich]

Good for you to have been able to play full time and earn some money.
There are many aspiring full time players around here that wish they were in your shoes.
I only like to play poker for fun with friends because I cant trust online poker.
With sports it is very different since the chances are 50% to 50%.

[sheenshane]

Well mate, in any kind of gambling, there's no system but sports betting is an exemption. In poker, you have to know how to tilt the players and play the game by analyzing the body languages of the other players you play with. It's all about knowing how people react about the cards they possess, you have to know what are the body languages they do if they get losing and winning cards.

But yes, you can't be a result oriented person in gambling because you only speculate and ups and downs are always there. You just have to stay on sit and win the game.

[angel55]

Well mate, in any kind of gambling, there's no system but sports betting is an exemption. In poker, you have to know how to tilt the players and play the game by analyzing the body languages of the other players you play with. It's all about knowing how people react about the cards they possess, you have to know what are the body languages they do if they get losing and winning cards.

But yes, you can't be a result oriented person in gambling because you only speculate and ups and downs are always there. You just have to stay on sit and win the game.

Online gambling is a completely different ball game.  Its not like you can read people's facial expressions.
Some sites are very sketchy and you will get people teaming up on you as well.

[semobo]

I'm not much of a poker player myself.  It is definitely a mental game that requires a lot of skill.  Whether that is staying calm, reading your opponents, or just making the right moves more often than not.

Don't forget about bluffing on poker is one of the great strategy to make the game to turn our side but it is not going to work always.I don't really like poker because it needs time to play and lot of patience we need to keep while the players are winning.

[omonuyak]

Thank you op for sharing this with us and it is actually a great tip in poker playing.  Information is actually the best thing to have and like you have said that is only if your opponent did not have the same information.

[Caladonian]

I'm not much of a poker player myself.  It is definitely a mental game that requires a lot of skill.  Whether that is staying calm, reading your opponents, or just making the right moves more often than not.

Without luck you are still risking your money, I'm starting to like playing poker but same alike still learning from time to time,
a game of twist and strategy that can be learned when you are very observant but still influence of luck plays a big role inside,
without a good sense of controlling emotions, risk will showed up right after.

Needs to always find enjoyment rather than profits.

[nomadcrypto]

if someone wants to be successful today in poker there are a few things that are really important. Poker isn't as easy now as was it was 5+ years ago and it is continuing to get harder. A successful poker player needs to have a solid understanding of range theory, understand where they are currently within their range, and then understand how to adjust those ranges based on opponent actions. In general there are two main schools of thought when it comes to successful poker playing: "GTO"(game theory optimal) vs "exploitative". There are tools and tricks(like solving smaller sub-games) that can approximate a gto strategy for no limit texas holdem. If it were really optimal then the best an opponent could hope to do long term is to break even against you. Exploitative is, in my opinon, where a player understands the fundamentals of gto game and can estimate how far, and where, an opponent is from optimal. They then make what would be a mistake against an optimal player in order to take advantage of recurring errors in a less optimal player's playing habits(e.g. they fold/call too often in certain situations).  In addition to solid fundamentals of range theory they need to practice fairly strict bankroll management. There are a ton of variance calculators available where you can enter your expected win rate and then it will show you how large swings can be. Even a good poker player with bad money management skills will go broke on a regular basis. It requires skill and self control to be a long term winning poker player.

[Johnyz]

I'm not much of a poker player myself.  It is definitely a mental game that requires a lot of skill.  Whether that is staying calm, reading your opponents, or just making the right moves more often than not.

In this game, your strategies is really important because you are dealing to the other gamblers and not on the casinos. I think this is a game where your skills, experience and patience will matter. So many lessons to be learn in poker, so better to focus than to lose big money.

[LUCKMCFLY]

I'm not much of a poker player myself.  It is definitely a mental game that requires a lot of skill.  Whether that is staying calm, reading your opponents, or just making the right moves more often than not.

In this game, your strategies is really important because you are dealing to the other gamblers and not on the casinos. I think this is a game where your skills, experience and patience will matter. So many lessons to be learn in poker, so better to focus than to lose big money.

This game is very good, because apart from that you need to have your mental faculties to the maximum, you can exercise a psychology in others, you can prove it in your bets, you can have a bad game, but if you demonstrate security, you can bet with great capital and can cause Panic and become a winner, here all their faculties are measured.

[Dreamchaser21]

Poker for me is good where you can risk your money here in crypto like that's base in your strategy and you will learn in this again in again everytime you play so to become better in this like you don't want to lose then risk only little by little until you learn all about different strategy in this or play Poker in offline first like in appstore then apply that here,Moreover try all different gambling site like casino,dice site and more like find where you often win or suit to your luck and strategy

Yes, this is a game of strategies and doing your best just to deceive your opponents. Its also risky especially if you don’t know what to do during the pressure moment. If you are not confident about your poker skills, then look for some gambling games which is based on pure luck.

[sweetbet]

Thank you for an interesting and informative post. Poker has got to be one of the most popular and challenging games out there, especially because it is just as much a game of skill as it is a game of luck.

[livingfree]

I used to play poker and what you have said about the being not a results oriented is true. You just can't predict what other hands will have and what exactly it will be on your hand. Hearing such stories from veterans like you is very interesting.

Don't forget about bluffing on poker is one of the great strategy to make the game to turn our side but it is not going to work always.I don't really like poker because it needs time to play and lot of patience we need to keep while the players are winning.

It is also a risky strategy but if you get used to it, you're aware that chances would be higher if the other hand is scared of your moves. You shouldn't let other hands be familiar of your moves, you must be unpredictable in front of the table.

[onrise]

Thank you for an interesting and informative post. Poker has got to be one of the most popular and challenging games out there, especially because it is just as much a game of skill as it is a game of luck.

It is one of the game where your strategy comes into play and more experienced person you are it can become advantage as you may be able to clinch the tricks used to play and act accordingly. Also more than luck here the way you manage to play is vital.