Floundering at $2/4

My email inbox often gets filled with frustrated amateurs who seem be hopelessly floundering at low-limit Hold 'Em.� They are looking for pearls of psychological wisdom for me to help reenergize them, refocus them, and spark their self confidence.� After all, as they often write, how can they ever become steadily successful players if they can't produce great results from the lowest of limit games?� They have invested tons of hours studying instructional DVD's, reading poker books, and practicing their game.� They know the odds.� They know the strategy, too. But they still can't build a solid bankroll.� They have taken copious records, which show that they are a break-even player at $2/4 limit HE.

It is true that players with more poker knowledge and skill should indeed crush the hapless competition that normally enters these games.� At most $2/4 tables in Las Vegas, for instance, many of the players are trying poker for the first time.� Casinos offer "how to" lessons and many participants stay to have some fun.� Many of these newbie's do not even remember if a flush beats a straight, let alone know anything about position or pot odds.� With that, the $2/4 game is often overloaded with calling stations, maniac bluffers, and simply unskilled players.� Those conditions seem perfect for a skilled player, right?� Well, maybe not.

While most players bemoan their poor luck and blame too many callers for their inability to make profits at $2/4, the biggest hurdle may be that collection box in the table.� You see, the dealer is scooping a rake from every single pot. The amount of the rake varies from casino to casino, but you can often find $4 or more getting dropped per hand at even a lowly $2/4 table.� As much as one full bet per hand getting pulled away from the felt is extremely damaging to the chip stacks of everyone at the table.� Players at the $50/100 games would never stand for a black chip ($100) being dropped every hand!� Sit at a full table of 10 players at any $2/4 table for 4-6 hours, and the only real winner will be the house.� The drop box will be overstuffed with white ($1) chips, and every stack around the table will have inexplicably shrunk.� In addition, it is customary to give a toke to the dealer after a wining hand, since we know that the dealers pretty much survive on tips.� The rake and the tip can easily cost a winning player at least $5, a remarkable amount considering the stakes.� We have not even mentioned the amount of white chips that leave the playing surface when they get placed into the tip jar of the cocktail waitresses that hound the poker room!

Not only is the drop tube your worst enemy at the low limits, boredom also is as well.� Inexperienced players tend to slow the game down due to their inattention and their propensity to debate the easy decisions.� There also tends to be more callers than in more expensive games, meaning there are more players to make actions on each street.� If you play the appropriate tight-aggressive style, this means it could be a rather long wait until you pick up your next playable hand.� With that, too many players deviate from the tight-aggressive style in order to alleviate the boredom.� "It is only $2, what the heck!" is a common mental mantra.� You end up flopping a poor flush draw or a weak pair with this mentality, and your chip stack can take an unnecessary hit.

Do you really want an accurate measure of your ability?� It may be best to not judge yourself based on your $2/4 profits (or lack thereof).� Perhaps you could organize your own cash home game.� Without a rake for the casino, dealers to toke, and cocktail waitresses to tip, you may be able to start getting a better picture.� Perhaps you will have to save up some money and take a shot at a bigger buy-in level.� If you are mentally prepared to risk more money per session (and per bet), your ability may guide you to the results that you expect.� No matter what, don't believe that you are a failure if you can't dominate the lowest limit games. It is a tough type of poker that you are playing, considering the high percentage of money that is leaving the table.�

John is a National Certified Counselor (NCC). He has a Master of Arts degree in Counseling from West Virginia University, and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from Lock Haven University. You can find out more about the psychology of poker from "the Poker Counselor" at carlisle14@hotmail.com.

© The Poker Forum.com, all rights reserved