Mistakes Poker Props Make to Kill Their Win Rates

Mistakes Poker Props Make to Kill Their Win Rates

The fact alone that you enjoy the benefits of out-of-this-world rakeback does not mean that you shall automatically become a long-term winner when you begin poker propping. Unlike thin-value situations – which do not drain your win-rate, regardless of whether or not you take advantage of them, some mental mistakes are true win-rate killers.

Here are a few factors you should always aim to keep in check.

Chasing your losses. Most players build a mathematical strategy they deem useful and aim to follow in order to be successful at the game. The most basic such ‘strategy’ is to manufacture winning streaks. How does one manufacture a winning streak? He sticks it out when he’s losing until he manages to get back above the red line. There are several problems with this approach, as it’s basically a lose-lose situation for the player. Suppose you manage to claw your way back into the black and quickly log out to preserve your session-winner status. You may go to bed content with the fact that you didn’t lose, but what did you really accomplish? You played for a couple of hours longer than you would have while in your worst shape. When you’re on your worst, you should avoid playing.

An even worse outcome is when – upon finding yourself in a hole – you don’t stop digging, but rather end up with an even bigger deficit, which has the potential to set you on full tilt (and I don’t mean the struggling poker franchise).

The bottom line? Stop playing whenever you feel like you’re under 100% shape-wise.

This bring us to another mental mistake many poker props fall victim to: quitting early just to preserve the profitable nature of a session. For some players out there, winning is almost as stressful as losing. Many a player sets a goal at the beginning of the session: ‘I’ll quit as soon as I find myself up a buy-in’. That’s just about the worst thing one can do: when you’re winning, you are obviously playing well. You’re on fire, you’re on a roll – call it whatever you want it, but don’t quit while you’re in the zone. Minimizing your playing time when you’re winning is like punishing yourself for some reason. When you’re on fire, try to ride the wave as long as you possibly can.

The above two mental mistakes usually come hand in hand, and together they’re indeed a killer combination. You minimize your A-game playing time, while in the same time maximizing your B-game time…