Play Your Best Game

By Wesley R. Young

Everyone who plays poker has a game they play best. Many players only play one game. It used to be Stud and now it is holdem. For those of you who play more than one type of poker, when you are having a down swing, do you often switch games?

From personal experience, my best game is Omaha/8 but when the cards aren’t going my way I often switch to holdem or Stud. The problem with this is that I’m an average holdem player and a terrible Stud player. So why would I switch to games that aren’t my best when I’m struggling? Have you ever done the same thing? Maybe we think our luck will change or we just need a new outlook to turn things around. I’m here to tell you that this technique rarely, if ever works out. Usually it just prolongs a down streak.

Unless you are an accomplished professional poker player, or can afford to throw money away, you should play only your best game when things aren’t going your way. The first reason for this is your comfort level. I am much more comfortable playing Omaha/8 than any other game so when I play others, I exit my comfort zone. This is not to say that you shouldn’t play other games, just don’t play them on a down swing. The next reason is psychology. Especially if you are a fairly new player, your emotional state while playing poker will have a tremendous effect on your results. For this reason, switching games, and probably extending your struggles, may make you lose confidence and stunt your learning.

Consider this as fair warning and hopefully the next time you consider switching games, think of this article and decide if you are switching for the wrong reasons.