Poker often mirrors life. We consistently find ourselves in unexpected and slightly unique situations where we have to make difficult decisions where the outcomes are uncertain. This is even more true in tournament poker where players have only one shot and every mistake can dramatically effect their chance of success. In a freeze out tournament there are no second chances. Once a player loses their whole stack their game is over. A player can lose a few small battles but if they consistently risk their whole “poker life” then they certainly wont last very long. Even in a re-entry tournament a player can only re-enter a few times before the re-entry period is over. It is a finite period and after that a player still only has one life to live. In poker tournaments, as in life, every big decision has to be analyzed carefully and all the variables and all the consequences have to be evaluated before making an educated decision.
The great poker players think of their starting stack as their “poker life” and they are always careful anytime they are investing a significant amount of their stack in any one hand. Great players also consider how much any hand might cost them before they get involved. As we all know, a poker hand sometimes takes an unexpected turn and we find ourselves risking our whole “life” with a weak hand because we flopped two pairs. We slowly become pot committed. Poker, like life, has many unexpected turns and if we are not careful we end up risking everything in a situation where we didn’t even want to be involved. Your poker game is sure to improve if you take your chip stack choices as serious as your real life choices. This is part of the reason poker enthusiasts are so passionate about the game of poker. Enjoy your next tournament and be careful when you are investing more than 10% of your “poker life”.
‘Poker is not a card game played with people. It is a people game played with cards’