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6. Winners Focus on the Here and Now

At a poker table you get paid only for making the right decision now.

—Barry Tanenbaum³⁰

This chapter’s title may seem to contradict the last one’s, but there is no real contradiction. To maximize your long-term profits, you must focus on the critical question: What should I do now?

Barry Tanenbaum expanded his comment: “Forget about whether you are winning or losing and what happened in the last hand. If you make the right decision now, you must ultimately win.”

Dr. John Feeney, a psychologist, agrees: “Most players are too focused on winning. It is far more productive to make correct play your goal and let winning take care of itself.”³¹

An Illustration

Let’s take two cases:

1. You’re playing no-limit hold’em.

2. The pot is $100.

3. You will win if you catch the right card and lose if you don’t.

4. You will know the exact odds against catching it.

5. You have no more betting because the bettor is all in.

6. You are even for the night and have $200 worth of chips.

Case A: The odds against catching your card are 10:1. You have invested $30 in the pot, and it will cost you another $15 to call the last bet.

Case B: The odds against catching your card are 4:1. You have invested $20 in the pot, and it will cost you another $20 to call the last bet.

In which case would you be more likely to call?

Would you make a different decision if you were winning $500?

Losing $500?

Write your answers before looking at the answer opposite.

Answer