How everybody can be a winning poker player!

If you didn't know before opening this thread, everybody CAN'T be a winning poker player. Poker, without the rake, is a zero sum game. If you win a dollar, somebody has to lose a dollar. The best instructors in the world can't put ten people in a room with $1000 each and teach them ALL to come out with more than $1000. If you start charging for food, (rake) they can't even all come out even. So, in order to win and take care of rake, you have to be somewhat better than average.

It would be possible to make all members of Cardschat winners in external games, and that is a goal. But, as we improve, competition in the internal Cardschat games will become stiffer. Just as the zebra wakes up saying, "I have to be faster than the fastest lion." and the lion wakes up saying, "I must be faster than the slowest zebra.", we have to be better than over half of the players out there to be a winning poker player.

If you wondered where the losers are supposed to come from in the buy-in games, JD said that is why they let me join.

Is this not just common sense?

Obviously not based on some of the posts that wonder why they can't win, too.

I'm sorry but if you don't understand that for 1 person to win 1 person has to lose then......well I don't know what to say ^^

The great thing about online poker, is everyone thinks they're winning players. So they'll keep coming back for more. When I played in the last 2 tourneys for fun last week, the quality of play was far higher than in the games I usually play online. I forget who it was but I had my bluff called down because someone actually had a read on me. But I think it's worth playing once in a while with people where I'm probably one of the worst players there simply for practice, I got to try out a few plays, and then I can ask for others to look at how I played some hands and work to get better. But when I'm looking to make money, I'm staying away from cardschat games

it may be a good thing to have people who think they r winning players, but lose all the time cuz like u said for some1 to win others have to lose, so with those losers that think they r winners, they can fill the losing spots! and then they can keep giving their money to winning players haha

zachvac said:

The great thing about online poker, is everyone thinks they're winning players. So they'll keep coming back for more. When I played in the last 2 tourneys for fun last week, the quality of play was far higher than in the games I usually play online. I forget who it was but I had my bluff called down because someone actually had a read on me. But I think it's worth playing once in a while with people where I'm probably one of the worst players there simply for practice, I got to try out a few plays, and then I can ask for others to look at how I played some hands and work to get better. But when I'm looking to make money, I'm staying away from cardschat games

Click to expand...

This is right on, in more than one way. People have selective memories and if they don't meticulously track their playing they think that they're ahead when they aren't. Although, I don't see how online is more likely to be misremembered since you have a bankroll and the sites track it for you. But if you play live it gets much harder to keep track.

And, you will learn more playing against better players, and the CC buyin events are cheap learning for the price.


I've searched for statistics as I heard somewhere that 90% of players are losers but I can't find where that came from, nor can I find any other reasonable source for basing my assumptions on. Maybe someone like AG has a reliable source somewhere, or if anyone else knows, please let me know.

NineLions said:

This is right on, in more than one way. People have selective memories and if they don't meticulously track their playing they think that they're ahead when they aren't. Although, I don't see how online is more likely to be misremembered since you have a bankroll and the sites track it for you. But if you play live it gets much harder to keep track.

And, you will learn more playing against better players, and the CC buyin events are cheap learning for the price.


I've searched for statistics as I heard somewhere that 90% of players are losers but I can't find where that came from, nor can I find any other reasonable source for basing my assumptions on. Maybe someone like AG has a reliable source somewhere, or if anyone else knows, please let me know.

Click to expand...

The thing is, even players who know they've lost think they're just getting bad beats. Most of the people I know from real life chalk it up to the fact that they're playing donks. No matter how hard I try to convince them that if the answer to making other players lose (thus them winning) was to play like an idiot and chase draws, the pros would do it, they insist they are winning players, and either use that explanation or say they're running cold. This one kid actually tried to tell me he'd been running cold for 6 months as he dropped $500. He said he believed in luck and was taking time off hoping it'd wear off. 2 months later he came back, his "cold streak" was still going.

And then there's people like me, who keep thinking they've done what it takes to become a winning player, find out they haven't the hard way, and repeat. This time however I think I've got it, as after a little over 2k hands, I've won about $50 (posted my "grand plan" earlier) at $0.05/$0.10 at a steady rate of around 11 and a half BB/100 hands. Hopefully I'm actually playing well and I can withstand the bad beats with my BR now that I'm not playing at $0.25/$0.50 with a $100 BR. But who knows, in another couple months I could be broke again, just another loser who thinks he can win, but hopefully not .

And then of course there are the live players, they remember every bad beat but remember the one time they won big and say they're up. After every session I write down what I bought in with, what I cashed out, and my net.

I am actually grateful everyone thinks they're a winning player. If these people realized it was more than bad luck or cold streaks causing their losses, they might actually do something to improve their games and that would be bad for everyone else.

in the poker world ever should exist people who give his money easy or called loser player. Cuz if u wanna win, someone have to lose, thats it

yup i play freerolls... so i can't technically lose anything but have won a few dollars Yay for freerolls and monkeys cause monkeys are fun to watch

phil helmuth said if it wasn't for luck he would win every touney

some of the players touted on television as being great players lose constantly and consistantly in cash games. Gus hansen for example, just login to Fulltilt and watch him play hi stakes Pot limit omaha