Chris 'Fox' Wallace (Poker Pro, Coach and Author) - Ask Me Anything!

[ChrisFoxWallace]

My question is : how have you maintained motivation all these years long for playing poker ? You must have experienced ups and downs along your career.I for example play a few days a week, and easily get bored or afterI loose a tournament i dont feel motivated to continue. Everything starts feeling like a grind. Do you have any routines?Do you worke out, go for a run, alternate pokersesions with something else ? what is your secret ! thx man

That's a great question. I am definitely more frustrated by down swings than some of my fellow pros, so I understand exactly what you mean. It definitely helps me to have a plan for handling a down swing because there are some things that I know will help.

Whether something that works for me will work for you, I have no idea, but what is important is that you think about it and have a plan for how you will handle it ahead of time, because you won't be thinking as well once you have a rough session.

I start by moving down to a game I can crush. If I have a couple bad sessions at $5/10, I go to the Golden Nugget and play $1/2 against some locals. I don't go in thinking that I'm going to make the money back, it would take forever to make back a big downswing from $5/10 playing $1/2. I just go in planning to make money and play poker where it's much easier and less stressful. That helps, and getting a winning session under my belt, even if it's just a few hundred, puts me back in a better mindset.

I also take breaks frequently. If I have a bad run, I take a week off and go to a national park and take pictures or just chill at home and get a bunch of writing done. Once I'm away from the tables for a few days I find myself wanting to go back and I play better after a little break.

I also find that your frustration level can be related to your bankroll. If I lose 1% of my bankroll in a losing session, I'm not bothered at all, but if I lose 10% over a really terrible two week freefall I am very irritated and definitely need a break. So playing within your means can help avoid these swings that are significant enough to really bother you.

As for dealing with boredom, you are probably playing too much. Unless you are trying to play for a living, you shouldn't bother playing if you aren't motivated, it won't be very profitable anyway when you are thinking about other things.

I also do whatever I can to stay interested and happy. Sometimes that is engaging the people around me in conversation, sometimes it's listening to music or an audio book in earbuds. Don't listen to people who tell you how you have to be at a poker table, they are really just telling you how THEY have to be. I know that I can miss some verbal tells if I'm listening to earbuds, but I will miss many more if I'm bored to death and watching the TV over the dealer's shoulder. Do what works for you.

I hope that helps and good luck at the tables.

 

[Vegas77]

Hey CardsChat! I've just joined the team to write news and strategy articles and take photos at big events. I thought I would celebrate by doing an AMA here on the forums.

I have been playing poker professionally for almost twenty years, have written two books on the subject, worked for numerous training sites, and coached hundreds of students. I also won the WSOP $10k HORSE in 2014 for over half a million dollars and have made two deep runs in the WSOP main event.

If you have questions about poker strategy, life as a pro, bankroll management, mixed games, tournaments, photography, writing, guitars, or the best places to eat in Vegas, I'm here to help.

My new book, Short Stack Ninja, was an Amazon Best Seller in it's first month and continues to get great reviews.

Hi Chris: Nice to meet you. I think I need some coaching. I do tournaments on wsop mostly. Are you still coaching and how do I sign up? Thanks so much. Tamra

 

[ChrisFoxWallace]

Hi Chris: Nice to meet you. I think I need some coaching. I do tournaments on WSOP mostly. Are you still coaching and how do I sign up? Thanks so much. Tamra

I am still coaching, and in fact it's my favorite thing these days. You can email me at blindstraddle@gmail.com to set something up. I look forward to working with you.

 

[speper]

I want to know the best poker place sb or big blind or botton?

 

[Joselmb31]

Because if you learn solid strategies, take the time to always study a little more, is it so difficult to win in a freeroll tournament?

 

[efranto2286]

First Welcome to the forum... My question was playing a $27 buy-in tournament... and 321 participants... Coming to the bubble I'm third in chips I ran into the leading chip... I see pair AA careful play on the flop comes A10K .. the leader calls all the chips... I have trips of course I call also in the fourth card comes 7 and in the fifth K ... The leader had Pair KK. I played bad... Or I should have thrown it since I was facing the leader and only 1 to collect...

 

[rehktega]

Hello Chris what is the bankroll needed to grind in mtts, sit go, and spin go, hugs and gl.

 

[Danieleli]

Hey man, nice to have you around!!

I'm a beggining player playing on my own at the super micro stakes!! i already spent some money with classes and courses and was moving forward to buy ICMIZER or HRC but then a good palyer that i know said to me that i dont really need that now because i wont know how to "read" the results. I understand what he's saying but i think that if i play 5 more years of poer without using the softwares i'll also dont know how to "read".
Can you help me with that decision? and if you think i should get wich one of them do you recommend?
Welcome and thx a lot!!

 

[CRStals]

Hey Chris!

Curious if you have looked at the WSOP schedule yet and detemined a schedule for yourself to play in this year's series?

 

[waizingpoker]

Inspirational

Hi chris, I Feel inspired by your accomplisments watta nice poker carrer.
Do you have any great tips for me on ranges in mtts? Is it blind based or ?

Best regards from me ��

 

[bobrook]

Glad I found you here!

You are my favorite writer ever since I heard you talk about "backpack guy"

 

[azforlife]

Did you practice brm from the onset?

or did you go busto a few times?

 

[ChrisFoxWallace]

I want to know the best poker place sb or big blind or botton?

Definitely the button!

 

[ChrisFoxWallace]

or did you go busto a few times?

I was very careful right form the start. It was my intention to play for a living, so I treated it that way immediately. Being a little more willing to take risks probably would have increased my income actually.

 

[ChrisFoxWallace]

Hi chris, I Feel inspired by your accomplisments watta nice poker carrer.
Do you have any great tips for me on ranges in mtts? Is it blind based or ?

Best regards from me ��

That's a tough question to answer in a single post. It depends on the player, the action they are facing, their position, the big blinds in the stacks, how close you are to the money, and a host of other things. My book Short Stack Ninja covers some of this, and a more complete treatment of it is in my Red Chip Video series where I talk about all kinds of player types and ranges and how to play against them.

You can find that here - https://redchippoker.idevaffiliate.com/157-1-3-3.html

 

[ChrisFoxWallace]

Hey Chris!

Curious if you have looked at the WSOP schedule yet and detemined a schedule for yourself to play in this year's series?

I've decided to focus on cash games this year. I'll still play the main and a few mixed game events, but mostly cash. I will be there almost every day though.

 

[ChrisFoxWallace]

Hey man, nice to have you around!!

I'm a beggining player playing on my own at the super micro stakes!! i already spent some money with classes and courses and was moving forward to buy ICMIZER or HRC but then a good palyer that i know said to me that i dont really need that now because i wont know how to "read" the results. I understand what he's saying but i think that if i play 5 more years of poer without using the softwares i'll also dont know how to "read".
Can you help me with that decision? and if you think i should get wich one of them do you recommend?
Welcome and thx a lot!!

I don't think it's ever too early to learn to use analysis software. As to which one, what games are you playing? Tournaments or cash? And on what site?

 

[Mimo..Mach]

Hello!! Much is said about: having knowledge of Poker is something obviously necessary to obtain good results when playing, but how much can be said about luck for a high-level player?

 

[ChrisFoxWallace]

Hello Chris what is the bankroll needed to grind in mtts, sit go, and spin go, hugs and gl.

It's almost impossible to answer that question without a lot more information. If you are a serious pro, you need a lot more money behind you than if you are a casual player who can replenish their bankroll out of their paycheck. And if your ROI is very high, and your playing style is low variance, you could get away with less.

If you give me some more details about your current situation and your goals I would be happy to try to give you some ideas about bankroll management that are more tailored to your situation.

 

[ChrisFoxWallace]

First Welcome to the forum... My question was playing a $27 buy-in tournament... and 321 participants... Coming to the bubble I'm third in chips I ran into the leading chip... I see pair AA careful play on the flop comes A10K .. the leader calls all the chips... I have trips of course I call also in the fourth card comes 7 and in the fifth K ... The leader had Pair KK. I played bad... Or I should have thrown it since I was facing the leader and only 1 to collect...

That is just a really bad situation. You can't fold that hand, he could have so many other hands that you can beat and then you go into the money with a huge chip lead. Don't let a bad result make you doubt your play, sometimes poker is just cruel.

 

[ChrisFoxWallace]

Because if you learn solid strategies, take the time to always study a little more, is it so difficult to win in a freeroll tournament?

It depends on how many people are in the tournament, but if you keep working at it you'll definitely have some good results.

 

[Danieleli]

I don't think it's ever too early to learn to use analysis software. As to which one, what games are you playing? Tournaments or cash? And on what site?

Hi there.. right now im playing mostly sit go 45 people regular on pokerstars to increase my bankroll but already playing some mtts.
Very nice that you brought that question up because i was really thinknig to play another sites. I already have account on 888 ACR GG and intertops and started thinking that maybe pokerstars is not the best shot to be profitable and for sure have all my BR in just one site isn't. I have like $300 BR and was thinking divide it equally on 3 sites.. if you can leave your opinion here i would appreciate.

Thx a lot
Daniel

 

[ChrisFoxWallace]

Hi there.. right now im playing mostly sit go 45 people regular on pokerstars to increase my bankroll but already playing some mtts.
Very nice that you brought that question up because i was really thinknig to play another sites. I already have account on 888 ACR GG and intertops and started thinking that maybe pokerstars is not the best shot to be profitable and for sure have all my BR in just one site isn't. I have like $300 BR and was thinking divide it equally on 3 sites.. if you can leave your opinion here i would appreciate.

Thx a lot
Daniel

If your bankroll is something you could potentially replace from other sources if things go badly, then for the 45 man mtts you are probably okay with a lower number. If your ROI is really good, say 20%, in them, then you would be okay with 30 or 40 buy-ins. If your ROI is 10% it would need to be much higher, and at 5% you would need hundreds of buy-ins to avoid going broke.

For MTTs with bigger fields, the calculation is much tougher. It's just a wild guess, but for most players the actual safe bankroll number for mtts is something like (square root of the field size) *2 +30 - (one for each percentage of your roi). That ignores some important things like how many players are paid and how steep the payouts are, but it gets you a feel for approximately what the number is.

Again, if your bankroll is replaceable, then that number doesn't matter so much, but a few examples might help you see how the wild guess formula works. As your ROI drops below 5% or goes above 50%, the formula fails, but a serious winning player is usually within that range.

1000 player mtt with an roi of 15%

The square root of 1,000 is ~33, so 33*2+30-15 = 81 buy-ins.

100 player mtt with an roi of 5%

The square root of 100 is 10, so 10*2+30-5 = 45 buy-ins.

 

[Danieleli]

If your bankroll is something you could potentially replace from other sources if things go badly, then for the 45 man mtts you are probably okay with a lower number. If your ROI is really good, say 20%, in them, then you would be okay with 30 or 40 buy-ins. If your ROI is 10% it would need to be much higher, and at 5% you would need hundreds of buy-ins to avoid going broke.

For MTTs with bigger fields, the calculation is much tougher. It's just a wild guess, but for most players the actual safe bankroll number for mtts is something like (square root of the field size) *2 +30 - (one for each percentage of your roi). That ignores some important things like how many players are paid and how steep the payouts are, but it gets you a feel for approximately what the number is.

Again, if your bankroll is replaceable, then that number doesn't matter so much, but a few examples might help you see how the wild guess formula works. As your ROI drops below 5% or goes above 50%, the formula fails, but a serious winning player is usually within that range.

1000 player mtt with an roi of 15%

The square root of 1,000 is ~33, so 33*2+30-15 = 81 buy-ins.

100 player mtt with an roi of 5%

The square root of 100 is 10, so 10*2+30-5 = 45 buy-ins.

All right thanks for helping me.. just one thing after giving me that compelx answer you forgot to recommend me one of the softwares

 

[ChrisFoxWallace]

All right thanks for helping me.. just one thing after giving me that compelx answer you forgot to recommend me one of the softwares

PokerTracker is a good idea if you are on Stars, it can be a big help. The leakfinder is mostly useful for cash games, so may not help you, but being able to examine your own play after, and seeing stats on your opponents, will definitely help. ICMizer can be useful too. And Equilab for learning how your hands play against ranges.