Of Math and Men

[arcimede$]

Okay, so you win 45% of sessions. What if someone decided to win smaller amounts and increase their win rate to 100%. In other words, they decide to grind out a small win every day. It's what I do when I play cash games at poker. Just came back with a $301 win, not as good as yesterday's net win of $600 (which included the big $800 pot), and the day before, alas, it was only a net win of $3 (three dollars).

In video poker you can't win every day. Sorry, even on positive games you will lose some days.

I think the key here is not how much I actually won, but how much I didn't lose. Why do I say that?

Because when I got to the table this evening the player to my right at this $200 buy-in table had a stack of $1600+. That's right -- sixteen hundred. He left a few minutes before I did. Busted. It's funny (not) but money management is really crucial to all gambling.

To a certain degree you are right. But, not in the way I suspect you are thinking. In poker the house takes enough money off the top so you are playing a with a smaller chance of success. Admittedly, skill can overcome much of that, but cards can go bad at any time.

In VP with a good positive edge it is not as important. However, you have to be aware of bankroll considerations because you can have big losing streaks even on positive games.