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Poker Strategy: Lower Your Variance

  • Published Date May 4, 2020
  • By Admin

 Best poker strategy to keep your variance low

Online Poker is easy to play. The Poker game basics and rules are simple to learn, but there are advanced concepts that can take months, if not years, to master. The game is all about gaining the maximum value out of your cards, thereby minimizing your losses. There are many strategies, concepts, and techniques that you can use to achieve this and try to get an edge over your opponents. But there is one of the lesser-known and often neglected areas of Poker knowledge, and that is known as variance. To understand this fundamental concept is vital for those who are looking to build a long and successful career in online Poker gaming.

What is variance in online poker game?

All the players have a common experience, and that is swings between winning and losing. Often commonly used as a synonym for luck, variance specifically refers to the difference between the outcome of your expected winning rate over the long run, and the results you experience in the short term. For example, if you expect to win 30,000 in a month on average, but you end up losing 40,000, this is variance. 

There are certain Poker formats which have a higher variance than others do. One of them is Pot-Limit Omaha. Tournaments formats also include high variance. Similarly, to such games, a regular online poker game can also become a high variance game. This can be mainly due to the playing style of players on the table. For instance, a novice player might play many hands and call various bets. It is a style of play with high variance. If a player gets strong cards and faces opponents who bluff a lot, you will get a high variance in the game.

Every Poker player will go through this phase. It is a part of the game, but the good news is that you can reduce your Poker variance by adopting a few strategies. Below are the following poker strategies for beginners:

Play Texas Holdem: 

Players who play Texas Holdem Poker possibly experience fewer swings compared with those who play Pot-Limit Omaha Poker. One of the primary reasons behind this is the former player gets an opportunity to make better hands both before and after the flop. However, a player in Pot-Limit Omaha will have a 60:40 chance of being a favourite at either point in the game. In this game, players' decisions are affected by many variables. Due to this reason, it increases the variance in the game. 

Betting structures in Poker affect the variance too. Variance is less in a No-Limit game than that in a Fixed-Limit game. In the latter, you need the best hand to win the game. So, the probability that a player will continue the game, if he does not have a strong hand, is low. Also, numerous hands reach showdown. On the other hand, in Pot-Limit games, the pot is won relatively frequently when the game is on the flop and the turn. To win in these, it is not necessary to have the best hand. 

Play at a limited number of tables: 

Playing at a limited number of tables can decrease the variance in the long term. If your focus is not to log volume, you can reduce the variance by doing this. The less game you play, the higher your earn rate would be. Doing so can reduce your bankroll variance. Also, by playing at one table, you will probably get a chance to polish your skills in the game. The more proficient you are, the greater are your chances to make decisions that will lead to wins.

Select your game wisely: 

If you find yourself on a table with eight good players, your chances to win will significantly reduce. However, if you are against recreational opponents, you are more likely to defeat such games and win a lot of cash. 

If you want to make more money and minimize losses, you need to play with weaker opponents. But this does not mean that you always have to look for weak opponents. If you are playing with skilled opponents, don’t expect big wins. If you are not a good player, you can still make good money by finding good tables, private games, and casinos full of recreational players. The best way to find weak opponents is by playing Poker regularly.  

Know when to quit: 

To know when to leave the game at the right time is often the key to reduce variance. It is a bad idea to continue playing when you are not able to play optimally or feel distracted from the game. In such a situation, you should quit playing and take a break. To quit the session on time is also a part of effective online poker strategy. Leaving the table at the right time will not only save your bankroll but will also reduce your variance.

However, it is important to note that you cannot control it when you are playing at a Poker tournament. You cannot stand up and leave anytime you want. 

Nonetheless, cash game players have an additional weapon. You can leave the game when you feel you are not playing your “A” game. So, it is essential to know when to use this option.

Keep your emotions in check: 

Poker game is played with strategy, so making decisions based on emotions rather than the cards is certainly a way to lose the enormous stack.  It is difficult to identify when your emotions start affecting your decisions. 

Whether you are in the heat of a session and suffer a bad beat or get bluffed in a massive pot, you will immediately convince yourself that you are fine and still playing the perfect game. But, the decision you made may be far from optimal. Also, you might find it hard to notice that you are playing in a manner that you would not play in a normal situation. So, this is the time when you should stop playing and take a break. 

One bad session can put you on tilt and ruin your abilities as well as confidence. The problem with tilt and emotions is that it is an endless loop where your one wrong decision leads to another and then to another. Before you even realize it, you will find yourself in a situation where you won’t be able to determine at what point things started falling apart. 

In Poker, as it is always the case in life, knowledge is power. Understanding what the variance is, how it works, and how to use Poker strategy to your advantage will give an edge over your competitors, which usually means the difference between winning and losing. Poker is extremely entertaining, but it can also be relentless, even if you play your hands correctly, sometimes you may encounter a bad beat. Accepting this and not getting upset is half the battle. Poker is all about playing the numbers, gradually your variance will decrease, and your luck will change. 

 
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