Winning v. Losing

“I’d rather win a small pot than lose a big one is a common popular truth you’ll hear poker players mumbling. Well, being a popular truth doesn’t make it a useful truth, or even a real truth when talking about a poker game. How about winning a big pot? Since when is that not an option in the poker world?

There are more than two options in the real world of poker games. People will use that incomplete proverb to justify all sorts of weak and timid play, and even to justify overly aggressive play. It might protect them from losing big pots but they aren’t likely to go home with any money if they don’t win some big ones. Avoiding the big pots is not a winning poker strategy. Winning the big pots is the poker goal to strive for. Just don’t even worry about the small ones.

The reality is that I often don’t care at all who wins the small pots. Small pots don’t have much effect on my bottom line at all. A lot of small pots might, but not one or two of them.