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Signs You Need to Work on Your Patience at the Poker Table

Do you have trouble with patience at the poker table? If so, you’re not alone. There are many people that like to play poker, but they came into the game with a TV poker mindset and failed to take into consideration that poker can be a real grind.

This often results in poker players getting bored and looking for a way to combat their boredom. They then result to tactics that often result in them losing a sizable chunk of their bankroll. Here are some signs that you need to work on your patience at the poker table.

Playing Too Many Hands

Yes, I know this is a cliche, but the reality is that this is still the #1 sign of an impatient poker player. While there are times where it is correct to play a higher number of hands, such as a table full of nits, once you progress past a certain point, the patient players are going to take advantage of you.

If you are playing more than a couple of hands an orbit at a table of reasonable players than odds are you may be playing too fast. Boredom pushes us to play inferior holdings because we think we can outplay our opponents. The truth is that you’re just gambling and the odds are not going to be in your favor.

Playing Too Many Tables

An online offshoot of playing too many tables, there are players who play too many tables because of boredom. They start by playing at two, three, and then suddenly find themselves playing at ten or more tables. While this can certainly be exciting, there are many people playing more tables than they have the skill level to handle.

You should play the number of tables that you can comfortably play your best poker at. If that means sticking to just a couple of tables, then stick to two tables. It is better to play two tables profitably and be a little bored than to have the time of your life at 10 tables and go broke.

Playing Games to Fit Your Attention Span

I was reading an old CardPlayer Magazine that helped inspire this article. Matt Lessigner stated that he found himself changing his game to fit his attention span. If he was bored at 10-handed, he switched to six-handed. If six-handed was boring, he moved to four-handed or even heads-up.

This play sounds logical as short-handed games demand you play more hands, but they do nothing to help your patience. If anything, they work against it. What happens when you go to a live casino that only has full ring games or you’re playing in a nine-handed tournament. Your boredom is going to lead to your playing too many hands and likely an early exit unless you’re very lucky.

Playing Casino Games to Combat Boredom

I’ve seen too many people that get tired of waiting for hands at the poker table and so they decide to go play in the pits or slots. A good friend of mine has a wife who effectively started getting bored with poker and now will play cash games for a while and then make her way over to the slots because there’s more action.

In her case, it works out because she is a casual player and plays low stakes only. Her husband often makes more profit in a single session than she spends during an entire trip at slots. Of course, I’ve seen her win too.

However, I have also seen other players get bored at the poker tables and go hand out at the pits and blow a huge chunk of their roll in a short time. I can’t tell you how many times I have watched a certain former AC poker semi-pro win a few hundred at the tables over the course of a couple of hours and then decide to go try to double it up at blackjack. He often comes back to the tables broke and starting over. That’s one of many reason’s he’s a former semi-pro.

Poker is a game of patience, and that’s a virtue that is lost on too many players. Granted, you don’t have to have the old school patience that went out of style following the Poker Boom, but you still need to learn how to wait things out and pick your spots at the table. Otherwise, you’re going to make yourself an easy target for players that have learned that patience is a virtue in life and at the poker table.

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