Poker Time Management
Power Poker Psychology
by James A. McKenna, Ph.D

Baseball and Tennis are “goal-time” sports. The goal is for players to reach the highest score at the end of nine innings or a set of six games. Basketball and Hockey are “clock-time” sports. The team with the highest score when the clock runs out is the winner.

Activities such as poker combine goal and clock time. Playing cards can be a combination of spending time to reach goals and creating harmony in one’s life. It can also be a way to waste time and create disharmony in a person’s life. Like music, gaming can produce harmony with good time management or disharmony through poor use of time.

Goal Time and Clock Time Management. When I manage my time outside of the poker room, I use the four D’s of sound time management. If there is something I can do right away and it fits with my job, I’ll just DO it. On the other hand, if it’s something with which I really don’t want to be bothered, I’ll DUMP it. Still, I find that I can free up a lot of time by taking things that I want to do and deciding to DELEGATE it. Finally, for those things that will take time and that I can’t delegate or choose not to do right away, I will DECIDE when to do them by scheduling when I am going to do them. Using the 4 D’s in the poker room can improve card playing and plug up leaks in a player’s game. Here’s how to manage your time in the poker room as well as other games in the casino.

1. DO IT If the odds are good, play the hand.
2. DUMP IT If the odds are poor, lay it down.
3. DELEGATE IT When possible, let someone else bet for you.
4. DECIDE WHEN Decide when to play, when to call, raise, to delegate betting to another player and when to lay down.

Do It Or Dump It. Most of us will live less than two and one-half billion seconds. As each second passes away, how time is spent cannot be retrieved. Good poker players will spend their poker seconds setting themselves up to feel good. Of course, when they lose they don't feel good. At the same time, they won't waste time in the "pity pot." Other players will spend their time suffering or endlessly pursuing excitement. Time spent in promoting bad feelings or seeking excitement as a drug of choice is time being wasted. It wastes the seconds ticking away that won't come back. Play the hands that will result in investing your precious seconds. Dump the hands that will waste those important seconds that keep ticking away.

Delegate It. Playing smart often means letting someone else bet for you. Delegating makes more money because it increases your productivity. The same is true in poker, it can build bigger pots. Whenever you are delegating, be sure of two things. First, that the person you are delegating a job to can be relied to get the job done. In poker, you need to know when you can count on someone behind you to bet for you. Second, be as certain as you can that your hand is best and that the pot odds are right.

Decide When. Although poker has been called a waiting game, good players are not idle. They’re socializing, studying opponents and scheduling when to make a move. Good poker managers know, “Failure to plan is a plan to fail.” Deciding when to play, raise, or fold needs plans. Playing by “the seat of your pants,” costs a lot in worn-out clothing and busted stakes. Planning to leave when ahead or before you’re busted is also a vital part of poker management.

Show me a player who doesn’t manage playing the game and I’ll show you a player who leaves with less money, wastes time and creates disharmony in his or her life.

James A. McKenna, PhD., has been a practicing individual and group therapist for over thirty-five years. His knowledge of human behavior combined with over thirty years of gaming experience gives him a unique perspective on the psychology of the gamer. His book, “Beyond Tells-Power Poker Psychology,” will be published soon by Gambling Times. He can be contacted at: jim@JimMckenna-phd.com.

This story is published in the Dec 15 2003 edition of Poker Player.

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