Great quote for beginners from Phil Ivey

[KurtSF]

I agree with the quote.

Granted $100 might not be the appropriate amount to all players, certainly not micro players. But that said good poker definitely does require a certain detachment from your money. You have to make the right play all the time, even if it costs you when it doesn't work out. You have to be able to throw your money in with the best of it and accept it when you lose it all. The extreme variance of this game is such that if you place a significant importance on every dollar you put in play the game will break your heart. You must be willing to lose before you can win.

$0.02.

[chok1]

i think some people here are taking the quote to seriously.
He's using an extreme example of how you should be detached from money. he's not saying you shouldnt care about it. if you didnt care about money then why play poker?

[evank15]

Stupid quote. Really stupid IMO.

I'm a poker player. I'm a solid low stakes poker player. I win. I care about money. A lot. This is a good quote for serious players playing for serious money. This is a stupid quote for beginners who will take it as license to toss around money like it's nothing.

There is a delicate balance to be reached between caring about money yet still being detached from day to day fluctuations. A good player must have a certain detachment. But a good player also must have respect for what he is playing for. Anyone lacking that respect is throwing a party and is invited to play at my tables anytime.

[usaftrevor]

When I talk about "lighting money on fire" I don't think of it as throwing it away, but instead, admitting that it's money that I have but do not need. I think that's where Mr Ivey is going with this one. That's where the detachment lies. Your working poker bankroll should never be money set aside for rent or groceries, but rather it should extra money, money that you could indeed light on fire and still live your day to day life if it were gone.

Now it's all well and good to generate grocery money and rent money from playing poker, but you shouldn't be looking to go the other way.

I generally play $1/$2 NL, and I always eye up the $5/$10 NL table. Sure, I could sit in the game short for $750, but I'd just be throwing it away. I've always said that I don't want to sit in the $5/$10 NL game until I've got about $10K that I'm willing to simply light on fire. And when I am willing to do just that, that's where you'll find me.

[inishowen]

[ QUOTE ]
It's true at upper levels that you need to be 'detached' from your chips/money. If your afraid to loose money, you'll never bluff or take chances. If that happens, people can read you like a book. - Never bluffs, and if he/she does, its for a small amount of money.

They can also bet to push you off your hand. They make a large bet (NL) and you'll always be thinking that your behind. I've noticed that really good players re-raise when they have the 3rd or 4th best hand. It starts getting into the 'meta' game.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. Maybe Ivey is saying that in a hand/session/tourney if you play based on what has happened in the past or what state your buy in is at, you will not be able to view the current hand objectively and play it correctly. Ex: forget about percentages.

I like the quote and think it applies at any limit.

[KurtSF]

I believe I've seen this quote somwhere else, too.

IIRC the second part is about losing $500,000 in a single session and being able to come back the next day and play your A game. The idea being that there will be up days and down days, and you have to be able to handle the bad the get to the good.

[kabouter]

A lot of people at the micro limits, don't seem to mind burning $100 (as in playing like complete maniacs), that doesn't make them good players though...

[ottsville]

This is a horrible quote for beginners, especially at the micro levels. This is the mentality that says in a .25/.50 game "I'll call a capped river with my top pair on a four flush board, it's only another $.50."

To be an long term gambler (winning or losing) you need to have a detachment from the money. This quote, although attributed to Ivey here, has been around a long time and been said by many people. It has also been discussed on these forums several times - there was an thread in the past year in psych forum about this same quote.

[Dromar]

[ QUOTE ]
When I talk about "lighting money on fire" I don't think of it as throwing it away, but instead, admitting that it's money that I have but do not need. I think that's where Mr Ivey is going with this one. That's where the detachment lies. Your working poker bankroll should never be money set aside for rent or groceries, but rather it should extra money, money that you could indeed light on fire and still live your day to day life if it were gone.


[/ QUOTE ]

This is the only way I could see the quote not being completely stupid.

To play poker well, you have to care about money, because it's the only thing you gain from playing well.

[siwicki]

u gotta love phil ivey