If you haven’t experienced the thrill of it already, the time will come when you win a huge multi-table tournament (MTT) and feel a little like Kevin McCallister did in Home Alone; you have the house to yourself and everything is one big party. However, the bad guys are always out there willing to steal your glory and there is danger at every corner. Whether it’s Home Alone playing online or on the road that you celebrate that first big win, we’ve compiled a list of ways you can deal with your victory in the most productive way possible.
Remain Calm
The moment of victory is unlikely to be the moment you hold onto your decorum. Pop a bottle of champagne, tell all your friends and celebrate, because wading through a huge field to emerge victorious as the sole survivor is a feeling like no other in poker. The next morning (OK, afternoon), is a good time to look at what you’ve won and calculate what you’ll do with the money. Do you have the winnings to change both your personal life as well as your poker fund? We’ll come back to building your bankroll in the best possible way, but if you have the chance to make life changes, keep in mind how they affect your poker game. Think about investing in products or services that improve your physical fitness, or aid your continued learning of the game.
Take a Shot
As recently as this week, professionals have been talking about how taking shots in poker helped them. The natural reaction for anyone who would like to try the same is to imagine their own opportunity being akin to Eminem’s one shot in the movie 8 Mile. But poker isn’t a movie. Taking a shot in poker is often about working within certain parameters. Make sure that you break down where your shot (or shots) are going to be and then make sure that you are disciplined enough not to go any further. Research the tournaments or levels you are going to treat yourself to playing. If you’re awarding yourself three buy-ins to try and take down the Title Fight, for example, make sure you stick to it. A great way of doing this is to keep a tournament diary around the shots you take. You might be surprised at the enjoyment and success you take from doing so!
Improve Yourself
We’ve already spoken about spending some life winnings on yourself, but a good idea to specifically turn your tournament take-down into poker improvement. Allot an amount of your winnings to some poker books, invest in some private coaching or sign up to some online training with a specific aim and let your success grow in one of the best ways you can –by investing in your long-term game.
Build the Bankroll
Building a bankroll in poker means climbing up the levels slowly and in a very organised fashion. Go too fast and you’ll slip back down the path you’ve so laboriously trodden to get to where you are. But structure playing at higher limits and increase your buy-ins marginally and you should see a consistent trend of improvement, in your skill level as well as your profit column.
Frame the Game
Winning The Contender or The Uppercut, to give just two MTT examples, is a big achievement. If you don’t believe us, ask your circle of friends how often they’ve won each of them and you’ll likely be able to count the other winners on one finger. Both are extremely good tournament to win and not just in terms of the cash you can bank, either. As well as diarising your victory, share it on Twitter, using @partypoker. We’d love to hear about your success, but the benefits are more for you as the winner. Coming back to moments you’ve won big money is a great confidence booster when variance is kicking you in the bazoo.
Track Your Trail
Hand analysis is always more useful when you correct mistakes from losing sessions, but looking over a victory in detail is an excellent way of understanding how you made your way to the title. Were there moments that you were extraordinarily lucky? Our brains are designed to remember the bad beats and not the suckouts, but try to focus not only on the dramatic moments in reliving your victory
Win Big This Xmas at partypoker
Hopefully, with a little luck and a lot of skill, you could find yourself in a position where you’re having to deal with a big MTT win this Christmas. Why? Because the $250,000 guaranteed Title Fight is going to be a massive $500,000 guaranteed on Boxing Day, December 26. The buy in remains the same $215 but the guarantee is doubled, and more than $1 million will be won on December 26, how much of it will you get your hands on?
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