“Fear leads to anger”. Have this in mind when facing variance!

Home “Fear leads to anger”. Have this in mind when facing variance!
add comment

“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….”

We all wish these words would be true, but the cruel reality is the fact that VARIANCE is everyone and it can catch us in his claws anytime.

What should we do in order to get out of this harsh and ugly period? A very good solution will be improving our game and working even harder than before. This is the main key in avoiding “the Dark Side”.

 

But better than just writing words we will let one of our Spin & Go’s Jedi Masters, Darkornot guide your steps to get out of this Dark Side called VARIANCE

 

Saydana: Hello again, master! If it will be to describe Spin & Go variance in only one word which will be this one?

Darkornot: A good excuse. I am joking, but I don’t have one clear word coming to my mind. Simply, I feel that a lot of players are hiding behind variance. They should rather just spend some time to understand the impact of each kind of variance and set up their goals including the variance as a standard parameter (like hours spent for grinding, time dedicated to studying, etc.

 

Saydana: What is the difference regarding variance between your old poker format and Spin & Go’s? 
Darkornot: I was a cash game player before so I think the main difference comes from the “Jackpot variance”. The fact that your yearly results can be highly boosted in just a few games. So the main difference is to consider the long run when it comes to Spin & Go’s, and the general EV that you generate. Also, when you start playing this game format, you feel like facing a lot of variance every session due to the fact that we are playing short stack and there are plenty of situations where you “have to flip. But this part is obviously completely neglectable as soon as you consider the medium/long run. 

 

Saydana: Which one is the hardest issue a player has to fight with when we speak about Spin & Go variance?
Darkornot: The most common issues are the swings in terms of real money. This happens to every player, but it impacts even more the less experienced players.
They will mostly consider their skills regarding the cash they generate and not the EV. Then when you get more experienced, a lot of players overestimated low samples. Even though they now consider their EV, cEV. They can just get concerned and affected after some swings on low sample of game But as soon as you consider play spins as a professional player, especially when you get used to this variance and you have a team and a solid stable on your side, I think you can manage to go over these mindset aspects easily.

 

Saydana: In which way do you think the EV deals changed the Spin & Go field?
Darkornot: The great things when you are a member of our team is that you can reduce drastically the mindset impact of variance. First, you don’t play with your own money, so all that you have to do is to work hard to achieve the best you can without any fear of risking your own cash.
Then the possibility to have EV deals allow you to “get the reward you deserve”. It simply kills this frustration that can appear during tough swingy times. Due to this the best you are the more you earn and that’s it. It really reduces the impact of variance and that’s definitely a great opportunity to only focused on things you can impact: the time that you dedicate to be the best player.

 

Saydana: As a coach, what solutions do you deliver to your students for fighting variance? 
Darkornot: There is a different kind of “variance” when it comes to Spin & Go’s. The “flip variance” is when you run hot and win your flips or the opposite. Then the “medium run” variance regarding the set up you can face on bigger samples. This will make you face some quite high swings in term of results. And finally the “Jackpot” variance regarding how lucky you are when it comes hitting good jackpots. The main point is to understand the variance you face. We can only focus on things we can control, and we have to be prepared to this other aspect that will happen but that you can’t change. That’s why it’s important to set up goals, look at the possible perspective and create a plan with a general long term goal and some checkpoints around the road.

 

Saydana: In your opinion, does variance has advantages and disadvantages. Maybe players fight more to improve when they are facing ugly variance?
Darkornot: The main advantage that I see when it comes to variance is that it creates this “gamble aspect” that attract so many players to this format. Obviously, as a pro player, in the long run, we won’t care much about the variance. But we can’t control the rare Jackpot that anybody can hit, and also on low sample even the weakest opponent can run hot and destroy you.
That’s why the variance is so cool for this poker format, and make this so attractive. Then, of course, you will face swings but the swings when you completely crush your stake are not the same than the swings when you barely beat your stake. That’s why these tough times where you face really high variance are good times to sharpen your skills, improve your game and be ready to crush even more during the good times.

 

Saydana: Thanks a lot for this interview, coach! 

 

May the VARIANCE avoid you as much as possible! 🙂

[was-this-helpful]

If you are not ready to join us, take a quick look first into the life of bitB Spin players!

Join our public Discord channel and get exclusive contents, videos, and talk with our poker members.

Join our discord channel