In playing poker you should always weigh the balance between risk and reward. Sometimes the rewards are so tempting but the means to get it are so risky. You need to balance it out. Check out some simple examples of this thought below:
Example 1 - A well-to-do man came over you and offer you $1,000,000 to play Russian roulette for him. He hands over a six chamber gun. Will you accept it?
One million is a very good reward in this game because you have 5 out of 6 chances that you’ll get it. But one million is not good enough if you end up dead. Even 1 out of 6 chances of taking a bullet in your head is big enough reason not to take the offer of the rich man.
Example 2 - You’re one lucky person ‘coz you won $5,000,000 in the lottery. At this point the same man at example 1 challenge you to a coin flipping contest. If the coin toss results will be head then he will give you $10,000,00, double your money and if its a tail then you’ll give him $5,000,000.
Ten million dollars is a big rewards but the risk that comes with it is so high. If the coin is flip and end up being tail then you lose the $5,000,000 that you should enjoy for the rest of your life. Think about it.
The above examples are far too extreme to be applied in poker but it has some points that agree with the game. For example giving up a chance of winning because of the odds in the rewards.
Here’s one good example:
You’re one fortunate person because you got a free entrance to the WSOP (World Series of Poker). You find yourself in a situation wherein you don’t have enough chips in the table and you’re also one player away from the bubble. If you’ll make the money you’ll get $50,000 - quiet a big amount for you. Another player has been eliminated from the tournament but if you lose the present hand you will be out of the money since you are short stack compared to the other player.
At that time you have pocket Aces as your hole card. With this hand if you decide to fold you’ll get $50,000. But if you play and lose the hand you’ll get nothing. But if you play and win, you’re going to double or triple your chips.
The thing is that even if you play and win the hand, you still have a little chance to move up on the tournament ladder. And also if you try to play then you’ll also take the risk in losing $50,000.
You should always take the risk into consideration when you are playing poker. If the rewards are high but the risk of winning the reward carries a big risk then its better to fold your hand and not to take the risk at all.
Remember that in a tournament especially if you are deep stacked, there is always a better time to win a pot. So that’s where you have to place the money.