GTO Poker Theories - False Economies

Some things that seem great value actually cost you more money overall, whether it's cheap cars or enticing poker promotions.

One of the real gifts poker has given me is that it has been a great jumping-off point to learn things from other disciplines like economics, AI, psychology, and Game Theory. So here is a series of articles where I bring some of the most interesting things I have learned from other subjects outside of poker which are applicable to this game we know and love.

A false economy refers to a situation where an action or decision that seems cost-effective or beneficial in the short term ends up being more expensive or detrimental in the long run. It is essentially an illusion of savings or advantages that turn out to be unsustainable or counterproductive.

A classic example would be buying low-quality items. Anyone who has bought a cheap car knows what I am talking about. You often find yourself footing an expensive repair bill, then sticking with the car for too long precisely because you have poured so much money into maintaining it.

I went on holiday recently and realised what a false economy trying to book a cheap flight is. We went for a cheaper flight at unsociable hours, but we ended up spending more money on taxis (because trains were not running late at night) and needlessly expensive meals (because we were stuck at the airport for longer) than if we had just paid for the more expensive flight at sociable times.

Beware the low-hanging fruit of promotions

This year I have really thought about the false economies in poker, in particular promotions that require a lot of time and investment. I was lucky enough to win a PKO leaderboard this year, but it reminded me of a time the previous year when I came third in an MTT leaderboard.

I started Unibet Open Series with a couple of final tables the opening weekend and was nicely up about €900 and in front in the low stakes leaderboard, which paid out something like €500 to the winner.

I spent about two weeks playing every evening trying to maintain my position, gambling for big stacks, and re-entering everything. I was exhausted and lost about €600 in buy-ins and eventually came third for about €150. At the end of the series I was about €450 up, but I would have been much better off if I had just ignored the leaderboard entirely and played my regular games. 

Don't sacrifice EV for promotions

I am also a sucker for a fun Mission promotion, even if it means playing a format I don't normally play. When I see that I can win an easy €25 playing cash games I just cannot refuse, and often will lose €40 trying to bag the extra bonus. Online MTTs are the only format I win regularly in and this month I decided to finally stop chasing low-hanging fruit like this. 

We used to see the same thing happening on a grander scale when people tried and failed to make SuperNova Elite. The extra volume burnt them out and they lost money at the tables because they sacrificed so much edge. 

Finding a site with good promotions is an integral part of being a winning player. Just last week we interviewed a member who was crushing BLAST Leaderboards and it is well worth a read. However, I think the lesson here is that the promotion needs to be something you essentially were going to do anyway, rather than something where you have to force yourself to play.

What theories from outside of poker have helped your game? Let us know in the comments.

Related articles