Poker Glossary
Variance
The natural statistical spread of results around your true win rate — the gap between what your edge earns on average and what any given week actually pays. Even strong winners endure long downswings (and enjoy heaters) that skill cannot prevent; results converge toward expectation only across large samples. Bankroll rules exist because of variance: session results are weather, win rate is climate.
At the table
A solid winner at 5bb/100 can still lose over a 20,000-hand stretch without playing a single hand worse. Run the math and the swing is ordinary, not ominous.
House note
Let the math judge →← Full glossary — all 52 termsVariance giveth heaters and taketh downswings — the tracker knows which one you’re actually in.
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