CARDRUNNERS

What's Your Edge

tilllttt's Poker Blog

January 25, 2010

I have none.....

i suck so hard at emotional control. it's by far my biggest leak, and it is a profound one. i could probably be playing 2/4 by now if this wasn't such a huge problem for me, but no matter how much i try to address it, i just can't get my arms around it and keep it that way.

anyone have any good ideas or techniques? seriously. i don't even really believe in all that meditation stuff, but i've seriously considered breathing techniques before and during a session. i get far too excited about big pots, whether i win or lose them.

it's so disappointing, because i work so hard to get good results and then in a momentary lapse in judgement i just tilt spew.

tilllttt is the perfect screen name for me because i suck at it.

no i didn't just have a bad session or anything. i'm finally having a pretty good month. rush poker has settled down, but it will still be a good way to make money. it's just frustrating because i would be up so much more in general if i could just keep my cool. regs play bad. villians suck out. it's good for the game. why do i let it upset me? just dumb dumb dumb.

it's so frustrating that i know the right thing to do, but just can't master it. i will never be an elite player if i'm unable to mitigate tilt from my game, so maybe, i will never be an elite player. time will tell. all i know is this. 100% of my study time, prep, and focus during sessions will be around controlling my emotions. in every aspect of my life, i am going to become a monk. in with the good air, out with the bad. as peten2toms says, "positivity FTW" baby! anything else is just -ev.

Entry Tags:

Jan 25, 10 16:00:24

+1, all I can say :(

MetalGear23

Jan 26, 10 18:29:10

Im currently reading the book the poker mindset. Its actually the first poker book i have read but it has refreshed my mentality into how to approach the game. It deals with more of the psychological part of the game. Will read Ace on the River as well which i purchased both on Stars using my FFPs.
Since reading the book ive had 3 consecutive winning sessions :) gl

ZaRolla

Jan 27, 10 08:23:21

You know what, you'll never get to 2/4 until you conquer these issues. I used to be a bit of a tilt monkey but now I'd say that part of my game is really strong. I owe a lot of that to The Poker Mindset, as Zarolla said it's a great book.

You have to come to the realisation that the difference between you and a 2/4 grinder is probably quite small in terms of skill, and huge in terms of emotional control and mindset. Out of everything in Poker you can only control yourself, everything else is down to chance and probability. Don't focus on the past, focus on the present. The hand you are playing right now, don't let anything else influence your decision but logic and the information you have available to you at that time.

Once you start to crack it you'll get a great feeling when you lose a few big pots and remain cool and collected. I can tell you that for me, having a big losing session and feeling fine about it is a much better feeling than winning a huge pot.

Whenever I watch the top player's videos, it's obvious why they are so good. They're thoughts aren't clouded by the bad beat they just took, or some random hand that they played wrong. They are 100% focused on the individual hand they are playing at that time and nothing else matters. I think sometimes we forget that each hand is separate from the next, they don't somehow merge and form one big hand, they are all individual, like stepping stones across a huge lake. If you stumble and fall in the water you have to get back up there and regain your balance, not get mad and start to frantically try and rush your way to the other side.

It's such a cliche but the only thing stopping you from achieving your goals is yourself.

birchinio