Hey guys!It's been bugging me for some time now, but I can't think when I play poker.I own and read a lot of poker books, I have shitloads of HUSNG videos and I watch them and understand everything.But when I open up FT and start to grind, I just don't use anything of that. I even have aweHud v3 installed and know how to use it, but when a guy that has like 0.5 AF over 200 hands suddenly shoves the river, I'm not using any of the collected data, I just say to myself "Lol, are you trying to bluff me here?" and call with the third pair. So when I run good, I win, and when the cards aren't that good, I'm just losing everything. I wouldn't call that tilt, if only I'm not on permanent tilt.My tourney results tab in HM is like a rollercoaster and not just the one for noobs, but the one that I would probably shit myself on 3 times during the ride, and I'm no stranger to rollercoasters.Let's keep this straight - I know that I look like a crying baby right now, and I know that the problem is only in me, but still: did any of you experience the same when starting out and how did you get rid of it? Thanks a lot for all the info!Regards,Alexey
Sorry, but I don't handle like this :D It seems like you have less discipline.check out: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/06/self-discipline/ Of course this is a mindset problem! You should QUIT every session if you just do that at least one single time!It makes you not playing AAA-Game.Instead of playing, you could go on with some theory and try again in some minutes.... Example:play 10min.... become tilt and make "one of these calls"...break... do some theory....(1h)2nd try! If you realize that you not playing your A-game twice, quit poker for that day! It's also helpful to get some distance between you and poker. Just take some days (3-5) you don't do anything that handles with poker, also no forums.
If i feel thas i dont play my A game , i take a break ... Best way ti improve your A game is to work on your B game ...
Sometimes variance can certainly make it seem like you only win when you run good and always lose when you run bad (often that can be the case anyways), I mean if you get KK vs QQ or QQ vs KK, the results are often dictated by which side of the cooler you're on, so it'll happen like that quite often.However, you shouldn't be throwing out what you know when you start a game, that's the worrisome part (and the one you can control).I would suggest slowing everything down.- One table.- When you feel like you're making plays without reasons, stop playing and clear your head.- Review your own games. Ask yourself why you made certain plays.- Ask questions on the forums. Post hands.- Pay attention to reads and the adjustments that you make based on these reads. I see guys say that they play "ABC Poker" all the time, but then 5 minutes later they are not understanding how to make a basic adjustments. Basic adjustments are much easier to make than truly having a solid "ABC" default game because having a solid default game means you have a very good grasp on how players generally act (without many or any reads) and you know how to react in a basic way. This is NOT something breakeven $22 players do well, but it's what you always hear people are frustrated with.Just like ABC poker, A, B, C, D game stuff is overhyped/taken out of context. I find it more useful to those that have severe tilt problems or are very emotional at the table. Other players are pretty well controlled, and while they will play worse over time, there's no need to call it anything other than what it is: endurance. If you play 3 hours a day and add 15 minutes each week, after 8 weeks you're now playing 5 hours a day and you're likely much more focused and playing better during hour 3 than you used to be. You can market that any way you want, but it's the same with any single thing you do, from baseball, to guitar, to teaching spanish or having sex. Build endurance and drop negative emotions. If you're a professional or have severe emotional issues at the tables, think about hiring a therapist (sports therapists can work, general therapists can work, and poker focused professionals such as Jared Tendler are also good choices. I'd particularly go with a guy like Jared if you don't have a lot of major life crisis and are more focused on getting the most out of your mental approach to poker, guys like Hokie and Primo were never really emotional headcases, not by any stretch, but they've benefited very much from people like Jared Tendler).
Your replys are awesome Rypac....I agree with everything Rypac and my5tyle said, especially about discipline. It takes discipline and/or tilt control to use all that you have studied and apply it at the tables. I guess my main question would be....do you just fail to remember all that you have learned while playing (which would be a studying problem) or do you know the right strategies while you play but just have a hard time forcing yourself to make the right play (discipline problem)?You are not alone. A good friend of mine has a similar problem. He is an intelligent guy who has played online for several years, has read several poker books, watched videos, posted on 2p2, etc. but still has crazy variance and is unable to beat micro stakes games. He was so frustrated and ready to quit so I did a sweat session with him. I just could not believe how many mistakes he was making AND TELLING ME ABOUT THEM WHILE HE PLAYED! He knew he was playing bad but didnt have the self discipline play right because he was too worried about trying to run people over or he thought everyone was trying to run him over. In essence, he just let his emotions take over when he played.Poker is a tough game to beat simply because it requires so many skill sets (ie. intelligence, self discipline, emotional control, analytical skills, financial sense, etc.) that most people either lack, don't care to learn, or refuse to use.
I would recommend Jared Tendlers new book "The mental game of poker". There's tons of information about how to overcome this sort of problem.
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