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One question I've been trying to figure out for a while. For us to become great poker players, we have to approach the game with a passion. We have to read and think about poker with ferocity to improve faster than our competition. If we're completely emotionally detached from the game, our play doesn't improve.

My question is, how do we 'turn off' our emotion while playing and then turn it back on away from the tables in order to improve?

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Very interesting. You got me thinking for about 10 minutes.

I'm going to make a comparison to guitar study, even though playing guitar and playing poker are two completely different activities.

Before I found this game, I had a passion to be the best guitar player in the world. I would study licks from all of the greats, chord progressions, everything I could get my hands on. I'd practice 8 hours a day, so that when I had a gig, I would be ready. When I'd get to the gig, though, this passion turned into a confidence, or more specifically a satisfaction in the moment that would be me playing in front of people. During this moment, everything I did was natural, and there was little apprehension on my part. If I'd ever freeze up, it was either because my concentration was off, or I'd revert back into 'practice' mode where I was focused on analyzing my play.

Poker is very much the same as playing guitar (for me), in that we need to put a lot of time in away from the tables in order to be ready for our 'gig's,', or sessions. We're here because we desperately we want to learn how to win. When we sit down, we already know what we HAVE to do - adapt to the situation and make the most +ev move. However, sometimes we get lost in the moment and neglect to consider that the thought processes we need to play are completely free of the ones we analyze in practice mode. I'm not saying that everyone should free their minds and let go while playing - I'm saying that YOU ALREADY KNOW HOW TO PLAY, AND WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO, BASED ON WHAT YOU HAVE STUDIED AND LEARNED. Take in the information that is available to you, and process it.

One of the biggest leaks I have is getting caught up in decisions I have already made during a session. I put more emphasis on the analysis of the decision rather than actually playing. In my opinion, this is one of the biggest setbacks for the driven, thinking player. We study to become great players, but very often we forget that there are times when we're not supposed to be studying.

What does this have to do with emotion? Everything! We're emotionally invested in beating this game, but when at the tables we have to remember to play the game we studied so hard to build.