Pooh Bah Post === CONNECT ===

[Panic__NL]

Very, very good post, loved every word of it. And all you said is so true.
It is natural human beahviour to be unsatisfied when you loose, the play is less important. With all the examples that you call it is the same. Playing a poor game of basketball, but winning in the last minute with a lucky shot, feels great, but isn't.
Other example playing a game of soccer, score 2 goals in first 20 minutes, but receiving 2 in the last minutes, feels different than exactly the opposite. Although your game could be very much the same, and even the result is the same.
But how can you ask your mind to not get angry/dissappointed when you loose with good play. I think the answer is simple but the practice is difficult. Look at the long term, see your life as 1 long pokersession, instead of every session seperate. Don't try to finish every session winning, play every hand optimal.
It is difficult, but I must agree with OP that it is the key to optimal poker play.

[Tony Montana 22]

Great post ama, thank you for writing it.

I like everyone else suffer to verying degrees from the emotional trauma that can come from poker if I am not dilligent about protecting myself from it.

For me I think it is about all the effort and work I put into improving, that I feel I should be doing better than I am at that moment of the 5 buy in drop and I seem to forget that great session I had just yesterday, it's like the account has to be heading in only one direction for me to be happy, crazy but true at times.

I am better these days thankfully, but that too is subject to change.

There was a fish at one of my table tonight, that when I sat he was in the process of being berated by another fish for some suckout or other. It went on and on for what seemed like forever, finally the berater left and I stacked the fish when he slow played and I caught up, well he lost his mind for the duration. I talked nice to the guy the whole time, another big change, encouraging him, but it was no use he was wrecked, and the last thing he said was "I got to get ready for work (it was way early in the AM and he must have been playing before he went in) "and these horrible suckouts BETTER not happen to me after work"
He was totally serious and of course completely unaware of the impending disaster just around the corner, tonight, tomorrow, next week, sometime, it's coming.

It is threads like this, as well as the rest of the forum, and freindships we form here, that give us the tools to be able to continue with this tough game day in and day out, giving us a chance for continued improvement in all areas and aspects of the game.

[worthy9]

There's an excellent book entitled "Zen and the Art of Poker". It should be titled "How Not to Go On Tilt". The author (whose name I can't recall at the moment) puts in a lot of quotes from Zen masters and other books on Zen and follows them with expounding narrative. I'm not exactly into Zen or eastern religion but this book has helped me tremendously with my emotions. This post did something for me as well.

[TilTandWiN]

SICK SICK POST,

[Fiksdal]

Ama

I don't rly know how I missed this up until now. Brilliant post. There isn't a single poker player in the world who the advice in this post doesn't apply to. Bookmarked this to use as therapy the next time I'm steaming. Thanks a lot man.

[ama0330]

Wow, bit of a bump there.

This post was made when I was running/playing like ass, and as you can see from my well, everything I now touch turns to money. Go figure.

[ssdex]

hadn't read this before, nh sir

[Unknown Soldier]

hadnt seen this before, glad it was bumped.

Very very good post

[corsakh]

I like what your saying, but if you completely obstruct emotions, the game will become one endless grinding. How then this will be different from data typing or flipping hamburgers 6 hours a day?

We enjoy winning, we also enjoy being sucked out. Just on a different level. A suck out allows us to enjoy our wins more when we actually do win. It gives us the stimulus to move forward, to prove that we can beat the game. And while there is movement, there is always room for progress.

The adrenalin is what attracts us to the game, since there are obviously other more reliable ways to make money. And its one thing to control it, and another thing to completely shut it down. You may be a winning player without the emotional component, but you never going to enjoy the game. And as such, soon you are likely to burn out or be stuck at 2/4 because you don't have the passion to take the game to a new level.

I really think the difference between a winning and a loosing player is the ability to control and channel his emotions rather than the indifference of a carebear.

[dawade]

Great post bro, well worth the read and this bump!