Why can't i go a session without making a mistake?

[Alex424]

I play a decent standard of poker, and i'm sure i am a winning player and my stats and results read good.

BUT, why do i keep making 1 or 2 mistakes in say a 2 hour session. I'm not saying i don't make other mistakes as i'm not Phil Ivey. What i'm talking about are mistakes where i know what to do but for some reason i make a different play and realise its the wrong play as soon as ive made it.

SOOO frustrating as i know its eating away slowly at my win rate.

Is this common? Is it rare to go a session without making what should be easily avoidable mistakes.

[HoneyBadger]

same here. Lack of concentration? Tilt? I can't help you, because I don't know why I do this myself.

[Alex424]

no, it's not tilt. I think its lack of concentrationm but the way i see it if i lose 2BB in a 2 hour period ive practically broken even for the session instead of being up 2bb

[Bill C]

I don't know why you do it. I do it too. Maybe we should be glad we don't do it more?

The subject of "Tilt" may be a lot more complex than most people think. There's a book called, "Inside the Poker Mind" by psychologist/poker player John Feeney that you might find an interesting read. He talks about "subtle, unrecognized tilt," and defines "tilt" as occurring any time you make a play based on emotion of any kind; a play you might otherwise not make.

This is a lot more than blowing off your BR or throwing your cards at the dealer. It's the subtle little things like what you are describing.

And I think, having read it, that we ALL tilt some, even Phil Ivey!! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Maybe we're best served by trying to understand it and manage it.

You might want to take a look at that book. Personally, I found it very helpful.

bill c

[HoneyBadger]

I've read it, still clueless. Altough I realize tilt is more subtle now.

[CountingMyOuts]

It could possibly be for 2 reasons:

1. Could it be because you are playing too many tables? You could playing just enough tables where your attention is just spread a bit too thin and just enough so that you make mistakes because you just don't have enough time to think.

2. Could it be that you being too results oriented and will make a play just hoping to win a pot, even know though you know it is not the right play? This often happens when running badly or neutral and is a more of a subtle tilt (not the traditional form of full blown monkey tilt).

Most of us will never play perfect sessions consistently. Poker is a game of incomplete information and because of that, we will make the wrong play on occasion. Of course, add in the fact that we're human and emotions get involved and that makes it even harder to play perfectly. However, we do have control over the 2 possibilities I mentioned above.

[Alex424]

i only play 2 as i found i was making so many bad decisions with 3 or more it just wasn't worth it.

i cope fine with 2 so i don't believe it is that. i would never consider playing with just 1 as i'd be bored out of my skull.

I used to be results orientated - i/e if i was stuck in a session i would raise first in with hands i shouldn't to try and win the blinds, but i havn't done that for a long time.

I think its just plain old lack of concentration and maybe fatigue setting in.

[Cactus Jack]

Another thing, which is easy to do and easy to correct...

Don't play too fast.

[HoneyBadger]

That's a good one jack... I sometimes already press the 3 bet button before thinking. I'm over-aggressive. And sometimes I just fold when I know I'm beat (which I'm certain I am then) but I completely fail to look at the odds to outdraw certain hands, and I fold. Often correct, but sometimes I get proper odds and fold.

[Chris Daddy Cool]

if you never made a mistake you'd be playing in the big games and crusing in the money. as long as you realize u did something wrong that counts a lot as there are players out there that do things their whole playing lives without even realizing that it is wrong. that is what seperates the winners from the losers.