Oscillating between good and bad play

[diebitter]

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The bottom line, in answering all these threads about tilt and playing A game all the time, is to not care about the immediate results, only the decisions you made.


-J

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I totally agree with yuo 100%. It's my fault- I don't think I explained the issue well enough in my post.

It's not short term results that bother me. It's the frustration with myself for not playing consitently (whether I win or lose per session is irrelevent)

Many thanks
Ian

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Yes, JJN is spot on here.

[FNG]

Yeah, ok, sorry I was a dick. But seriously, it sounds like it's peoples' expectations that are at issue here. You can't win every time you make a +EV bet. Nor can you make the best decision every single time for hours on end. Having more realistic expectations will go a long way toward sorting out your tilt issues.

[JJNJustin]

Mostly, I wanted to say, dont be so hard on yourself. Poker is a very complex game. You are never going to play "perfectly" because this is only some imaginary concept in your own mind. And even if you could somehow achieve this "pefect game" it wont guarantee a win for that day or that session. You are always going to lag somewhat behind your ideal level of play, because as you improve, so do your standards. So dont constantly punish yourself for this. Recognize that you are human and there were logical reasons why you made these mistakes because of what was available to you at that time.

Poker is a game of long term profitability, and therefore I feel it is more important to maintain consistancy in your game rather than have moments of greatness followed by temporarily lapses of reason and control. Dont try to play "perfect" all the time. It isnt possible, nor will it necessarily bring you any more money. It will, however, drive you nuts if you keep punishing yourself for every mistake you make.

Rather, play the best you can, recognize those areas of your game that need improvement, figure out ways to constantly work on those things, and most importantly dont play when you are emotionally out of control. Simply dont play when that happens and you'll be alright. You may have some short sessions, but it's better than tilting away what you worked so hard to win.

Good luck

-J

[Poker Plan]

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Mostly, I wanted to say, dont be so hard on yourself. Poker is a very complex game. You are never going to play "perfectly" because this is only some imaginary concept in your own mind. And even if you could somehow achieve this "pefect game" it wont guarantee a win for that day or that session. You are always going to lag somewhat behind your ideal level of play, because as you improve, so do your standards. So dont constantly punish yourself for this. Recognize that you are human and there were logical reasons why you made these mistakes because of what was available to you at that time.

Poker is a game of long term profitability, and therefore I feel it is more important to maintain consistancy in your game rather than have moments of greatness followed by temporarily lapses of reason and control. Dont try to play "perfect" all the time. It isnt possible, nor will it necessarily bring you any more money. It will, however, drive you nuts if you keep punishing yourself for every mistake you make.

Rather, play the best you can, recognize those areas of your game that need improvement, figure out ways to constantly work on those things, and most importantly dont play when you are emotionally out of control. Simply dont play when that happens and you'll be alright. You may have some short sessions, but it's better than tilting away what you worked so hard to win.

Good luck

-J

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Many thanks for your advice. It's much respected and much appreciated.

Regards,
Ian

[AlanBostick]

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look, all I'm trying to say is you would do well to embrace the fact that luck plays a factor in this game instead of bitching about it. You get your money in the middle with the best of it and take what comes. There isn't any more you can do.

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You can get your point across in a polite manner, or as an ahole.

I suggest going the polite route.

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Good idea. You go first.

[azaycriz]

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Seriously? Get over it. [censored] happens. To everybody. That's gambling.

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Another [censored] mo.fo trolling on 2+2.

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You obviously have anger management issues which would explain why you tilt after losing a couple pots. FNG gave you the shortest, best answer to your question. It's your own problem you can't follow his advice.

Anyway, I've been trying to only play when I'm not tired and not rely on PT stats as much anymore (I play 2/4 - 5/10 short handed) and trying to take good notes. I think PT made me forget how to play poker, as I was just a mindless predictable semi-bot.

Also, I've been trying to use table image more by playing super LAGGRO at first and then getting my good hands paid off later on (or just consciously trying to change gears better and more often). I am trying to constantly think of how my opponents are perceiving me at that particular table and what they think I might have. This is all basic stuff, but seriously, PT messed me up to the point where I was forgetting basic winning poker.

Thus far, my play has gone from sucking really hard to only sucking a little bit, in my opinion. -my 2c

[CloudFrog]

I've noticed something... For a long time while I was a bad player, I'd ask myself, "Why on Earth would that idiot call with THAT hand!?" and just get furious with him. I'd complain that I wasn't playing with any talented players, and that I needed to start playing with people with some skill. After a while of this, I realized that the questions I SHOULD have been asking were "What SHOULD I have done to make sure that guy COULDN'T suck out?" or "Where did I go wrong in this hand to lose?"

I've noticed my play has only gotten better and better since.

[AKQJ10]

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"What SHOULD I have done to make sure that guy COULDN'T suck out?"

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I doubt this question has really added to your effectiveness. It sounds like you're trying to knock people off their drawing hands, which is not good no-limit poker. The question you should be asking is, "What can I do to make this guy pay too much for the times he sucks out, so I win more the times he doesn't?"

[JJNJustin]

I should clarify that the advice I was giving in my last post was concerning limit poker. No-limit poker is quite a bit different. In no-limit poker you can splash around and play actually pretty poorly in small pots, so long as you make excellent decisions in all of the big pots and still come out a big winner. I think a lot of players who steam easily gravitate towards no-limit so long as they can relegate their steaming to small pots and small bets only.

Limit poker requires excellent emotional control. This is why many excellent limit poker players are the dull boring grinder types, and many excellent NL players are more "superstar" types (see my post on personality traits, yes this is a shameless plug)

I am not usually a steamer, but my problem is still related to results-oriented emotions. When I get good hands and when players do as I wish I get so lit up/emotionally excited that perceptive opponents pick up on these things and make correct decisions. This is still related to results immediate results oriented thinking. Thoughts like "I really want everyone to call because I have a great hand" have to be thwarted and exchanged to, "I dont care what they do, I can only bet my hand because it fairs excellently to be the best hand."

-J

[Nate tha\\\' Great]

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I should clarify that the advice I was giving in my last post was concerning limit poker. No-limit poker is quite a bit different. In no-limit poker you can splash around and play actually pretty poorly in small pots, so long as you make excellent decisions in all of the big pots and still come out a big winner. I think a lot of players who steam easily gravitate towards no-limit so long as they can relegate their steaming to small pots and small bets only.

Limit poker requires excellent emotional control. This is why many excellent limit poker players are the dull boring grinder types, and many excellent NL players are more "superstar" types (see my post on personality traits, yes this is a shameless plug)

I am not usually a steamer, but my problem is still related to results-oriented emotions. When I get good hands and when players do as I wish I get so lit up/emotionally excited that perceptive opponents pick up on these things and make correct decisions. This is still related to results immediate results oriented thinking. Thoughts like "I really want everyone to call because I have a great hand" have to be thwarted and exchanged to, "I dont care what they do, I can only bet my hand because it fairs excellently to be the best hand."

-J

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Really? I've always thought that steam problems are much less harmful in limit poker.