(kind of LC) how to improve mental fortitude?

[dtan05]

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If you need pot to help you, you have problems imo

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Good thing pot solves those problems

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nh

[deaders]

As someone who is probably a couple years older than a lot of you guys who has been through stages of smoking every day for extended periods, the magic of weed wears off fairly quickly and you end up just feeling burnt-out and fuzzy-headed for a long time.

also pot wtf, who calls it that?

[riverspecialist]

drink lots of water, the colder the better

have plenty of light (artificial is fine). darkness tells your body its night time and you should sleep even if you're not tired

getting up to stretch while u play is the classic. but you know whats underrated? fidgetting. this is cutting edge my friend. everyone frowns on fidgetting cause its distracting and/or makes you look nervous(weak). your teachers, girlfriends, parents, you name it. but the truth is it helps circulate blood and get oxygen to the brain. this is the main reason why running b4 a session helps. i could go on about this forever. fidgetting like you'r nervous will actually trick your mind into focusing too because it thinks something important is about to happen. (this is the same psycho/physiological principal that makes you happy when you smile. even if you dont have a reason to be happy.)

[Irish Mafia]

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i think hoopster has a valid point though. last year i was 4 tabling putting in ~30k hands a month and i was running ~7ptbb over a large sample. this year ive been putting in way more hands, more tables, tried to force hands and at times this year my winrate has definitely suffered (1.5ptbb over my first 100k hands this year). i wouldnt be surprised if people made more money playing the way he did rather than trying to get in 100k hands a month (reef).

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I used to 10 table to 100k hands/month back in the Party days. I wasn't playing more hours than now, just more tables. My enjoyment level was probably about the same. I only gave it up because I couldn't hack it above 600NL playing that style after Party crashed.

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yea fwiw my 1.5ptbb wr was accompanied by the most drugs i have ever done in my life.

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Honestly, I think the lower winrate has everything to do w/ the state of the game, and 4+ regs being at every MSNL table, than anything else. When you are playing against competent opponents, your edge goes WAY down.

[DJ Sensei]

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Part of the reason I play poker is because I want to enjoy my job and not be forced to work. If I wanted to work a shitton and have a ton of stress I'd get a real job. So, for me at least, it's silly to force myself to play hands when I don't feel like it. One big side effect of that is that I hardly ever tilt. In the end I think I end up playing 66% of the hands that I did when I seriously grinding but my quality of life is a million times better and I think I'm making almost as much money.

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Sounds a lot like me. I was thinking about posting on how to motivate myself to play more hands. Its pretty hard to do when I can make well more money than a necessary income without actually doing too much work.

[good2cu]

This post and a lot of the advice in it definitely resonates with me. I have also a million+ hands of NL Hold’em, and have had several 100k+ hand months. I find I tend to go through cycles where I play my A game, makes lot of money, then either 1) Hit a level I can’t beat and lose tons of money at the highest stake, then have to move way down (now playing my C trying to win my money back fast) or 2) Become bored/uninterested in poker, stop tabling selecting, stop thinking through decisions, go on my autopilot C- Game, become a marginal/winner breakeven until I start needing money again, repeat.

Hopefully, this was all part of my first few months of the pro and I have learned from mistakes and am going to continue making money in bundles (I’m coming off the best 3 month run in my life). Here are some things that have helped me:

-Go to the gym everyday. Educate yourself on good workouts/hire a personal trainer etc. This will not only improve your poker game but every other aspect of your life as well

-Have productive actives outside of poker (School Business interests).

-Play short sessions/less tables/don’t ‘force’ yourself to play

-Breaks when losing. Prolonged breaks when downswining.

-Game Selection: This is the most important. It is really hard to lose when you are playing terrible players. Don’t get stuck into playing one limit

-Ego Minimization: Don’t be afraid to quit tables if the lineup is though etc. Be in it for the money not the compintion, plenty of chances to play good players when fish are at the table too. This is what separates the best professionals from the very talented players who are constantly busto imo.

-Have non-poker friends to do normal things with, Social Life

-Cut down on alcohol/drugs. Adderal/Weed etc. can really help your game in the short term but in the long run you pay a price for this edge. Can still be helpful in moderation though.

-Have goals. Have Monterey/hand goals to encourage you to play you’re A game (lets face it none of really have to worry about paying the bills). Always be working towards something, give a % of your winnings to charity.

-When you get a rut physically watch a better player play a session and ask him what he’s thinking about. Also talking through every decision with a player you respect during hands is very helpful. (I’m lucky in this regard as I have many friends who are by far better poker players than me).
-I know mediation/yoga has helped a lot of people and this is something I def want to learn. In the meantime I’m doing the lazyman’s mediation by working out everyday and/or spending time in a sauna/steam room/jazua just relaxing. I also get massages etc at a nice spa a few times a month.

-Take a vacation! Take some of that money you’ve worked so hard for, invite a girlfriend and go to a exotic location. Can you think of a more fun way to help your game?

Basically what’s occurred to me is that I can spend 40-50 hours a week playing poker, rarely leaving my house and being mentally exhausted all the time.
Or I can spend 20-30 hours a week playing poker, make as much money and lead a much healthier, happier and fulfilling life.

[Ship Ship McGipp]

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good2cu
bard pit or something


Reged: 03/06/05
Posts: 2934
Loc: Blog Updated: 4/15

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lead a much healthier, happier and fulfilling life.


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head asplode

[DerekJCEX]

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i think most people assume they should eliminate emotion at the poker tables, but i think that's the wrong way about it. emotion is part of us, it's part of who we are as organisms and it's wrong to fight it and try to eliminate it. everyone i know that is emotionless at the tables sinks into a rut and plays their C game all the time. they never tilt and play their F game, but they never have an A game either, and they never improve and get better.

it depends on what you're after with the game. if you want to grind all day, then fine, be emotionless. if you want to improve and really be exceptional at the game, i think you need to acknowledge it and accept it and harness it to drive you to do better. if you're emotionless you simply lose your ambition and competitive edge.

i'm not saying it's ok to tilt, i'm saying that you must have an extreme desire to crush your opponent, and you must be overconfident in yourself, and it must bother you to no end when your opponent outplays you. and at the same time you have to be level-headed enough to focus and find the best play. it's an extraordinarily delicate thing to balance, but it's the only way to be a top player in my opinion.

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this is awesome. i couldn't agree more.

[DerekJCEX]

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I also think music selection can be huge. If i'm running well and dominating weak-tight opponents, i'll throw some Rage against the machine on and steamroll fools. But if i'm feeling steamy, or running bad, put on some low-key acoustic indie rock or something and just mellow out and grind. Pretty effective.

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lol i put on rage when i am tilting.

[PrimogenitoX]

Great post good2cu..very good