When all-in, any tips for mentally adjusting to the drama of it?

[MattyMayor]

When playing live i usually just close my eyes while the opponent is thinking. It makes me feel really calm and even more relaxed than i normally am. Its nice to not be tense when you 'should' be.

Online, i usually shut the screen and then open it and see what happens. It helps alot b/c i'm not watching each street, thinking 'i'm this much closer to the pot' etc. THat way if i lose on the river or something its not as much of a bad beat.

hope some of this might help.

[SmokeyRidesAgain]

I'm more or les fine when all in, but when it's at a home game and some assclown deals the cards one by one, really [censored] slowly, that pisses the hell out of me. Especially when every card they verbally review what everybody's outs are. It's like [censored] hell just deal the [censored] cards and let us get on to the next [censored] hand, [censored]!

[raze]

go take a leak

[holdme]

drink

[holdme]

btw, im pretty desensitized to any of that crap. just don't even look at the board while its dealt.

[Vinetou]

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btw, im pretty desensitized to any of that crap. just don't even look at the board while its dealt.

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If you're gonna gamble, you have to be able to look. Why did you even start playing poker if you don't like that feeling? That's why I started playing poker, the thrill that comes when being all in and when there is a lot of money at stake.

[housenuts]

once you're all in, who cares. you no longer have control. ya it sucks to lose, but you can't do anything about it.

maybe think about if you could have played it better.

i dunno. sometimes i spazz, but it's not like i worry about it.

[CrustyFace]

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Just call out for the cards you want to come. Root for them to come and they will come.

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That's just about the 100% wrong advice.

[Albert Moulton]

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Online, play more tables at lower limits.

Live, just assume you're going to lose so that you're ready for it. Have enough money to rebuy immediately. Be pleasantly surprised if your hand holds up.

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This is not the right approach. You should be thinking about how to win, not about how not to lose.

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He is asking for some psycholigical advice and I think that is a way of handing the defeats that will come.

Thinking how to win is not relevant unless you believe your thought process is going to change what cards hit the flop, turn and river.

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Not that. I just said if you come at the table with the mentality you will lose, you will lose, not because you could influence the cards, but because you won't play well. I always think about winning, but if I don't, then I just say: That's poker and move on.

Another advice - I heard that at WSOP - the best thing in the world is gambling and winning and second best is gambling and losing. So when you lose, you actually do the second best thing in the world. Not bad, right?

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I meant that once you do everything possible to win, and played your had to the point that there is nothing left to do but watch the cards play out, that he could "assume" he's going to lose so that he's preparted when it happens, and pleasantly "surprised" when it doesn't.

For example, if he's all in with top set on a flop vs a flush draw, he's a big favorite. But he's still going to lose about 25% of the time. He came to win. He played to win. He got the money in as a 75% favorite.

But he is not ENTITLED to win, and he should never feel any sense of entitlement just because he got his money in as a favorite. One mental trick is to just visualize the flush coming so he's ready.

In other words, despite being a 75% favorite, just assume your going to lose so that when it happens you are ready. And when it doesn't, your happily surprised.

If you assume that you've already won, then 25% of the time (which is a lot), then you will feel as if you've been robbed, or cheated in some way out of money you were already (incorrectly) counting as your own.

[Vinetou]

But is it so hard to just tell yourself that you aren't 100% to win it, that this is gambling and the beauty of it?