(kind of LC) how to improve mental fortitude?

[jfish]

ive found that when playing, and especially the case for hu over large samples, i get into predictable ruts from time to time. i let people run me over hu and i tend to play my own hand rather than handreading opponents well. the simplest thing ive found is to just quit whenever i start playing bad, but my "tilt" (if its even really tilt) lasts several days and i find myself having to take a week off in order to get back to playing my B game even. i guess im just wondering how most of you guys deal with it. ive played about a million hands lifetime and in really aggro hu games i still sometimes get a bit too emotionally involved (bad beats sometimes tilt me, i focus too much on how much im down etc). do you guys have any methods of playing consistently over large samples? tbh i feel like i can look back at my own play over the past year and know that i was playing really well 10 months ago but horrendously 5 months ago and am afraid i am sinking into a predictable rut once again.

this is kind of long and im probably rambling, but i just wanted to know how you guys improved your consistency and brought your A game to the table all the time. its something that ive always had a problem with.

[Teh1337zor]

your gonna think im crazy i swear but ive been in the same type of rut you speak of lately and today I played great by talking to myself and just explaining my thought process on every hand (yes i literally talked aloud)

[DJ Sensei]

playing low-variance games with a deep bankroll certainly helps me play my best all the time. maybe when you're getting into a funk while playing HU you should leave and join some lower stakes 6max games, or even full ring and just nit it up.

[jfish]

thats probably a good idea dan, i definitely dont feel myself getting nearly as worked up and tilted when i play 6max since its just so nitty in comparison. but it still sucks [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img].

[Fonkey123]

Guitar Hero [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Ship Ship McGipp]

anytime you have success in a game, you get loose and tend to play badly and try new things. play higher and take your time with each decision, or play lower and get your reads back. or play on cake poker and wait for the nuts and them to hold.

[Ship Ship McGipp]

make a post about how tilty and aggro you are in hu games and then play nitty in them, that's always worked for me

[invid]

i dont think you really like me because im obv not on your level sir but every time I'm about to flip out from tilt etc etc, i take a break..walk around and come back and pretend im making a video..I also like to look back on my pt stats and my previous HH and look at all the suckouts I've given to people..nothing makes me feel better after losing 5BIs in <an hour than looking at some 500bb pot where i caught a one outer...

then i realize its all just poker and say [censored] it and am able to play my A game

[KhalynYohrk]

Step one: Figure out what you were doing differently when you were on your A game.

Step two: Figure out what your doing differently when not on A game.

Step three: Adjust accordingly

[JEFF or DAD]

with enough pot, you can do anything