Do you hate and despise your opponents?

[Paul Levy]

This only happens to me when I play live, and with tournaments more than cash games. I see the other players lining up to register, or hanging around the tables before the start, and I immediately develop a vicious loathing for each and every of them. I feel like I can't wait to sit with them and check-raise their mid pairs and call their bluffs and generally exert my superiority. It's quite different from a healthy, positive drive to compete and excel, it's a "negative" emotion. Which also happens to extend to ridiculous lengths: last night I was playing a rebuy crapshoot where a bracelet winner and a sponsored player were in the field (one of them at my table) and I couldn't help but thinking that they were overrated delusional luckboxes and that I would show them what hold'em really is about (in the end I lost four coinflips, got pissed and left before the rebuy period was over).

Does this happen to anyone else?

[Humble Pie]

Maybe you should see a therapist.....

[Flip-Flop]

Very negative energy and I think this usually happens to people when they run bad or after few losing sessions in a row.
Basically when they are not satisfied with their poker results.
I suggest you take at least 2 weeks break from poker.

[chesspain]

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Very negative energy and I think this usually happens to people when they are emotionally immature.

[/ QUOTE ]

FYP

[plzleenowhammy]

Do you feel this way in general? I mean, when you're walking around the mall are you like, "damn, i hate that guy!".

[Paul Levy]

[ QUOTE ]
Do you feel this way in general? I mean, when you're walking around the mall are you like, "damn, i hate that guy!".

[/ QUOTE ]

Of course not, and reading again my post probably hate is the wrong word. Disrespect is a more like it. But now it's too late, everybody thinks I'm a sick sociopath...

[Victor]

i do. if there was a button i could press that would cause physical harm to them and their families i wouldnt hesitate to press it.

[oddsock]

Of course not, and reading again my post probably hate is the wrong word. Disrespect is a more like it. But now it's too late, everybody thinks I'm a sick sociopath...

[/ QUOTE ]

That's better. It's healthy to have a certain amount of disrespect for the opponents but not to the extent that you underestimate anyone. At the Orleans at the Thursday night tourny I took an instant dislike to the person next to me, for no other reason than he had an I-Pod, a "Blow Me Donkey" T-shirt and an irritating way of throwing his chips in the pot but to use dislike to try and get the better of him would have been inadvisable. Let this textbook KJo raiser shoot himself in the foot.

If I had true hatred it would suggest at best a tremendous hole in my game and at worst some sort of childhood issues.

[Mllndllrmn]

I feel the same way in some ways, but I am a happy, people person in general. I am a waiter and going into sales (and poker) for a career so that is kind of inherent. Use the disprespect to drive you and make you prove to yourself that you can woop these kids. Negative emotion breeds negative actions in all instances. Good luck.

[iveyleague24]

Have fun; throw in as many pseudo-sarcastic comments as possible. "Nice hand buddy", "Wow...you almost won that one", "Keep playing that way and you can become a TV Pro" etc...Indifference = Superiority. Remember that kid.