The 5 Fundamental Truths and 7 Rules of Consistency

[Mr. Now]

Emotional Control

Emotional control is mostly about facing your emotional issues in advance of financial decision-making. A poker session is a sequence of small financial decisions. If you have not done the pre-work, you get to take a pass-fail emotional test, without any preparation, every time you sit down to play.

If you choose to pretend you have no emotional issues to address and process, you get to become aware of them in a forced way during play. This repeats over and over until you process your items.


Tilt

Thus tilt is becoming aware of personal emotional issues at the most inopportune time-- ie, during play.

If you ALREADY have processed these emotional items, playing is emotionally void, and tilt risk is effectively zero. This heightens your awareness and perception of opponents (and self) during play.


Becoming Tiltless

To be tiltless, you need to possess strongly supporting beliefs. Another way to think about "beliefs" is to call them "rules", and vice versa.

Supporting beliefs and rules can totally ELIMINATE tilt as of the moment you completely internalize ("possess") them.


The Five Fundamental Truths

1. Anything can happen.
2. You don’t need to know what is going to happen next in order to make money.
3. There is a random distribution between wins and losses for any given set of variables that define an edge.
4. An edge is nothing more than an indication of a higher probability of one thing happening over another.
5. Every moment in [a game] is unique.


The Seven Principles of Consistency

1. I objectively identify my edges.
2. I predefine the risk of every [betting decision].
3. I completely accept the risk or I am willing to let go of the [hand].
4. I act on my edges without reservation or hesitation.
5. I pay myself as the [game] makes money available to me.
6. I continually monitor my susceptibility for making errors.
7. I understand the absolute necessity of these principles of consistent success and, therefore, I never violate them.

It is impossible to tilt during play once these beliefs and rules are internalized. The main reason has to do with item 3:

"3. I completely accept the risk ..."

This rule strongly implies you take 100% responsibility for all results: the beats, the 2-outer suckouts, all the profits, all the losses, EVERYTHING.

You are in the game because you decided to play. What level of play you actually achieve is in direct proportion to the validity of your underlying beliefs about the game.

THEORIES ABOUT BELIEF
http://changingminds.org/explanation...s/a_belief.htm


BELIEF PERSISTENCE
http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/fa...-1989/89SA.PDF

[trickymartin]

Very good post. I'll have to think about this more tomorrow.

[QueenFortune]

Yeah very nice post. I really needed to read this.

[hellbender]

Outstanding.

[Mr. Curious]

I think there is something valid in the truths and rules, but I do not think that most people will ever be able to fully understand or utilize the theory because most people are not consciously aware of their emotional issues.

Are you saying that accepting the five truths and living the seven rules will allow someone to not need to learn emotional control?

[jedi]

[ QUOTE ]
I think there is something valid in the truths and rules, but I do not think that most people will ever be able to fully understand or utilize the theory because most people are not consciously aware of their emotional issues.

Are you saying that accepting the five truths and living the seven rules will allow someone to not need to learn emotional control?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think he's saying that accepting the 5 truths and living the 7 rules TEACH someone emotional control.

[Mr. Now]

Yes. If you hold the 5 beliefs, you can follow the 7 rules because the beliefs support the rules.

If you follow the rules, especially Item 7, then you do not need to "learn emotional control" because you are already living out the beliefs and rules that manifest calm and effortless control of emotions.

This makes perfect sense if you buy the idea that behavior comes from values and values come from beliefs. Beliefs underlie all your values, and values underlie all your behaviors. Therefore, work on beliefs, not "emotional control" (behaviors) per se.

If you hold the 5 beliefs, you are going to be very disciplined about risk. For example if you truly believe "anything can happen at any time" as a result of playing the game, you are going to put strict limits on the total risk you are willing to take. If you dont impose limits on risk, you CLEARLY don't hold the belief that "anything can happen".

The 5 beliefs and 7 rules force a complete understanding of all risks and complete management of those risks, especially Risk of Ruin. The 5 and 7 manifest great RESPECT for risk.

To hold the 5 beliefs and follow the 7 rules you must be ready, willing and able to take 100% responsibility for all your results.

This 100% acceptance of all responsibility means you are never a victim of anyone else-- ever-- and that all the credit (if any) belongs to you-- and you alone.

[ QUOTE ]

QUOTATION: Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.

ATTRIBUTION: George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)

[/ QUOTE ]

[beyeond]

Thanks for taking the time to post this.

[Noo Yawk]

Nice Job

[Mr. Now]

The 5 beliefs and the 7 rules and associated concepts are from:

TRADING IN THE ZONE by Mark Douglas
http://tinyurl.com/aywa6

TRADING IN THE ZONE by Mark Douglas is certainly one of the greatest books ever on the personal psychology of risk.