(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)

[Oki-Oki]

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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)

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I do this whenever I feel I'm not playing great. It sounds stupid and ppl you live with might think your weird but it does work.

Also breaks from poker, having a life outside and exercise etc all help.

[catcher193]

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Also breaks from poker, having a life outside and exercise etc all help.

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I find that whenever I go out and have a fun night when I return to play poker I have like this urge to want to preserve my standard of living/protect what I've acoomplished (yeah I know not as much as some of you cocky ballin mofos), and I am much more likely to play really well and not take shots at games I don't belong in.

[cts]

to be honest experience is more important than anything. You have to play a lot of hands to become a really good heads up player (esp emotionally) there is no way around it. I've probably played close to 1M hands of HU NL and it took a long time for me to get into a groove and mostly eradicate tilt sessions. Next on the list is game selecting and setting a stoploss/quitting when you feel like you aren't playing your best.

[catcher193]

I find the latter much more compicated

[Morrek]

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I've probably played close to 1M hands of HU NL

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woah

[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]