Mental Strength

Nuts102 · #1 07-28-2007, 08:33 AM

Well basically il give a little information of myself before i get to the point i have been playing online poker for about 2 years mostly just for fun and also making a little money on the side have consistently won at stt;s and most recent made the transition to cash.

About 6 weeks ago i decided time to get serious about this online and play it as a job my only income before i go back to college in september the first 6 weeks made a satisfactory weekly profit having a few beats along the way.

But this last week all week if i sit down and play solid patient poker and grind out a couple of hours. But no matter what i do i literally cant win a hand i havent had a winning session losing about 9 buyins cuttin back into my profit. Dont worry im not on here to vent about my horrible run every1 gets swings you gotta accept it.

My problem is i can sit down plan to play 4 hours within 5 minutes i get a really bad beat or i keep runnin a flush into a higher flush etc jus hand very tough to laydown i get the feeling in my head when things start this bad that their not going to change for the session and i end up leaving after playing 5 minutes which is just not acceptable if you want to be playing for a living you gotta put in the hours.

So basically this week iv played about 10 hours instead of my usual 30 or 40 becasue i just cant face playing.

Wow i really rambled on here my main question well i suppose is to anyone who has suffered the same thing can reccomend anything to help improve your mental ability or strength to become a better player. Maybe a good book or good website or anything please help.

johnc · #2 07-28-2007, 05:07 PM

You gotta work within your skill level. I'm not refering to your poker skills but your skills needed to handle and keep focused on playing the best you can. Of course bad beats suck. Most of us, IMHO, do go on tilt to varying degrees and that can greatly affect how we play and it can be very subtle (for me at least). But if you constantly find yourself going back in your mind to that bad-beat later in that session (or even another) then maybe consider how it is still affecting your game, and work on developing ways to deal with it. Maybe the added pressure of having to depend upon poker more for income has affected you in such a way that has thrown you off your A-game. Perhaps going through each session stats and see if you can see at what point of the session and why does things go wrong.

holyfield5 · #3 07-28-2007, 06:58 PM

personally i play smaller sessions broken up, that way if i get real pissed at the beats or just dont feel like doing it i step away easily knowing ill be playing again later......can even make up hands later in the session.

Crazy Porto · #4 07-28-2007, 07:08 PM

are u planting toughts in my head?

mce86 · #5 07-28-2007, 09:47 PM

Get a job so its not so important to win.
Seriously, what are you going to put on resumes when you get out of college? You never worked?
Your avoiding it because you dont like to lose. If you dont play, you cant lose. Its too serious for you as a job.

Nuts102 · #6 07-29-2007, 09:17 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Get a job so its not so important to win.
Seriously, what are you going to put on resumes when you get out of college? You never worked?
Your avoiding it because you dont like to lose. If you dont play, you cant lose. Its too serious for you as a job.

[/ QUOTE ]

I dont see much point to your reply really whether i have a job or not its very important to win if you think becasue you have a job its not important to win than why are you playing poker.

Yes i agree i dont like to lose but thats not the reason i avoid playing its becasue i struggle mentally after a few beats and i stop playing becasue although i dont tilt i certaintly dont play my A game i play hands weakly get paranoid that im just not supposed to win in the session so when i get a hand play it too weakly sumtimes and lose alot of value on hands.

Also who said i never worked during college did i say that i thought i said for a few weeks over the summer i said id give it a shot to try play online. A few weeks is not all off college i have worked during college before and im sure i will again when i go back to college if things dont work out online.

Also if you cant play you cant lose if you read my post it says im a consistent winning player my games in good shape ok im always trying to improve on it i put the post up for some advice on the mental side of the game not to be lectured by sum1 who doesnt have a clue who i am.

Surely anyone who has tried to play online seriously has struggled mentally when you hit a real downswing all i asked was for advice on how to cope with it if anyone has any suggestions or advice i will be greatful.

Thanks...

OGS20 · #7 07-29-2007, 12:02 PM

I used poker to play my way through college and I found that the best way to deal with a run like this is to play a lower variance game. HU SnG's are good for short term guarenteed money and if you're adequately rolled for cash games you should be able to grind out a few $$$ whilst you get your focus back.

Shizzle12345 · #8 07-29-2007, 01:36 PM

you gotta quit when u feel like ur starting to tilt. If your pissed at a guy cos he took 1 or 2 bi from you, quit. If your feeling to go after calling more raises and all, quit. If you get impatient and start thinking stuff like, omg i dont flop much good hands, quit.

Sometimes i play 150 hands, and then just quit for the day. I tilt hard because I lose 2 buyins, and think that i dont even play my B game, so i have discipline to quit. Sometimes i play 2k hands, and lose 3 buyins after 400 hands, And keep playing..

How fast your going to tilt has to do alot with how you feel.

If you feel like your starting to tilt HAVE THE DISCIPLINE to stand up and quit. It took me some time before i got the hang of this, and my BR skyrocketeeered since :P .

Humble Pie · #9 07-29-2007, 04:42 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Yes i agree i dont like to lose but thats not the reason i avoid playing its becasue i struggle mentally after a few beats and i stop playing becasue although i dont tilt i certaintly dont play my A game i play hands weakly get paranoid that im just not supposed to win in the session so when i get a hand play it too weakly sumtimes and lose alot of value on hands.

[/ QUOTE ]

Def seems like you have some risk aversion issues, someone posted to play lower variance games; I think that's a great suggestion.

BrookTrout · #10 07-29-2007, 06:49 PM

Up until now you've played poker "just for fun", now it's a source of income - of course it's going to be far more stressful & mentally taxing.

What could be a problem is that you've also switched from STTs (which you consider your strength) to cash games.

To answer your question, you'll be able to play your best if you're not counting on Poker for an income. Get a temporary full-time job, and put aside a percentage of your paycheck for poker - if you run well, you'll have a nice secondary income.