Why do i insta-call, and how do i stop?

[AA Suited]

I've played over 10k SnGs, yet i still sometimes insta-call even when warnings pop in my head.

ie:
$60 SnG, 9 players, blinds 25/50

Relavent stacks:
co: 1600 (Hero = 9 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 9 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img])
BB: 1400 (No reads)

preflop:
Hero raises to 150, button calls

Flop (T=375): 4 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 7 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] J [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]
BB checks, Hero bets 200, BB calls

Turn (T=775): Q [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]
BB checks, Hero checks

River (T=775): 8 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]
BB bets 600, Hero insta calls

Thoughts that occured to me just as i push the call button at light speed:
1) He could have a J and the Q was a scare card, thus his turn check
2) He could have 56 and made his straight

With all these redflags, why didnt i stop to think? Why did i insta-call?

And how do i stop?!

[ginko]

I have the same problem. Snapping bluffs is fun.

[Hoi Polloi]

Take your hand off the mouse between actions?

[RED FACE]

It hurts to have to consider you're beaten esp if the pot has gotten large. It's also difficult to assess a hand carefully while under pressure. You fool yourself into thinking that the above mentioned pain and difficulty is actually worse than losing the hand. The fact that it isn't only becomes clear afterward.

There are other "looseness problems" that may be going on that are fairly basic like, "you can't win by folding".

I think you have to keep in mind that snap calling in these situations is a weakness and I don't mean in a strictly poker sense. What I mean is, you are psychologically weak.

I hope that keeping this in mind will cause you to be psychologically tough. After all, poker should be hard, except maybe for sociopaths.

[Pokerbrat]

I have the tendency to try to make up hands that my opponent could have in order to justify a call.

[RED FACE]

Yeah, I've done that to. Just remember to stop wondering about what he could have and think only about what he probably has.

Poker is a game of probabilities, not possibilities.

[MUD]

I think it has to do with SNGs themselves. I've also played 10000 SNGs and massively multitabling makes me instacall. I think its that 98% of the decisions can be made in a split second, and my timing is thrown off by anything other than an instacall. I had to cut back games

[omaha]

I used to have this problem.

Now, i believe the big bets, and that solves most of the problems.

Most average retards believe that poker is a game of big bluffs, and you have to 'pick them off'. I feel nothing could be further from the truth. I tend to just believe them, until i think they are getting out of line. Only then will i try to snap one off.

Think in terms of how much to bet, as opposed to calling.

You need a much better hand to call with, than to bet with.

On this hand you are having to CALL a big river bet. I would only call it if i had seen a number of big river bets, that i had folded recently. In this case, he may just be donk betting the river to steal. More than likely, you are swinging by a noose, beating only a bluff, so why call BIG river bets?

[Splossy]

I'm going rather laughingly answer this one. Laughingly because me giving my 2p on this is a joke since I have the same problem...sometimes - when I'm playing bad, when I'm "off" mentally. But I don't have it when I'm perky and bright and playing my A game.

A-game-Splossy tell me that he agrees with everything said so far. It is hard for idiots like B-game-Splossy to accept that someone really did just call 2 PSBs and hit their straight on on the river. He lets his ego get in the way and deliberately calls as fast as possible to avoid having to think about the reality....that's he already lost that money and it's stupid to lose even more.

My A-game side thinks differently. He's aware that most people fold to my large bets unless they have a very good reason not to (seeing me bluff a lot, having a really good hand, being flagged as a total calling station over x hundred hands on PT etc). So when they don't and they then bet big on the river it's time to take the hand off the mouse, assume they have a big hand (the obvious one) and only THEN to think of ways that might not be true. If a very compelling reason crops up then he might call, or raise. If not he folds and turns his attention to another table and instantly dismisses it as unimportant.

I'd really like the two to meet so A can give B a f***ing hard shoeing for constantly undoing his hardwork, patience and common sense.

[SuperPokerJedi]

Use the 3 second Rule:

Give yourself at least 3 seconds before acting on any action!