A Thought I Just Had (psych/theory)

Jman28 · #1 02-09-2007, 04:24 PM

Don't hope your opponent bets the turn so you can checkraise. Don't get mad when he pots the river when you have 3rd pair. Don't pray for a King to flop.

Every card that falls, and every action that your opponent takes is simply another opportunity for you to make the correct decision.

Does that work for anybody?

Why can't I get it to work for me? (Prob because I play nosebleed stakes underrolled and every pot matters too much)

Edit:

To explain further, I'm not saying that you shouldn't call for 1/3 of your stack preflop with 55 praying to flop a set. We all know that.

What I'm saying that every time we miss a card or hit, or they c/r, we shouldnt care at all. It's all the same thing; Just something that happens that we have to respond to.

riverboatking · #2 02-09-2007, 04:48 PM

what about when you have A [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 10 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]
and you get it all in on a 10 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 7 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 2 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] board vs your opponents 3 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 4 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and you lose?
can you care then?

raptor517 · #3 09-10-2007, 08:45 PM

[ QUOTE ]
what about when you have A [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 10 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]
and you get it all in on a 10 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 7 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 2 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] board vs your opponents 3 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 4 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and you lose?
can you care then?

[/ QUOTE ]

lol, i didnt know what u were talking about when i first read this. yay for bumps now i can laugh at u more. try running better next time.

insyder19 · #4 09-12-2007, 03:36 PM

[ QUOTE ]
what about when you have A [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 10 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]
and you get it all in on a 10 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 7 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 2 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] board vs your opponents 3 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 4 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and you lose?
can you care then?

[/ QUOTE ]

What if you have KK and your opponent K7

and the flop comes 552 and he wins?

Tony.T · #5 02-09-2007, 05:16 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Why can't I get it to work for me? (Prob because I play nosebleed stakes underrolled and every pot matters too much)

[/ QUOTE ]

I belive everyone feels like this when playing too high for their comfort zone. The stakes will be different from person to person. I got this feeling playing 25-50 and can relate. When feeling like this I belive it's almost impossible to play your A game since you react so differently to everything that happens

The Yugoslavian · #6 02-09-2007, 05:28 PM

I really like reminding oneself of this idea. I mean, it really *is* one long session with bajillions of decisions. The context surrounding them is important in evaluating the correct play but it doesn't have any richer meaning behind it unless we infuse it on our own.

What you're talking about reminds me of something I've taught in chess called "hope chess." It's the idea that people play do things "hoping" for a certain response. When not faced with that hoped for response, often, there is no real plan or solid thinking and the next play will be poor. You want to know what your opponent will be likely to do and the mistakes you may be able to engineer him/her into....BUT you should always know what you're going to do if they throw you for a loop and do something unexpected.

Okay, this may be a bit convoluted since I haven't been playing as much poker recently but there definitely is a very good insight in jman's post.

Yugoslav

StavrosT · #7 02-09-2007, 05:34 PM

[ QUOTE ]

It's the idea that people play do things "hoping" for a certain response. When not faced with that hoped for response, often, there is no real plan or solid thinking and the next play will be poor. You want to know what your opponent will be likely to do and the mistakes you may be able to engineer him/her into....BUT you should always know what you're going to do if they throw you for a loop and do something unexpected.

[/ QUOTE ]

I like this a lot.

bkholdem · #8 02-09-2007, 05:57 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Don't hope your opponent bets the turn so you can checkraise. Don't get mad when he pots the river when you have 3rd pair. Don't pray for a King to flop.

Every card that falls, and every action that your opponent takes is simply another opportunity for you to make the correct decision.

Does that work for anybody?

Why can't I get it to work for me? (Prob because I play nosebleed stakes underrolled and every pot matters too much)

Edit:

To explain further, I'm not saying that you shouldn't call for 1/3 of your stack preflop with 55 praying to flop a set. We all know that.

What I'm saying that every time we miss a card or hit, or they c/r, we shouldnt care at all. It's all the same thing; Just something that happens that we have to respond to.

[/ QUOTE ]

For a guy that plays stakes you play (and shows interest in this kind of stuff) you might find it worthwhile to explore whether or not seeing a CBT therapist/ sports psychologist would be finincially profitable (as well as intrinsically pleasing) for you.

luckychewy · #9 02-09-2007, 05:59 PM

jman i feel like i know what you're trying to say, but i'm not so sure. lemme know if you agree with this?

if you're saying what i think you are, you're basically just saying that everything evens out in the end...so hoping for a certain card to fall/complaining about a bad beat is a waste of time/energy? or in other words, wrt to the, 'Don't hope your opponent bets the turn so you can checkraise.' statement - you're saying as long as you are making the play you think has the highest EV, if it doesn't work out one time it's really nothing to be mad about again because in the long run it will work out and show a profit?

Jman28 · #10 02-09-2007, 09:42 PM

[ QUOTE ]
jman i feel like i know what you're trying to say, but i'm not so sure. lemme know if you agree with this?

if you're saying what i think you are, you're basically just saying that everything evens out in the end...so hoping for a certain card to fall/complaining about a bad beat is a waste of time/energy? or in other words, wrt to the, 'Don't hope your opponent bets the turn so you can checkraise.' statement - you're saying as long as you are making the play you think has the highest EV, if it doesn't work out one time it's really nothing to be mad about again because in the long run it will work out and show a profit?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, you have it pretty much.

For me, ideally, it's approaching poker as a complex mind game that you want to win. You win by making the best decision as often as possible. That's the only measure of your success.

The main thing that got me thinking about this was noticing the thing that most players do, where they check the river with a marginal hand and say to themselves, "Check behind. Check behind." Then the villain bets and they think "[censored]. Ass. [censored]. Weiner."

All that happened is that they now have one more opportunity to make a good decision in the hand. There shouldn't be a good reason to be mad at the opponent betting. It's just another point in the game.

A chess player doesn't get mad when his opponent makes a move and then hits the little clock thing just because he has to move again. That's how the game works. It's just his turn again.