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Mind games?
BURNShurtz
Member Posts: 1,005
i haven't had a descent result for months, im an average player and really struggling at the moment. nothing is going right. im getting hardly any good cards, im losing pretty much every time im all-in weather im ahead or behind. i posted most of the hands in BBV(not going to post in this thread) , they not bad beats, most are either 50/50 or im slightly ahead but i just cant win one.
this might sound really stupid to some people but i think its my mind doing it ( don't laugh ). seriously, when im all-in and see my opponents cards all my mind is thinking is what card they need to beat me, and it comes every time. now i know someone will say "think about what cards you need instead" iv tried but it don't seem to work that way round.
is this a positive thinking problem? i feel stupid writing this because obviosly i know i cant actully control what cards come down, but i think its making me go bonkers.
has anyone felt like this is happening to them?
if so, what do i need to change?
cheers
this might sound really stupid to some people but i think its my mind doing it ( don't laugh ). seriously, when im all-in and see my opponents cards all my mind is thinking is what card they need to beat me, and it comes every time. now i know someone will say "think about what cards you need instead" iv tried but it don't seem to work that way round.
is this a positive thinking problem? i feel stupid writing this because obviosly i know i cant actully control what cards come down, but i think its making me go bonkers.
has anyone felt like this is happening to them?
if so, what do i need to change?
cheers
Comments
Loose
Tight
Aggresive
Passive
Are you in a lot of races? if so try not to put your self in that situation where they can bink cards and control the pot by betting the right amounts and most of all know when to fold. Also always make sure you have position in most cases so you have the advantage. Play within your bankroll and it wont effect your mind if your losing.
I get the same as do a lot of players when you see a lot of suck out cards and you end up expecting them to hit there rag A when you have pk Ks for instance or they hit there st8 draw and flush draws when you have top pair. Maybe your betting too much and getting commited so when these cards come out you feel you have too much invested in the hand to fold and convince yourself that they have it all the time.
All you can do is bet when you think your ahead and fold if you think your beat. if you have a bad beat forget about it say ok i lost that one ill start of fresh for the next one dont think to yourself well its gonna happen what ever i do. I bet you win a lot of hands by being as lucky as your opponants its just cos you dont win the overal game thats effecting you. Wins will come you just have to be patient and analize your own play not others so much.
Also if you have a bad run and lose say 4 games in a row take a break watch some telly and refresh your mind away from poker then come back and try again. If its the same then take a day or two off and try that.
It is frustrating but thats part of the game im affraid and it stirs up lots of emotions especialy if your playiing too much of your bankroll.
other things you can do is try differnt types of games i.e if you play cash try out some sit n goes or dym
If its mainly mtts you play try the others you cant expect to cash in mtts as much as the others they take longer to win.
you say you hardly get any good cards but! I know you do get good cards cos noone get bad cards constantly. if you think that and just play any thing it means you prob arnt being patient enough and end up playing average hands which arnt that strong and puts you at a disadvantage for the most part. Try sticking to AK AQ AJ AA KK QQ JJ and if you dont get any of those cards come up then A10 K10 Q10 KQ KJ and mainly if there suited cards
Play less hands and only get involved with the types of hands above. Try not to shove so much but dont be too weak so that your opponents get free cards. Only play mid and small pk pairs if its cheap so you can hit a set dont go crazy with them by shoving.
If you stick to this you should do ok and then when your confidence comes back you can play a bit looser.
I hope this helps a bit but play tight and you will improve as this way you will be ahead the majority of the time.
Am never afraid to go against the grain on things like this highlighted issue though. The industry line will be variance, it holding alot of truth. But I do believe there is room for more, outside of conventional empirical thoughts.
I do think mental attitude and perception have a part. There are many schools of thought on self fullfilling phrophecy / mental attitude creating our own reality/circumstance. Thats not meant to sound as OTT as it does, am just describing well established precedent in external philosophies.
Mike Matasow being a very obvious example (among many) who have described a change in fortunes after focusing on PMA and how it relates to the game.
Devils advocate though: it is obviously massively subjective. By addressing our thoughts and expectations and changing the pressures we put on an outcome our tension and stress changes. Which will change the outlook and recall in general, rather than obsessing over a particular range of beats/run of beats. Lol, i suffer from sporadic intense OCD btw.
Ultimately all you can do is play your best game, stack the outcomes in your favour. I had a 6 month run last year feeling like you describe. But then I had a week when I replenished my BR and then some and havent looked back.
For me the answer was to not look at boards or HH from when I got it in ahead. I wait to see what am up against when AI, then I really do go get a biscuit and wait for a ping as I have posted. Less tilty and automatically gets you of your chair to stop you (me) doing something silly.
EDIT: If your continually getting it in behind, look at your game. If your getting it in way ahead, certain flips or with the right odds you just have to keep playing an obvious winning game that is running bad. Periods of run bad, even prolonged ones, are statistical definates.
You totally jinxed me btw in my MTT
GL
i think il try the 'go get a biscuit' next time im all-in, im probably not far off 6 months without any good result.
Posted by AMYBR
my bad, sorry fella.
Try and stay in controll of your table once you get a nice double up you can either play a bit tighter if your near the money or bully players and steal blinds. Once you have a decent stack dont call every small stack with rubbish hands cos you think you have enough chips this will really burn a whole in your stack.
Always keep an eye on your position, during the middle of the torny you will have short stacks trying to get quick double ups and shoving a lot to get back in the game. This is where you have to be carefull! some wait for decent premium hands and others do it on draws or just any two cards and get lucky, but you will get a feel for those types of players. At the same time they will be worried about getting involved with you if you have a decent stack size so you can take advantage of this. Avoid Calling and be the aggressor by being first to bet but make sure you have position. You can also let them bluff and trap them as they shove out of desperation on missed draws or 2nd pairs ect
Dont play every hand and limp because you have a decent stack this will also get you in trouble, time your plays and make decisions at the right moments.
You will have to take risks to win tornys and sometimes it dosnt work out thats the nature of the game. It can take a very long time to get a torny win but they do come. I went 6 months without a win or cash but then got something like 10 in a row.
Its the mid period of the torny thats most important and if you can get that far and have the average or above your doing well and if you go out just dont worrie about it and move on to the next one. Try and play less mtts only do 2 a day at the most even 2 a week as they are very time consuming and you have to have a lot of patience.
Pick the right torny for you. Which ones are you playing i would suggest if you arnt getting any cashes then dont play the high end big tonrys with over 200 runners play the smaller ones which cost anywhere from £1.10 to £5 with max runners of about 40 players. The payout might not seem as tempting but believe me a couple of wins on these and its £50 for the win and they do add up and you have more chance at winning them. If you get a win in one of these it will boost your confidence and also pay for quite a few buy ins for other mtts.
Bounty hunters are good as you can make money without winning and generaly get a free game with the chance to cash on top, some people love them some hate them but try out these differnt formats and see which suites you best
GL and run well
For what it's worth, whenever I exit a tourney,lose a big pot i go through it and ask myself, 'could I have played it better?'. I don't blame the other player'how can he call'etc but if i've played it well and got him say, drawing to a gutshot and got it all-in on the flop then I'm happy and he's just got lucky to hit. I know if I keep doing this I'll be a long term winner.Focus on whether your decisions are right. If you're not sure,post in the clinic and ask people's opions,you'll get some really good advice.
Everyone, no matter how good will go on runs of losing
learn to lose without it affecting your game
it's not easy, but you can increase your losses by tilting and then playing badly
It's very easy to have a couple of beats then tilt and play bad, no1 reason why people lose at poker
"sod it, I am all in"
gulp
lost again
dohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
I'm certainly no expert but after a period of acceptable 'success', i experienced a downswing of sorts too. It made me feel reluctant to play...something which surprised myself as i'd been enjoying the learning success. The answer, for me anyway, was to look at the mental side of poker( just as i had for another hobby, golf). Recognition of what i was feeling and why was the key. I don't tilt now. I accept it as part of the learning process and by good hand history analysis, i can decide if it was my error or just variance as well as asking if i could/should have layed the hand differently.
This has helped me and the book by Jared Tendhler 'The Mental Side of Poker" has enabled me to have a greater insight into my game and how to react to injustice tilt for instance. Its worth a go, i feel, so good luck to you. I hope it works for you until we meet at a table!!
cheers
if your sittin for strong hands and finding yourself getting short and pushin you will genraly get called by some1 with a monster stack so avoid it mix up your play level your range
when your betting keep your bets consistant so your not gettin commited (so if you bet 3x with 67 suited pre then bet ace 3x pre) if you say over bet on aces pre say 6 or 7x pre and some1 calls if flop comes out dry and raggy and you shove its going to look weak and some1 will prob call with 2 more cards to come and even with aces your going to lose more than you would if you played it better.
try make sure your playing in position i think this is important so that you control the play
really look at your hands your losing your sayin you in alot of flips and if your saying they hittin its because your going allin wih cards to come try get to turn or river before making a push to be sure you got the winning hand
dont feel silly for asking bout the mindset of the game poker is as much bout mindset as it is bout anything else thats why the worlds best can go on tilt (tilt is just a word for being in a bad mindset) and lose all their cash /chips at a game. try reading up more on poker mindset there is a few really good books on it
hope this helps