Being Results-Oriented

All right, so I've been trying to pot more than I have in a long time. Part of my absence here has been due to another site that I used to frequent much more. Anyways, since I am out of school for the summer, I feel like I should get more involved and try to help some people with their play, especially since I haven't been at the tables much.

On to my point in this thread: I have been noticing a severe trend which plagues people when they are a beginning poker player. They are doing the right thing by posting hands in which they feel they need help on, however, much of the time they are posting the wrong hands. First off, many of the hands I have seen have been hands in which our 'Hero' has lost the hand on the river, gotten coolered, or the like. The other polar extreme is when the 'Hero' thinks he made a great play and won the hand, but in actuality played it terribly. This brings up are major problem. People are being very results-oriented when looking at these hands.

Of course it is natural to question your play when you lose a hand. Everyone does that, myself included. Also, we tend to give ourselves credit when we win a hand. Often we overlook the major leaks of our game by looking at win/loss rates or ROI. Rather, we need to look deeper and start thinking why our opponents make specific plays. We need to recognize why the fundamental theory is in place. Poker is not a short run game. Our correct plays will pay off. Poker is about winning money, not winning pots. Stop fretting over a loss of a huge pot, and make sure that you are playing the hand correctly. Any hand that you have the slightest question on, post it. But make sure you are posting it for the right reasons. Pretend that the results don't exist, focus on your play, and the good results will come.

Originally Posted by Announced Rather, we need to look deeper and start thinking why our opponents make specific plays. We need to recognize why the fundamental theory is in place. Poker is not a short run game. Our correct plays will pay off. Poker is about winning money, not winning pots. Stop fretting over a loss of a huge pot, and make sure that you are playing the hand correctly. Any hand that you have the slightest question on, post it. But make sure you are posting it for the right reasons.