remaining focused

i can easily walk away from a table if i feel i'm tilting or not playing well, but in a situation where you can't leave (eg in a tournament), how do you calm down and get your focus back? also do you have any tips when you're playing against people who intimidate you - eg pros, known good aggressive players?

thanks a lot guys!

I guess Stu Unger used to do his best to hate his opponents at the table. His focus was to do what he could to rip the throat out of the other players. I've heard this used by several others as well. 'It's a war,' 'there are no friends while sitting a the table, only enemies' etc.

That never works for me. To me it's about math. Tilting is really a non issue because its a game. Do your best to understand the game, and make the proper play for the situation--and then be content with yourself that with your given knowledge, you did the right thing. Going beserk because a guy hit a 2 outer is not his fault OR yours. It's the gambling aspect of poker that you cannot control. Use math, and you will end up on the right side more often then not.

Cheers

That sounds good, but the fact of the matter is that not all people can look at the game so clinically, and they do go on tilt.

If you are in a tourney and you really feel like you need a break, if at all possible go ahead and take one. You might miss a few blinds, but wouldn't it be worth it if a break would help you regain your composure a little? I'm not talking about a super long break, but just a few minutes to go outside for some fresh air, take a quick smoke, down a shot of bourbon, whatever it is that you do to help you chill a little. (I also have a stress ball shaped like a hand grenade that I keep by my computer so I can quickly grab it and squeeze the hell out of it if I feel the need!)

If your stacks are too low or blinds too high to allow you to take a little break, you can try this: after a really brutal bad beat, I try to calm myself down by thinking that I really need to keep my cool, because the worst thing that I can do to the guy that just took all those chips is to stay in this game, play well, and take all those chips back! Going on tilt and screwing up just finishes the job for them that they already started! And I don't want to give them the pleasure!

thanks guys, i do feel it's useful to take a timeout if i feel i'm not playing well, coaches call timeouts, why don't we as well?

Just stay focused on the game. there are a lot of things happening.

If you have to tilt then tilt it out homie.

It's a part of the game.

I like to take a little break after a bad beat but also after a big win, i used to win a big pot and my ego would go through the roof, cue me raising with garbage and bluffing off or making bad calls for most of the chips i just won.

The best time to go for a break i found was when your in MP1, this way if you miss 3 hands worth of action you at least miss it from the places where your not playing many hands anyways. Either that or play cash games, i went for a 20 min walk once after losing a big hand in a cash game, really wish i'd learnt to play cash games before i sat down in a 2/2 game in venlo lol

Well said. It's basic, but speaks solely the truth.

stand up and get your blood moving. fix some coffee or do some jumping jacks. blood to your head, man.