Do u always fear the worst???

Hi all.

Just wondering if it`s me!!!

When I enter a pot with a decent hand I am always thinking of what is going to happen to beat me.

for example, playing O8, I will be sitting there with AhAd2h3d. I will think "right, just watch. I`ll be drawing to the lo on the flop, have a flush draw, be forced all in and I will lose to 2 pair"

I remember one time in a MTT at a casion. Delt KK. I had about 12 big blinds left anf the guy to act after me has been calling most things most of the nite. I push all in. After a while, he calls and shows 1010. I say to him "Don`t worry, u will hit your set" sure enough on turn 10

Forgot to add NOT A BAD BEAT POST.

Do u think u should think positive or be prepared for the worst???

I think you should be positive, I mean always expecting to be sucked out on is a very pessimistic attitude. You kinda sound bitter when you tell the guy who calls your allin not to worry because he/she will suck out.

Maybe a little cliche but I think you need to expect the best and be prepared for the worst, don't expect for AKs to flush against AA but understand that its a possibility. I think I stay optimistic but just always going "well he's gonna win this 1 in 5 and this could be it" keeps my head on tight whenever it does happen.

As long as it doesn't affect your play, I don't think it matters at all whether you "expect the worst" or not. At least you won't freak out on your bad beats if you realize what cards are there that will beat you. Optimism, Pessimism, Realism - none of them change the order of the cards. How you prepare to see them is a personal thing. Frankly, I don't think you're going to be able to change your personality, even if you think you want to. At least not without a lot of therapy... maybe you should buy a dog?

Wow,

I guess I am not alone after all.

I have said the very thing to someone who was drawing to a suckout.

Sadly, as I am sure you must be experiencing as well, 9 times out of 10 I will be right.

Ok, somewhat of an exaggeration there. But, well over the mathematical expection. At least by a 3 to one margin,

It seriously sucks when you are in a long rut. It ends up affecting your game most of the time.

But, what can you do. Positive thinking will not change the cards any more than negative thinking will.

Plan for the worst, hope for the best!
As long as your confident in your game, and know when your holding a hand that you feel is likely to be ahead, then you must have conviction in your bets.

I typically fear the worst. Too many suck outs I guess.

I try not to think about it and instead just focus on making what I believe to be the correct play.
Admittedly though, sometimes while playing online tournament poker I do look away from the screen.
I've also noticed that I'll occassionally have an ominous feeling that 'this time my 80/20 won't hold & sure enough their 9-9 hits a 9 and KO's my QQ+ (usually while playing CC buyin games, lol).
I've tried power of positive thinking... holding onto a lucky coin.. praying to the poker Gods... etc. How would I know if it any of it worked or not? (lol).
Sometimes I run good - when good hands hold, (ie. 80/20's), when I flop sets, when I hit TPTK, when big draws actually hit, etc. etc.,... sometimes I run bad (real bad, lol).

I always try to remain optimistic..sure it hurts bad when it happens, but I always compliment the person with a better hand than mine no matter how bad I may feel! And I always try to say 'You're welcome' if they say 'Thanks'. It's called good sportsmanship & good manners.

I always approach a game with a positive attitude, pray for the best, accept that I may lose, but play as well as I can with the cards that are dealt to me.

You can have 10 tables, all with the same cards dealt to each player(Different people per table). But you can't expect the same outcome because we are all human beings (or at least I hope so!) and we all act differently according to the stressors that affect us.

You must always expect that there is at least the possibility that you will not win...but always enter the game, with the knowledge that you may triumph! GL...try not to go 'on tilt' in any game...it doesn't help you in the end!

Being aware and alert is fine. Being paranoid enough to make bad decisions is not.

I try to concentrate on playing correctly. I try to have enough confidence in my game to the point that the only thing I "fear" is making the right decisions. Gain enough confidence and less fear will exist imo.

For me, it's about keeping reasonable expectations -- and level emotions! And then just consider all those times the suck-out went the other way. Twisting the perspective around, how do you answer:

What are you saying or thinking when you are the dog in same situation?

One thing I think is true is that "traumatic beats" get more ingrained into the memory than "embarrassing suck-outs" though they probably happen in near equal measure, assuming consistent poker play over the long haul...
On the psychic (psychotic?! ) side, I try to never think of my opponents' winners

I have done this myself, which now I realise is a form of tilt because sometimes it seems I cannot have a winning hand when the money goes in hold up. Really I should be happy someone would call me with a much lower % chance of hitting their cards right?

i often realize afterwards i did the right thing...also realizing what good position i would have been in had i not been sucked out, sometimes it just happens though. tonight, was deep in a freeroll...and in about 5th place...got my AA sucked out on. by another big stacker. which crippled me...shoved my 97s in mid pos cause i had like 3 bb's left...and won that. got moved to another table...shoved a couple more times in position with marginal hands to folds and pretty much got back in it enough that i could at least hurt ppl's stacks. sweet! dealt AK, but utg. whatever, i shoved it. get folds all around to the bb who was pot committed but still would have crapped my stack up. calls with a 57o and hits a straight on the river. no more comebacks for me. won it and i would have at least been back in the thing. i expected to win with those monster hands but understood it just doesn't always work out that way. its often marginal crap you can play in position, plays you can make in the trenches (in tournament play anyway) that keep you in the thing. the blind steals and the semi-bluffs...that raise you made with crap on your blind. that 3 bet you made with 1 pair against the losers 2 pr that got him to fold...that's what keeps you alive. be confident and expect the best...be prepared for the loss...sometimes they suck you out, sometimes their hand was just a little better than your's to begin with, sometimes the guy was just mad you raised his blind and called you down with 25o and hit 2 pr against your AA...and if that's the case, that's his problem, not your's...now you know you can raise him with Q4o and probably have him dominated

I always hope for the best but understand when the worst happens. Shit happens. Play GOOD!!!

^^play "well"

No, Annie signed my shirt: Play Good!! XO

No changing that.

^^haha ok i'm with you. my grandmother was an english teacher...seemingly, according to her, the word "good" was never a good word to use. she corrected me so much, just wanted to stab at it...you re-raised me...i'mma fold

Very well fold.

^^well talk dude...glad we finally got around to it

I have often been called a optimistic/pessimist ... whereas up front I always expect the best in a situation but I also always know that something can come 'n f**k it up. but I never stress out when things do go bad ....just take it as a part of life/game and move on...don't rant 'n rave at the suckouts or brugh people....leave it be and keep it together and be ready for the next situation 'cause you never know whats comeing next.

It's natural to know and be concerned about what can beat you.
If you don't fear the worst, does that mean? Do you fear good things happening to you, or maybe just staying average and obtaining moderate results in life? The power of positive thinking is definitely where it's at, but of course I fear the worst. It's only poker afterall. I'll bet I can survive a couple ton of bad beats until a massive coronary.

I usually presume that when it all said and done I will probably have taken a bad beat...

To be honest to make it easier at times, I simply look away or put my head down until I hear the chips being raked and it's beeping on my next turn.

If I don't here the beep I just close the table and carry on with my business.

there is a problem with being too positive and being too negative. honeslty if your always positive your hand is going to win, you will not make the right reads and will call a bet that you cant win. and if your way to negative you'll never call hands that you have a huge advantage in because your afraid of the worst. so dont fear anything unless you didnt do something nice for someone that day, karma will get cha.

So, "We are not alone" lol

Thanks for all your comments.

One of the guys mentions waiting for you 80/20 to be bust?

Sometimes, if I have had a run of AA holding say 3 times in a row, I do start thinking "Well, its about 50/50 now, regardless of what they hold"

If nothing else it shows I have an understanding of long term odds

I would still be happy to get all my chips in, btw

Seriously if you really want to help yourself out here and you dont mind reading get the book Power of Positive Thinking, I'm not a big reader of books but someone told me to go buy this book and I never did so they bought it for me and I starting reading it. I'm about 1/2 way through and have really seen a difference in my game. I actually had the nickname the "mush" from some movie where a guy was named mush because everything bad happened to him. But its starting to change, some people will say if you think negative then negative things are going to happen to you. I know it sounds crazy that a book that has nothing to do with poker could help you but give it a try.

i think that it is better to always think positive when playing poker. If you take a bad beat, just know that it is poker and you dont always win with the best hand