Mental Toughness

Hey guys!

I have recently moved from party poker to pokerstars and signed up to play their 5NL full handed cash games. I did this because when playing on party, 50% of the time that I was able to play I was forced to play a game where my win rate was break even or pretty pitiful. 7000 players online in total and the competition was tough for me. I mean it was like all the same people exchanging blinds back and forth as all our stacks slowly diminished just waiting for someone to make a mistake!

Its not like that on pokerstars as I have never seen less than 50,000 people online. The games feel noticably softer and I know I CAN confortably rape this level anytime of day when I am on my 'A' game.

In fact I would even go so far as to clain I could beat 10NL on this site if I could only KEEP my shit together.

I have figured out gap concept and raise-folding... they have not.
I no longer limp re-raise with AA and KK... they still do
I can lay down AA and not nut straights and flushes... they cant.
I know to always believe the big raise on the river... they stil think its all about bluffing.
I have a strategy for fring the second barrel... they are often floatable.
I 3-bet light as much as I do so for value... they just foolishly call and give up after the flop.

In general I think I have a great arsenal to combat the microstakes fish and the fact that I see so many suckouts and truly disgustingly weak calls reassures my that I am playing at a level I SHOULD be beating...

But I am not... I am merely breaking even and it PISSES me off!

Over the last 5000 hands I have got nowhere and its all down to stupid idiots mistakes that I KNOW I shouldn't be making. Damn I have my entire strategy typed up for 99% or situations and with the sea of info at the table I still ignore reason just because of tilt.

Example:

I am four tabling and I see this guy on all four tables. I recognize the name and think, hey is he following me around? I do a search and this guy is 24 tabling! Damn thats some great info! He is probably playing robotic poker so I will just attack him with big re-raises wherever possible.

This works a few times and I am feeling confident and very pleased with myself. I even figure a counter strategy to stop people doing this to me... I stop searches for my name! all good.

So anyway some time passes and I go card dead. I have dropped about $2 in 45 minutes and am getting impatient. I look down and see A8o in LP. He has opened in MP with a 20c so I make it 70c to go... some ****er in the blinds calls me and MrFantasticMultitable also calls with odds!

I C-bet after the flop and get checkraised by asshole in the BB.

MrFantasticMultitable decides not to play and for reasons unknown in this universe I go all-in! WTF?????????

I Fail.

So I am now $10 down but heres the best bit.

3 hands later I get a great run of cards and make $4 back. If I had just waited I would have now been $4 up and not $6 down. I don't realise at this point but tilt has well and truly set in.

5 minutes later I raise with QJs, I get called and the flop brings a flush draw. There is betting and good odds. I make the Q-flush on the turn.
Pre-flp caller goes all in and I figure him on KTs at best. I wouldnt CALL a rasie with KTs in position unless I had good reason so I accept the duel.

HE FLIPS OVER K2s! WTF????!!!!!?????? another $10 gone.

Thats probably 12 hours worth on careful play gone in 10 minutes. I am so annoyed with myself. I need to get more mental toughness as its obviously an ENORMOUS leak in my game. I should be on my way to playing 25NL not dicking around with the idiots at the microstakes!

HELP!

Any ideas on keeping yourself in your 'A' game as if you have iced water running through your veins? Hypnosis?!

I know that if I can play every hand as if its my first using my excellent strategy and all the information available without letting emotions cloud my judgment and filter away all the good stuff I can fly.

Any thougnts and critisms welcome as always!

Frank.

Really it's all about practice. Identify when you're steaming and you'll be that much closer to becoming a winning player. A lot of the money that changes hands at the micro-low stakes level is because of tilt.
First of all try to diminish the number of tables. Multitabling when you don't have the skill to do it is a huge mistake.

Remember, it's all about practice. It may take you a week, a month, a year or 100.000 hands to get over your tilt problems, but eventually you'll get there. Getting better at tilt control was one of my biggest breaktroughs in poker.