poker emotion

First of all there is the matter of lost money. Nobody likes to lose money. But here's a secret that many winning players share – it's easier to win money when you don't care if you lose it. Most top poker players have what I like to call a healthy disregard for money. It's much harder to risk something you really care about, and poker is all about risk. So, if you can find it in you to care less about the money, it is easier for you to risk it. As an experiment, try playing in a poker game with stakes so low that even if you lose ten times your buy in it wouldn't mean anything to you. You should find that you are able to play with a level of abandon that you normally would find scary. But this frame of mind is just what is needed to be able to play effective poker. If you let the money control your emotions you will tilt much too easily.

Next there is the matter of ego. Who would you rather be, the hero who hits the game winning homerun, or the loser who drops the last out and lets the other team win? We all want to win. From an early age we are taught that winning is good and losing is bad. This is not something we can just turn on and off, it is ingrained in our psyche. So how can we deal with losing without blowing our cool?

One of the most effective ways of dealing with losing is to simply change our internal definition of what it means to win. Most of us are stuck in a rut of some kind. You can be stuck anywhere but it's really just in your own mind. Many people say, "I'd be happy if only I won this or that." The funny thing is that those who have already won this or that are no happier than they are. A wise man once said that success is getting what you want, but happiness is wanting what you have. Given a choice between the two, I think I will take happiness.

now what do you think ?

I think A) optimism/hope and B) emotion are enemies of top play and really forms of tilt. Poker is a combination of calculation and psychological assessment of tells/hand-reading. Both optimism/hope and emotion degrade those two activities, and I always lose money when I bet "hoping" to hit a card and "optimistic" that I have the better hand, or I'm nervous or overstimulated in a live game (the chatter, the incessant nervous chip handling, trying to count opposing stacks, the hot chick walking by with a tray of drinks....)

I agree an indifference to the results is positive and obviously going to deter tilt, but if you care so little that it effects your play and you just spew for the fun of it, then obviously this attitude is counter productive. Most top players seem to avoid being results oriented, and strive to play their best at all times and be constantly learning and improving. Of course, even they get emotional and tilty at times.

If you have no regard for money, would't you play worse, and lose more money?? Winners can do this since they have the roll to lose money and not care, a small percentage can do that....then ther's the large percentage...I'm sorry but I think this is upsurd...I lose a lot of money at 2nl cuz I do this, I have no regard for the "penny poker" and play loose and lose more!?

I think a good alternative which relates to this, is something I read in a book called "Zen and the art of poker"...it said that if you detach yourself emotionally from the game then you wont make bad descisions later. It also says that if you expect to lose or be less optimistic then when you do lose, it doesn't hurt as much when you lose

i agree with you 100% ..i find if im down to my last few dollars and buy in to a tournament im almost afraid to call anything and i eventually lose because of i fold i should have called and which i would of probably called if i would of had more money

In any case you guys are wrong. Anytime you have money in a game you think the same way. Also you cant play loose in tournaments unless your lucky either ways its best to choose the hands you want to go to battle and more important to know the opponents you battling against. Because if you see a guy that hasnt played a hand all day and you raise with A Q OR AK i think you should slow play it. In any case you raise preflop and he reraise you, you either fold or call and fold on the flop. Either ways when you have money, I think its a downfall poker wise because you tend to be less focus always in a rush to win the next big pot. Always wanting to see the flop in things like that. Hope i helped, but if i dindnt let me know.

I don't think that it is a matter of good players having no regard for money.I think it is the fact that they are not playing with scared money that makes it seem that way..Big difference.They can afford to take a hit from time to time and might play a bit loose in certain games.For example I would expect to see a big difference in playing style if they didn't have the experience and were buying in with thier mortgage payment.LOL.

I haven't read this book but have studied Zen for decades and it is a big part of playing solid poker for me. It's not about detaching yourself from money nor is it about playing with scared money, it's all about playing good poker for the sake of the mental challenge. To clarify the latter I do mean about out witting your oponent, never about the emotional highs one might get from winning a hand. If you're only in the game for emotional highs your certainly playing for all the wrong reasons.