Controlling impulse decisions

Any tips on this? I find this to be my greatest obstacle to move up to the next level. I either instantly act or get tunnel vision and focus on one thing (hes bluffing, he has it..).

One thing you could try waiting until the time button comes up for every hand until you make your move. That way you will have at least a bit more time to think every time before you act. Some times you may not need the time but take it every time until you notice yourself getting over those impulse actions.

there's no easy quick fix for this.

get into the habit of taking a few seconds to mull over every decision you have to make, and justify every action you take. if you're playing multiple tables, cut down for a while. if you're watching TV or suchlike while playing, stop it. the more you focus on what you're doing and the rationale behind what you're doing, the less likely you are to just speed-press the 'call' (or whatever) button.

work on assigning ranges to players. don't think in basic terms of "he has to be bluffing" or "lol i'm beat", work in terms of "i think there's an x% chance he's bluffing/a y% chance he thinks he's valuebetting with a worse hand than mine/a z% chance he has me beat". you obviously will be estimating the percentages, but even a rough estimate is better than acting on the first random thought to enter your head!

What DM said. Try to think through every decision. Think about the ranges each opponent action represents rather than trying to immediately deduce the one hand he has (ie aces, or even just hand or bluff). Know that against most people there is a chance they have the goods and chance they are bluffing no matter what, you need to attempt to assign how often they have different hands. I'm probably making it sound too complicated, but basically you just need to try to think through why your impulse decision is the way it is. Sometimes it's correct. Sometimes you may subconsciously realize that he insta-raised and likely doesn't have a certain hand because he woulda had to think for a few seconds on what to do or something like that. But you should recognize the logic behind it, not just immediately act on it.

One of the disadvantages of online poker at least at the lower levels is time. You are only given a short time to think. Some sites allocate a time bank and you should not be afraid to use this time if necessary before making a decision. Try slowing your game down overall. Take your time every time it is your turn to bet. Even if you intend to fold take your time to do it. Get into the habit of thinking at each hand. You might not make many friends on the table because they get fed up with you but at the end of the day you are trying to beat them and if they get fed up with you it could work in your favour.

Hi.

You must use other guys time to think about any possible bet against your play. Don't wait until your turn to think, try to think about all the possible hands or bets and you'll have to spent.

And, of course, don't be impulsive.

Bye.
manalva

I find I get more impulsive (lazy, not thinking things through) if I get tired, usually in mid to late tourneys. If you are bored or tired you might be fast -clicking because subconsciously, you want to get out. Hard to believe, but I think we bounce ourselves out of games when we get cranky.
So don't do that. I think the above advice about always taking time, even on easy decisions, can help.

I have lost count of the number of times I have taken somebodies chips on the hand after they have had a bad beat. There seems to be a thing that guys need to go all in on the hand after they take a bad beat even if they have nothing. It is easy pickings. My advise is to get up and walk away for a few minutes at least.

If you know you are going to fold,please don't make it a habit to use up a bunch of time.The way to get to final tables in MTT, is winning lots of hands and accumalating chips.If people at the table are slowing it up on purpose,this works to all players disadvantage IMO.If you need to think ,take the time!

i agree with makwa, boredom is one of the hardest things to overcome and it also gives you tunnel vision. how many times have you called an all in and knew before you call, you 're beat. happens allot to me but stuborness and boredom and tunnel vission all apply.

like others have said take a few seconds to analize and justify in your own mind what you are doing and why.

This is a major weak spot in my game. (Relatively speaking; I can't pinpoint a strong one, except maybe not getting steamed much.)

I find I do best when I'm mentally fresh, and not tired. Caffeine helps -- which can be difficult at the end of an evening. TV or other distractions definitely hurt.

Just on a side note, I usually recommend to people to always let some time slide before making a decision, as it helps with two things:

A. Like the above quote clearly states, it gives you some time to think about your hand, and not just "ohh ohh I have kings lolz me"

B. Personally, I find it semi reliable to judge to a certain degree a range someone would have based on how sure of the hand they are. For instance, if I check it, and the next x people insta-check, I am going to assume either they had check/fold set, in that case they could care less and might not have the nuts ya know, or they might be on a draw and just intended on checking to see the next card free.

I didn't mean to hijack the thread, this just came to mind while I was reading, correct me if im wrong.

Cheers

This is sooooooooooooo me, the cranky part Some great advice here that I can use

Start to question your play before you click.



Ask your self Should I ?

If yes.
Go for it .........

If your not sure.
Then STOP and rethink your decision.

Do this until you feel you have complete control over your play.
At that point loosen up a bit and take down some Cash !!!

Just my thoughts .......

Good Luck .

the taking time thing seems like a good tip. also keeping your hand off the mouse may also help. but what seems to work best for me is to have a plan for the hand i'm playing. when i bet i try to think how i will react to a raise,shove,call etc. if i check will i fold or call a small bet? will i fold to a big one? i try to have these thing figured out ahead of time. will i commit if i flop an over pair? also i try to put my oppanant on a range of hands and see how i do again that range. if he's a tricky opponant or very loose i tend to tighten up and only play strong hands. but the trick for me is to know if i'm committed before i'm put to the test. if i answer no i'm not committed easy fold. if yes i'm committed easy call. plan the hand.

what do you mean exactly? like are you fist pump snap calling because you think youre bluffing? or what


I would suggest just taking your time through hands, I know a lot of players just go really fast while playing, but just take a few seconds to think things over.