Discipline in Poker

Hi again CC community. Haven't been on in a while, mainly due to settling into University and not playing much poker.

I believe I have a problem, where I deposit a certain amount of money on a poker site and just get the urge to whack it all on a HU PLO cash table. I know the simple advice would be 'play within your bankroll' or similar, however I don't get the same enthusiasm for the micro stakes as I do with the proper money cash games.

I have fairly decent stats in tournaments and am quite aware this is the way forward, however, it requires a lot of free time sometimes and the long dry spells can be frustrating.

Maybe I wasn't cut out for poker, or maybe someone on here could give some tips on how to control myself? Are there any sites where micro tournaments don't get 1000s of entrants that are worth playing on?

Thanks
IndividualEqual

If you dont have a girlfriend - get one. She will tighten her grip on your balls every time you try a big deposit.

I used to do the same thing (kind of) but with my live play.. id go and grind out a solid $200-$300 win in a $1/$2 game than go donk away $500 at a blackjack table trying to turn that 200 into a million.. I just started looking at is as a work in a way.. like i work so hard to earn that money.. dont blow it on some coinflip.. I know your not doing this but HU play has alot of variance and playing outside your bankroll is pretty much a coinflip too

It seems that every site is going to have donks that want to go all in with 45o every single hand.
You just have to learn to pick your moments.
I personally stick iTunes on and try to relax myself.

I doubt there's any single tip or trick that will solve everyone's self-discipline issues, which means you have to find whatever it is that will help you.

One approach from behavioral psychology is to set intermediary steps / conditions that you need to fulfill before you do whatever you're trying not to. The idea is to create a kind of routine you have to go through first, preferably one that takes at least a few minutes, which gives you that time to decide not to continue.

Sounds like you are like a bull in a candy store. Try not depositing and build a bankroll from freerolls.
When you start with nothing you work harder to obtain it and harder to keep it which requires Patience.
Patience is a skill one needs to play poker. Just my 2 cents.

I'm with Zarrmonster, you need to gain disciplin and patience and building a bankroll from freerolls is the best way to do it. The only way to learn self disciplin is to put into practice so if you say you get no enthusiasm from playing micro stakes and grinding tournaments then thats exactly what you should do. And resist depositing when you get the urge, if you hang in there it will pay off. So start grinding freerolls my friend, it's the only sane way to learn self control.
GL

individualequal said:

Hi again CC community. Haven't been on in a while, mainly due to settling into University and not playing much poker.

I believe I have a problem, where I deposit a certain amount of money on a poker site and just get the urge to whack it all on a HU PLO cash table. I know the simple advice would be 'play within your bankroll' or similar, however I don't get the same enthusiasm for the micro stakes as I do with the proper money cash games.

I have fairly decent stats in tournaments and am quite aware this is the way forward, however, it requires a lot of free time sometimes and the long dry spells can be frustrating.

Maybe I wasn't cut out for poker, or maybe someone on here could give some tips on how to control myself? Are there any sites where micro tournaments don't get 1000s of entrants that are worth playing on?

Thanks
IndividualEqual

Click to expand...

They say in poker, the value of money goes away.. People get the wrong idea from this is that you can spend thousands and doesnt mean anything. It is actually you deposited on a site it isnt money anymore... it is chips.. even though you dont see it..
For example.. whatever the blinds are it doesnt money.
You get cards.. You like them... They say to raise 3x the Blind Blind..
flop comes... You like the flop so you are going to lead out with a bet. you bet 2/3 of the pot.
or some in front of you bets... then you decided to raise.. they say to raise the amount to (3X whatever they bet)
So on the above they dont say always at least bet $50 on the preflop.
So money doesnt matter except that you should buyin at 5% of your bankroll.
so the above is true so how you evalute your play. They say the hourly rate you should make in limit is 1X the Big Blind... And in No Limit they say you should earn an hourly rate of 5X the Big Blind.