How often do you check your balance/graphs/results during or after play?

quick

quick

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I'm always looking to improve my mental game and improve focus on process not results.

One bad habit I fell into...especially once I shifted from losing player to winning player was checking my results or cashier/balance. Not only before/after a session but multiple times during it. It was like a siren song...you had that itch you just had to scratch (self questions like: "am I up or down? did I just lose all my profit from 5 hours of play to one hand!? I wonder how much closer I am to being rolled for the next stake?"). It's interesting that I became more likely to check progress once I started consistently winning bb/100 overall instead of losing.

But I noticed of course that it not only distracted me from focusing on every hand, it also caused me to get frustrated more easily, to think about the +/- of my balance after a session which of course maybe me either over confident that I was crushing or under confident/doubting my game depending on which direction my balance went.

Another common thing is to quit while we're ahead or stay playing too long when stuck...and often it seems like that if we don't really know exactly where we're at "balance/roll" wise during play then we're less likely to fall into these bad habits. Yeah our minds will try to mentally calculate roughly during play, but we're not doing that constantly and seeing down to the penny the changes in the balance.

This week I started looking less, than I tried to not look at all during play, now a week into it I've checked my Bovada balance just twice (my BoL balance is a little harder to avoid but I try to just block it out). I've managed to stop looking at my HM2 results for at least a 3 day stretch.

My goal now is to only seriously look at my balance/check my results in HM2 once a week and only to go over hands to review (as it's hard to review hands because you see your results) and to see if I need to move up/down stakes.

I already feel much less focused on things like when I'll move up, or getting frustrated by seeing my balance go down after going up or after a big losing hand. Instead more focused on the hands being played and before/after sessions not thinking about where I'm at roll wise. This article got me thinking more about it too: https://www.pokerlistings.com/blog/ignoring-results-reducing-tilt-and-the-mental-game

So all that back story aside, how often do you check your balance/cashier and/or look at your PT4 or HM2 stats/progress/graph/EV/etc? During sessions? After sessions? Once a day? Once a week? Once a month? Longer?

And if you do stay disciplined and stay away from checking your balance/results during play or only check it say weekly...what tricks do you use to ensure you aren't staring at it often? And how do you keep this in line with any stop losses or move up/down rules you may have?

I feel like weekly is a good way to balance knowing if move/up down as I believe tilt control/stop losses should be dependent on your state at the table in the moment and not based on your roll balance and also maybe smooths out the ups and downs as I can see thousands of hands a week and not be focused on the hand to hand fluctuations in amounts.
 
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LJG23

LJG23

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I used to be a daily checker of my shark scope graph. Usually before and after play, some times more if I am putting in high volume. I loved to see the new peaks as the graph went up but, with me being more of a tournament/sng player the more I play the less you can really see them on a day to day basis unless I hit a big score.
Also with playing at BOL they do not have a very high rate of accuracy so my graph is actually off about $170 in profit which turned me off from checking it so often as well.
I'm in the process of trying the PT4 free trial so I can not only get a more accurate view of my tournament results but also be able to look threw the hands played in those tournaments to find and plug leaks.
 
Lena M

Lena M

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Hello.
I never check.
I do not see this need.
If I win money, I will know about it.
 
HAMC81

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I check some 4-5 times a year

been a while cause im on a terrible downswing and so I am avoiding it untl I hit an mtt and I know Im close to being up again

downswings suck
 
enolan

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Make a check point once per week.
If during the week your mental count suggests your taking beating then do a check point and assess.
If your weekly check points are not acceptable then reevaluate.
If your weekly check points look +ve then this is is something to build on.
 
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Jeffbento

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I tend to check weekly on the mobile App
 
quick

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I used to be a daily checker of my shark scope graph. Usually before and after play, some times more if I am putting in high volume. I loved to see the new peaks as the graph went up but, with me being more of a tournament/sng player the more I play the less you can really see them on a day to day basis unless I hit a big score.
Also with playing at BOL they do not have a very high rate of accuracy so my graph is actually off about $170 in profit which turned me off from checking it so often as well.
I'm in the process of trying the PT4 free trial so I can not only get a more accurate view of my tournament results but also be able to look threw the hands played in those tournaments to find and plug leaks.

Hello.
I never check.
I do not see this need.
If I win money, I will know about it.

I check some 4-5 times a year

been a while cause im on a terrible downswing and so I am avoiding it untl I hit an mtt and I know Im close to being up again

downswings suck

Make a check point once per week.
If during the week your mental count suggests your taking beating then do a check point and assess.
If your weekly check points are not acceptable then reevaluate.
If your weekly check points look +ve then this is is something to build on.

I tend to check weekly on the mobile app

Thanks all for the replies. Sounds like weekly is a standard a lot of folks follow. I've noticed the gameplay and such is more relaxing when ignoring the results/cashier for a few days for sure.
 
Newzooozooo

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Sometimes I often check the bill if the bid is very significant to me.
And sometimes, when the actual result does not greatly affect my financial position, I do not often check the bill.
 
JBGoode

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I check mine every time after I play to make sure it updated correctly. There is always a Tournament or 2 that did not relay the correct info so I need to go back and do it manually. I think its a good thing though, forces me to keep accurate records.
 
jsnake716

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I definitely think checking your balance constantly during a session could lead to distraction. I am not a full-time Cash Grinder, I am sure you will get helpful reply's from them. I have a stop-loss that I decide on before a session. This depends on what stakes I am playing, how "good" I think the tables are that I am playing. Of course, I am speaking about on-line poker right now. I know that I can "tilt" so it is important for me to set a point that I won't go past.

Talking about Tournament play and even Sit n Go, I will usually only check my balance near the end of the month.

This is totally different than how often I review my hands played, sessions played, and Tourneys. I will review Sessions at least 1X per week if I am on a "roll". Usually, I will at least review all the hands that I mark for review daily, It is important for me to look at hands in a complete session or full tournament.

Don't know if that helps
 
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marcelo benavidez

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after one or two weeks, or, when i literaly have no money...
 
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