Power of a positive attitude

SydTheCat

SydTheCat

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I don't know if this has ever been asked before, but how important do you think that having a strong positive attitude helps, when playing poker?
Not just saying to yourself "I'm gonna win this", but feel confident about it. Feeling like you expect good cards, and you expect to hit your draws.

I know everyone who has played poker have had moments where you can't lose, and you feel like the greatest poker player in the world. Then there are days when you can't win. You're feeling down and depressed. Nothing seems to be going right. Everyone is sucking out on you, and you feel like giving up. Your confidence is low.

Ok, your probally going to say that it's called 'variance'. Not quite sure what that means. Just something about the randomness of the variables.
I kind of believe that it may be a little more to it than that, and I think that some of the pros may believe that too.

Take a look at Hellmouth. He meditates before tournaments. He tells himself while meditating "Good things happen to me." He thinks he's the best player, and he expects to win.
Mike Matasow (The New Mike) now also practices the power of a positive attitude. Before you would see him being all negative whenever he lost a hand. Now you can see him willing himself to stay positive. Its like if he believes that the ace will hit on the flop, that it will hit on the flop.

Some players, you can see the confidence flowing through them when they play, and others you can see the doubt in their eyes. For example; Watching Tom Dwan on PAD (Poker after Dark), He is just full of confidence, and positive attitude. He seems like he expects the cards to always go his way, and they usually do. Then watching Daniel Negraneau on PAD is just brutal. Normally he is full of confidence. But on this show you can see it in his eyes and body action that he expects to lose. And he usually does.

Sure some of you are rolling your eyes at me :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: ,thinking this guy is nuts. I'm actually just a normal guy that believes in more than what our eyes see. Who knows? Maybe there is some kind of mystical power of the mind to will good cards. Some cards are used for telling the future (Tarot), so just maybe there is something to it. I don't know.

hmmm :) :) :)
 
gotalljax

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Online, a positive attitude can get me in more trouble than a negative one.

I would rather just play poker (and know the game/odds) than think about the mystical influence involved in my success.
 
MrMuckets

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Has anyone ever heard of Norman Vincent Peale?:confused::confused:
 
Egon Towst

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I am certainly happy to accept that a positive attitude is good for one`s own performance.

However, if you are suggesting it can somehow mystically affect the cards, maybe it is time to stop smoking that stuff. You know it`s not good for you. :) :p
 
gotalljax

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Has anyone ever heard of Norman Vincent Peale?:confused::confused:

Yes - Are u endorsing his philosophy? :hmmmm:

I am all for positive thinking. But as Towst said, it only goes so far...and I don't think it influences the cards FT or UB or any of the sites will be dealing my way.
How many times has "I will hit this flush!" worked vs. failed:questionm

All I am saying is a positive attitude shouldn't change the way you play the game, or you can wind up chasing your own tail into a brick wall.:vollkomme
 
PC69

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Positive thinking?

Ha

Ill be positive at the end of a tourney when i win.


Till then iam always waiting for the ultimate suckout lmfao



:rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 
liv3player

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Thinking

I think something very close to positive thinking is good.I call this rest and being fully at my best,making good decisions and picking the right times to gamble.I think this all comes when I am well rested and focused.I know when I am on little sleep or not really into the game I tend to make decisions I normally wouldn't.
 
PokerVic

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I think a positive attitude is good for poker. It helps you bluff, which can be very important, and it helps you attack a game with real tenacity. In a live setting, it can really mess with your opponents, and put them off their games, which allows you to win more.

You can go too far with it, however. Calling without proper odds because you 'feel' that the flush is coming is bad poker, and can cost you. Also, assuming you are unbeatable might lead to a real sense of failure when you finally lose a big pot or tournament. The best players in the world lose from time to time, and all the positive thinking isn't going to change that.

Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
 
ryodejaneiro

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Without going into psychological theory, I would say yes, positive thinking and attitude are quite important. Of course, thinking positively won't get you the cards but I think it adds an additional component to your game and how you play. Plus positively approaching the game makes the game much more enjoyable than having a negative attitude. When was the last time you sat in a tourney and someone was ranting on and on about a bad beat? In the end, it makes the game less fun. In fact, I try to listen to music that'll put me into a good mood before playing. On that note, off to the MiniFTOPS Event #24 for me!:)
 
jdeliverer

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Confidence in your strategy is absolutely essential. That said, you should work as hard as you can while not playing to make sure your strategy is in fact solid. This in turn will help your confidence in your strategy.
 
ryodejaneiro

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Confidence in your strategy is absolutely essential. That said, you should work as hard as you can while not playing to make sure your strategy is in fact solid. This in turn will help your confidence in your strategy.

Definitely! If we all step back and think about what confidence does to our lives in general, we find that it helps us with various other things, whether you're in sales, a teacher, a barista (I'm at a coffee shop right now :)) or whatever occupation you have, when we interact with others, confidence is very much important.

This might be something that you were hinting at jamesdadeliverer, but I'm going to expand on what you mentioned a little. I would also add that it's important to have confidence in how we approach our games in general (so this is more all-encompassing and includes strategy). Now of course, putting what we have mentioned into use is more difficult. For me, I consider myself to be a tournament/SNG player & I found that I've been building my confidence by playing various NLHE games (heads up SNG, short handed SNG, regular & tubro SNG, MTTs). By trying to get used to different situations, I think we become more comfortable with them and in turn (especially if we can experience some success) we become more confident.
 
WVHillbilly

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I know everyone who has played poker have had moments where you can't lose, and you feel like the greatest poker player in the world. Then there are days when you can't win. You're feeling down and depressed. Nothing seems to be going right. Everyone is sucking out on you, and you feel like giving up. Your confidence is low.

Both of these are forms of tilt.

Assigning expectations (either positive or negative) can be bad. If we are expecting positive outcomes that don't come, we feel bad and we tilt. If we are expecting negative outcomes yet we win, we may become too happy with ourselves and tilt.

Better to have no emotional attachment to the outcome of any particular hand/tourney/session. Just play the hand that's in front of you to the best of your abilities at that moment. Stop thinking about the hand you just played (no matter if you won or lost) and don't concern yourself with any hand you'll play in the future. Concentrate on the now and how you're playing your hand now.
 
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erinh

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Playing online, I find that I play better if I'm nervous rather than confident. It sucks, because feeling nervous is unpleasant. But as soon as this method starts to work for me and I double my stack, the resulting confidence seems to pull success right out from under me and I lose, UNLESS I can manage to stay nervous.

I'm glad that you brought up the pros using positive thinking techniques. If poker can be profitable while feeling and thinking positive, then that's what I want to learn to do.
 
Poker Orifice

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I'd have to agree with alot of what is being said in the responses on this thread BUT also want to say, OP isn't suggesting that not playing attention to the math of the game isn't important (or anything else for that matter) nor do I read them saying to place the power of positive thinking above other stuff. I see it more as... one more thing to add to the repertoire... one more thing to work on as part of a complete pkg.

As far as the matter of how it important it is for one.... I think that all comes down to a personal preference (for Matusow & Hellmuth it is obviously very important, otherwise we wouldn't hear about them talking about it so much). For myself, I'm more focused on 'Poker Mindset' - - a bunch of stuff all contributing to me playing better... and no doubt it is where I feel my game needs the most work at the moment.
 
nunyuz

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I totally agree! I was in a truck fire on March 19th and had to jump while it was still rolling. I screwed up my back and and leg and had alot of road rash, and ended up with a bad infection. I didnt win for 3 weeks! As soon as I started feeling better I started winning.

I learned 2 things......I need to sharpen up on my stunt women skills....and dont play poker all hopped up on pills.
 
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nightmoves44

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huh?

Well Im sorts mixed on it and Ill try to explain.I know when Im feeling real good I play a better game than when Im tired or even sick.But last week,it was getting late and I was registered at a Cake skin,satellite to a wsop seat open game.I played about 40min and decided I just throw it allin and go to bed.Well I went allin with crap and won,I did this about 4 times and was up over 35k chips.So I decided to stay up and ride it out.I only played 1 more hand and was around 49k chips.Moral of the story??I was sleepy and tired and won entrance into the next game.If I was playing my usual tight game,I prolly woulda got beat out.

Hah,Im glad your ok nunyuz,but its sorta funny the way ya told it..lol
 
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GrisGrisAA

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To me a positive attitude equates with confidence and a willingness to get your money in when it comes to poker. No fear goes a long way in poker imo.
 
ryodejaneiro

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Playing online, I find that I play better if I'm nervous rather than confident. It sucks, because feeling nervous is unpleasant. But as soon as this method starts to work for me and I double my stack, the resulting confidence seems to pull success right out from under me and I lose, UNLESS I can manage to stay nervous.

I'm glad that you brought up the pros using positive thinking techniques. If poker can be profitable while feeling and thinking positive, then that's what I want to learn to do.

I think you bring up an important point here erinh. A lot depends on our predisposition (i.e., our "personality") but for some people who are more prone to be anxious than others, the edge of anxiety could associated with better play. In my recent trip to Vegas, I was quite anxious during the first tournament (the only one I cashed). The second and third tourneys, I was a lot more comfortable but busted out in part I think, because I got too comfortable/confident in my reads. We all have to take into account what kind of person we are and not simply adopt what has worked for others. Anxiety can be problematic at times, but it can help out in unexpected ways at the table sometimes. BTW, welcome to the forum!:)
 
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erinh

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Thanks for the welcome, Ryodejaneiro!

Based on what you guys have said in this thread, I hope to lose the support that I get from anxiety as I develop a better strategy.
 
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