The1AceJack
Enthusiast
Silver Level
I started to learn + actively play poker almost a month ago. I went from playing 6+ hrs/day average to feeling so disgusted I couldn't play again until today.
For the first two weeks, I felt like my playing was pretty average. I'd been learning the game via a bunch of different blogs and trying my hand different mico-stake options - and I felt good. Well, that's not to say I was winning all the time. After a few MTT cashes, and one decent freeroll win, I was probably down only a few dollars below my initial investment.
Until last Sunday, December 1st.
My developing poker habit was to start my day with low-stakes cash tables or < $25 freerolls; but only if the FR wouldn't interfere with tourneys I would play later in the day. I felt like (and, to an extent, still feel like) this was a good way to warm up for later MTTs with bigger payouts.
I was playing on wsop-NV - I really like their software, and I prefer to play ring games w/o anonymity. I dropped about $6 at the table, within about 90 minutes of play. While that doesn't sound terrible, I should mention the stakes were the lowest of the low --.01/.02.
Either way, I was too aggravated with myself to play anymore poker. Something in me had sort of snapped, and I felt like the smartest thing to was walk away.
So I unregistered from the online tournaments I was scheduled to play. And preceded to watch my team, The Saints, get squashed by The Seahawks. Oh, and drink too many amber cervezas too quickly.
Needless to say, I was got pretty pissed off / down about the whole session. I didn't play poker, or even think about poker until two days later.
While it was probably a number of things that made me get so tilted, I think it was mainly because:
- I made too many poor decisions in my last game, and too quickly.
- For 2+ weeks, I'd been playing every day; minimum 2 hrs/day, max 10 hrs/day. I was burnt out.
- Also, I think my patience (aka tightness) had wore pretty thin, after going on full grind.
After a day and evaluating my reaction, I realized these poker mistakes actually speak to my character - who I am. So, I decided to take these mistakes and convert them into lessons (aka, experience points.)
I went back to reading about poker. I pursued my other interests. I drank slightly less. I didn't play for six days.
In that time, I made a few decisions that I think will help my game:
1) Start screen-capping all sessions
2) Focus on MTTs and read more before pursuing cash games
2) Limit buy-ins for the day, no matter how early I bust out of a tourney
3) Instead of worrying about losing, or hoping to win - focus only on playing optimal poker
Cut to today. I warmed up with a $1 buy-in tourney at WSOP.com. It felt less stressful than a ring game, and I played more comfortably.
I just busted out of a Bovada $500gtd; I feel like I lost playing a well varied, mostly tight style.
Now, as I gear up for the Bovada 3 After 2kgtd, I thought to share what - I feel - is a common amongst all players - not just the beginners. But, I think it's easier for a novice player to take his beats to heart, and not learn fully from them.
Have you had similar experiences? What did you do to learn from your tilt when you were first learning the game? Has that changed now as you've played more hands?
For the first two weeks, I felt like my playing was pretty average. I'd been learning the game via a bunch of different blogs and trying my hand different mico-stake options - and I felt good. Well, that's not to say I was winning all the time. After a few MTT cashes, and one decent freeroll win, I was probably down only a few dollars below my initial investment.
Until last Sunday, December 1st.
My developing poker habit was to start my day with low-stakes cash tables or < $25 freerolls; but only if the FR wouldn't interfere with tourneys I would play later in the day. I felt like (and, to an extent, still feel like) this was a good way to warm up for later MTTs with bigger payouts.
I was playing on wsop-NV - I really like their software, and I prefer to play ring games w/o anonymity. I dropped about $6 at the table, within about 90 minutes of play. While that doesn't sound terrible, I should mention the stakes were the lowest of the low --.01/.02.
Either way, I was too aggravated with myself to play anymore poker. Something in me had sort of snapped, and I felt like the smartest thing to was walk away.
So I unregistered from the online tournaments I was scheduled to play. And preceded to watch my team, The Saints, get squashed by The Seahawks. Oh, and drink too many amber cervezas too quickly.
Needless to say, I was got pretty pissed off / down about the whole session. I didn't play poker, or even think about poker until two days later.
While it was probably a number of things that made me get so tilted, I think it was mainly because:
- I made too many poor decisions in my last game, and too quickly.
- For 2+ weeks, I'd been playing every day; minimum 2 hrs/day, max 10 hrs/day. I was burnt out.
- Also, I think my patience (aka tightness) had wore pretty thin, after going on full grind.
After a day and evaluating my reaction, I realized these poker mistakes actually speak to my character - who I am. So, I decided to take these mistakes and convert them into lessons (aka, experience points.)
I went back to reading about poker. I pursued my other interests. I drank slightly less. I didn't play for six days.
In that time, I made a few decisions that I think will help my game:
1) Start screen-capping all sessions
2) Focus on MTTs and read more before pursuing cash games
2) Limit buy-ins for the day, no matter how early I bust out of a tourney
3) Instead of worrying about losing, or hoping to win - focus only on playing optimal poker
Cut to today. I warmed up with a $1 buy-in tourney at WSOP.com. It felt less stressful than a ring game, and I played more comfortably.
I just busted out of a Bovada $500gtd; I feel like I lost playing a well varied, mostly tight style.
Now, as I gear up for the Bovada 3 After 2kgtd, I thought to share what - I feel - is a common amongst all players - not just the beginners. But, I think it's easier for a novice player to take his beats to heart, and not learn fully from them.
Have you had similar experiences? What did you do to learn from your tilt when you were first learning the game? Has that changed now as you've played more hands?
