Temper during a tournament

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vassiriki

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how do you feel during a tournament? are you nervous or calm? do you think it influences your game and if yes to what extent? if you lose a pot do you get more anxious or if you win do you loosen up? how disciplined are you during a tournament?

personally, at the start phase of any tournament i'm calm and i also am calm generally if i have at least 20 bbs during the tournament. however, if i have lower amount of chips than 15 bbs and if it is a turbo tournament i'm highly anxious and i think it influences my discipline and game. i make bad decisions if i'm rushed to survive. so how is it your overall game? does tournament style also play a factor?
 
dbchristy

dbchristy

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If I make it thru the half way point and have hours invested, I tend to lose my chit when playing a donk or fish..LOL
 
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ph_il

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I'm calm. I have fun while playing and don't let petty things get to me.

I don't care if I lose money. I dissociate myself from money when playing, so it's never a problem if a lose a buy-in. Or 2. Or 10.

I don't care about bad beats, coolers, or variance. It happens and it's going to happen plenty of more times. Why waste your time getting upset every time you get unlucky?

I just play the best I can, try to make more +EV decisions, and hopefully I can finish deep or even win it. If I do, great! If not, it's not a big deal.
 
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Ac3 Meister

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Always try to remain calm.DRink tea or something that makes u feel good .Listen to music because a tournament can take a few hours .Always pay atention to your opponents way of play and try to read them.

never get nervous about pixels .This is a game and the best player wins , dont go to the darkside lol.
 
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avderevo

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Always very nervous and playing this very tight, long sit and wait for a good hand
 
quick

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Be careful about getting too loose after taking a big chip lead. You don't want to clam up but at same time you don't want to spew away the lead.

I enjoy the rush of tournaments and that anxiety that creeps in sometimes in a big MTT. But def take a breath, sit out a hand or two if you feel it overwhelming you. And don't be afraid to put your tournament life on the line when all the info you have in the hand are telling you long run this is the right play.

I got knocked out near the bubble of an MTT the other night shoving K7s from the button checked to me, I lost to two slightly bigger stacks who insta called and both flopped the nuts. I wasn't anxious and was 100% confident in my decision in that spot even though I lost. I'd do it again every time in that same spot and conditions.

Basically play your game, don't be afraid to put your chips on the line when the situation calls for it, and embrace the anxiety and nervousness as energy to keep you running deep into the tourney! I love the excitement of tourneys. Cash games are great but tournaments feel like an epic battle to the finish line.
 
HUmanMustard

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I always stay calm, until I get felted with KK. Pretty much everytime. Then I yell. Then Im calm again.
 
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Two6JJ

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No temper in poker at all. It blocks the ability to learn from whatever spot you find yourself in.
 
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BadluckBubba

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I usually try to focus on something else. Or play enough tournaments that they are going by to fast to get personally attached to one. That being said I have 0 emotions until it gets in the money. Usually the blinds are way up and people are jamming all over when it matters so its harder to remain calm.

Then of course there is the guy who jams every hand for an hour and somehow is always the chip leader by 10x the chips to who is in 2nd. There is no way im not going to feel some kind of road rage over that.
 
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matnautico

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Its all about the stakes, this is the reason I stopped playing torneys for significant buy ins.
 
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vassiriki

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Be careful about getting too loose after taking a big chip lead. You don't want to clam up but at same time you don't want to spew away the lead.

I enjoy the rush of tournaments and that anxiety that creeps in sometimes in a big MTT. But def take a breath, sit out a hand or two if you feel it overwhelming you. And don't be afraid to put your tournament life on the line when all the info you have in the hand are telling you long run this is the right play.

I got knocked out near the bubble of an MTT the other night shoving K7s from the button checked to me, I lost to two slightly bigger stacks who insta called and both flopped the nuts. I wasn't anxious and was 100% confident in my decision in that spot even though I lost. I'd do it again every time in that same spot and conditions.

Basically play your game, don't be afraid to put your chips on the line when the situation calls for it, and embrace the anxiety and nervousness as energy to keep you running deep into the tourney! I love the excitement of tourneys. Cash games are great but tournaments feel like an epic battle to the finish line.

well, mostly i play along the things you wrote. if i think it was the best that i could then i'm ok but if i make a mistake then it is very painfulll!!!!!
 
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CHILOWWW

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definitivamente son esos jugadores qeu no les importa jugar bien y se tiran oll in con lo que les llega y terminan por sacar algunos buenos jugadores de los torneos >.<
 
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MumbaiMagic

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Just relax. Occupy your mind

Sit back and observe your opponents as they play. Make mental notes or carry a notebook. How did they react throughout when they had a strong hand at showdown. Make a note and use it gauge future holdings. Just think about your own hands and how you want to play at each stage. There's no point worrying as you can only play the hand you are dealt. Just have a game plan and strategy before you start. :icon_bigs
 
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barry craig

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temper control

I must be the first to admit that when i started playing a few years ago my temper always got the better of me and let it rip on the chat lol now its not very often i lose it even if i lose with the usual eejit calling station sticking ot out to the river with nothing and hitting the miracle card lol.You no what it's not worth it and it will save you a lot of money in the long run...So people keep temper in check and save money.gl on the tables
 
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barry craig

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patience is the most important thing you should have in any holdem or poker game :)

this is so true i've seen me playing in tournies way way off the cash with little in chips and playing tight as a ducks back side and not only getting in the money ahead of others that were way a head of me but also leveling up a few dollars.Patience can be hard but usually worth the wait.
 
IntenseHeat

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I think you have to feel a little something, a little bit anxious, a little nervous. At least I do. Otherwise I start playing like I don't really care if I survive or get knocked out. If I don't care, then I'm not going to be playing my best poker.

I don't get angry, but I do lose patience for idiots that constantly and repeatedly shove all-in pre-flop. You know they're not getting dealt six or seven premium hands in a row. I will get fed up with that shit and might call with any two Broadway cards, because I simply refuse to be held hostage at the table by some super donk. I don't consider myself tilted. I'm just not going to sit there and keep folding to some guy shoving with ATC.
 
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vassiriki

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I think you have to feel a little something, a little bit anxious, a little nervous. At least I do. Otherwise I start playing like I don't really care if I survive or get knocked out. If I don't care, then I'm not going to be playing my best poker.

I don't get angry, but I do lose patience for idiots that constantly and repeatedly shove all-in pre-flop. You know they're not getting dealt six or seven premium hands in a row. I will get fed up with that shit and might call with any two Broadway cards, because I simply refuse to be held hostage at the table by some super donk. I don't consider myself tilted. I'm just not going to sit there and keep folding to some guy shoving with ATC.

lol mate. exactly my thoughts! freerolls are really very difficult to beat
 
PapaC

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Playing more than one tourny has always helped me to stay calm, because I really don't have the time to tilt and dwell on a losing hand when I have two others I need to pay attention to if I don't want the same to happen with them. Being able to control myself has helped me to win more and make better decesion in life as a whole. But really it's easier said than done. It takes time and patience. I worked on my tilt problem for 6 months and nothing else when I joined here. Now after 3 years, if I do tilt a little, I let it go in a minute or two. I know if I don't let it go, some more tilt is headed my way, along with more loses GL to you
 
bizarez

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Be careful about getting too loose after taking a big chip lead. You don't want to clam up but at same time you don't want to spew away the lead.

I enjoy the rush of tournaments and that anxiety that creeps in sometimes in a big MTT. But def take a breath, sit out a hand or two if you feel it overwhelming you. And don't be afraid to put your tournament life on the line when all the info you have in the hand are telling you long run this is the right play.

I got knocked out near the bubble of an MTT the other night shoving K7s from the button checked to me, I lost to two slightly bigger stacks who insta called and both flopped the nuts. I wasn't anxious and was 100% confident in my decision in that spot even though I lost. I'd do it again every time in that same spot and conditions.

Basically play your game, don't be afraid to put your chips on the line when the situation calls for it, and embrace the anxiety and nervousness as energy to keep you running deep into the tourney! I love the excitement of tourneys. Cash games are great but tournaments feel like an epic battle to the finish line.
This is correct, what you wrote! I try to play calmly, but ... sometimes my explosive nature prevails and prevents me! Then I'm going to sitоut and go to drink tea. But while me must learn and learn to control.
 
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William Wright

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feelings

at the start of a tournament i am nervous if i win a couple of hands i will loosen up a bit but if i loose a pot it make me play more aggressive over the next couple hands till i settle back in.
 
jogger3

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I'm calm. I have fun while playing and don't let petty things get to me.

I don't care if I lose money. I dissociate myself from money when playing, so it's never a problem if a lose a buy-in. Or 2. Or 10.

I don't care about bad beats, coolers, or variance. It happens and it's going to happen plenty of more times. Why waste your time getting upset every time you get unlucky?

I just play the best I can, try to make more +EV decisions, and hopefully I can finish deep or even win it. If I do, great! If not, it's not a big deal.

not to think about money is good when playing. when I play and go deep but if you think about the prize then all the bad number and I am not in the tournament.and thoughts about money prevent to play as more than a sit and eat a stack. it's the wrong one
 
SBEP

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I only loose patience when ever the tournament for me starts slow, by slow i mean 10 sometimes even 20 min will pass b4 i double up, in the meantime i tend to play most of the hands and leak a lot of chips so when i do get to double up im back at the starting stack, and right there i know i wont be getting in the money, coz by that time im faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar to tillted to play my A game :D
 
Aleksandr Slepkin

Aleksandr Slepkin

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Not necessary very nervous. But what a heart attack happens.
 
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