How do you deal with Poker Stress?

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WinglessSoldier

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I'm a regular mid stake player at 888 poker. Today though, I decided to take a shot at 5/10. Played about 2700 hands today within two tables. I have never experience such low variance before, I mean all my draws constantly kept missing. In the near end, 400 hands I lost all my winnings in one day. Now it wouldn't usually brother me but since the pot were so huge, it's killing me physically. My muscles ache. I have such a huge headache and I feel angry. I eventually tilted my last 200 winnings away. After a session I usually sleep and feel better when I wake up. But this time it's different. What do you guys do?
 
Kenzie 96

Kenzie 96

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You stepped out of your comfort zone, lost more of your bankroll than you would normally & now your pissed. Examine your play, did you adjust your game to the different level of competition?
You acknowledge you were taking a shot, why & what were your expectations?
Why did you overreact when things didn't go as intended?
Taking a "shot", is a common occurrence & results such as you experienced are much more common than winning big.
Analyze your play, your results, your reactions & use the experience to become a better player.
Hell, your already ahead of a majority of online players since you didn't automatically blame your results on "rigged online poker. :)
Good luck in the future & have fun.
 
Marcwantstowin

Marcwantstowin

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Hi Soldier. I think we all "take a shot" every now and then - If your are a mid/ low stakes player, its a bit of a dream to hit it big and win the big one, possibly by running good, good play or shear luck. However, the down side is that it never works or perhaps it does, one in a million!!! Poker stress is only bought on by ourselves, we cause it so the only way to get over it is to walk away and leave it alone for a while. Try to forget the stress and remember your good plays/ sessions and work out what happened to you and why it did. This is how we learn to improve our game but also how to minimise the effect stress has on us. The difference between us and "top" professionals, apart from the money is how they deal with the stress, they have it as well they just treat it different. Like some of us, they know how to "double bluff", "triple barrel" or "5 bet" or any other play you can name, but they treat the stress as a play so have a way of playing against it.

Gl and thats enough rambling from me.........................:D:D:D :cheers:
 
rogerdelpk

rogerdelpk

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i think the real stress is when you play poker for a living......other than that....
 
rytciaq

rytciaq

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get a stress ball. really. it does wonders. also, you can buy a squeezeable shark toy from pokerstars VIP Shop for 400 FPP's. That's going to be my purchase when I accumulate the FPP.
 
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badalhoco345

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I don't like Cash Tables and I usually don't play it!

But in your case, when you feel that it's was not your day and even more when you feel that you are tilting, you better close your poker room and try another day before you lose all your bankroll.

It's easy to speak, even I sometimes comitt the same mistake and lose everything, but we have to stop and put a limit on our bets.

Good luck next time!
 
PCK

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After a bad session i watch a good movie,and stop playing in that day ,keep chillin with music or something,maybe some funny videos on tube.
 
BiliousBetil

BiliousBetil

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Let's say that it's the bottom of the ninth, two outs, the bases are loaded, you're down by a run. You see the pitch perfectly, catch it right on the sweet spot . . . wind blowing in from center field makes your hit run out of steam at the warning track. What do you feel then, stress? Of course.

Stress is not unique to poker, which may be why a leading mental game coach comes to our game from golf. Stress is a tough nut to crack, no one solution fits all. Some people meditate. Others workout. Others just plain quit. Your solution is likely to be somewhat unique, but if you love the game, worth searching for.

Cheers!
 
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cotta777

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All your draws kept missing? chasing draws doesn't sound a reliable strategy
in fact you shouldn't be thinking about your draws at all should be thinking
about individual players as I'm sure you know already.

Sounds like you run well and run bad and it evened out over so many hands.

their are alot of good players that break even or worse because they haven't got consistent discipline and control they always get involved in the cards.

De-attachment is key

The ones who make are the ones who can take the hits and keep on coming back playing their same game over and over.

I always say if your good enough to run deep time and time again, then your good enough to claw back your chips in the same session.

Ask yourself are you a donktard or a poker player? If it's the latter then remind yourself only donktards tilt and rise above the noise, be great :marchmell
 
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Dagano

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After a bad session i watch a good movie,and stop playing in that day ,keep chillin with music or something,maybe some funny videos on tube.

same here, I try to forget and hit back the tables later.....also running helps me greatly reduce tilt...
 
taban13

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There are moments when to play better to take a small break. take a break from playing exercise theory and appears more willing to play and climb higher up the levels.
 
Arjonius

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The main way I try to manage stress is by understanding how much I can take without being unduly affected at any given moment, and then staying below that level / amount. The tricky part is monitoring myself since my stress tolerance moves up and down, sometimes very quickly, even just a matter of moments.
 
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Teofealter

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More sleep and rest. Time heals everything.
 
coloradosc

coloradosc

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In moments like this I usually take a break of poker for a week, go do other things, and in one week you're gonna be great!
 
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freestocks

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Losing hurts no matter how it happens.
 
vvanns

vvanns

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Very hard to recognize your own tilt. I finally manage it now. I'm not saying I'm not tilting anymore, but I do admit to myself when I'm tilting and however the good game is and how big the fish is you have position on --> Sit out! What helps me is splashing cold water in my face and (this is embarrassing) pep-talking in the mirror lol
 
XXPXXP

XXPXXP

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think take some Yoga lesson will be helpful.
if you feel shy to take Yoga lesson buy a Yoga DVD and follow.

PS: the problem is not from muscle, but from wrist...moving mouse too fast and clicking to fast , the wrist feels ache first.
 
Sil3ntness

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How do I deal with poker stress? Take a break.

There is no point in playing if you are on tilt or not having fun. Come back when you are excited to play & in a positive mood.

I think the quickest way to put me on tilt though is getting sucked out on. Usually I just log off for a bit so I can regain my composure.
 
Fahrenheit451

Fahrenheit451

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When I hit bad beat+tilt, but can't stop playing, I switch to freerolls.
Then I watch myself, how my tilt groves and what I do in response to that and allow myself to play as stupid as I can until tilt wears out ;)
 
exidas

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If I lose big pot or tournament Im trying go away from pc or play some games becouse if stay longer and play nervous and mad i often lose more and more :confused:
 
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BullWink

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This happens many times when I try to move up. If you take it as a lesson learned, that you need to adjust your game when moving up the skill level AND if you are going to move up, then your bankroll must be larger to allow for the natural variance in winning/loosing.

When this happens, I usually drop down to my previous level, or if it really upset me, drop one level below that and play there for a while. This helps restore my confidence and if I do go on tilt, it won't be as expensive on my bankroll.
 
thetick33

thetick33

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i actually can go into deep beast mode when really pissed off. Interesting thing is not usually poker that is pissing me off to max is life and complications with dealing with outside influences.

Last night I lost and lost and lost wound up few dollars ahead even when made moves to chip leads took bad really bad horrendous beats it added on to frustration of life.

Best thing a poker player can have is short term memory see how I stack up today was ahead yesterday but bubbled five events which is rare for one lol

yet played enough to know the sloppy play that was winning yesterday wont stand and my time is coming for better times or days:)
 
rancidcarp

rancidcarp

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I never let poker stress me out. Turn off the PC turn the page and forget it for a while. Get some sun.
 
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