Should we want to lose when we play bad?

Scenario: We play badly, we make a mistake, we didn't have the pot odds, implied odds or a good reason to play (or continue) the hand. We played anyway... this is a case where we know we shouldn't play (or continue), but we shrug our shoulders and play anyway. THEN - lightning strikes - we get lucky and win the hand.

Memory is an interesting thing...

• Think about the last time we got UNLUCKY - we can vividly remember the hand and tell the story with full details. For example: remember that hand where Villain sucked at 2 outer on the river?
• Now, think about the last time we got LUCKY - is it so easy to remember? Are we able to recount the story easily, if at all?

Wrong decisions typically have bad consequences. When we "get lucky and win" we are insulated from our mistakes as if they didn't exist. When we are insulated from mistakes we easily forget them, move on, and do not learn. Whilst we may be happy in the immediate hand where we make a mistake and got lucky... this is very bad in the long run.

Should we WANT To lose if we play badly? Are we better off failing so that we learn to make better decisions?

An interesting question, that's for sure. The most obvious problem is that when a person violates a rule, if there is no negative consequence, it tends to be easier to violate the same rule the next time. In a situation where you not only have no negative consequences, but there is actually a positive result then it must make it an even greater likelihood that the rule may be broken again and even broken to a greater extreme.

Given that you would not be allowed to simply return the chips, the big question becomes how can you prevent yourself from sliding down the slippery slope of mediocrity?

Perhaps, whenever you violate a rule like this and have a success, you force yourself to sit out X number of hands as a punishment. You knew what you did was wrong and if you don't punish yourself for it then odds are you're going to want to keep doing it. So maybe sitting out some hands is a punishment that would remind you not to do it again next time.

And to delve into this a bit further, what if the reason we "shrug our shoulders and play anyway" is precisely because it worked out in the past with no negative repercussions? That could be a whole other rabbit hole.

This was an intriguing question indeed. Ultimately, though, I would never think we should actively want ourselves to lose regardless of how ill-behaved we have been. That could make matters a whole lot worse. first you make a mistake by staying in a hand and seeing a flop, then you "want" to lose subconsciously so you fold away a potentially winning hand. I don't know, maybe that's a bit over-dramatic, but I think it would be dangerous to hope you lose in any situation

love the inquire but the whole time i was hoping u had a solution...because i find this to be an issue of mine at times. It seems to come in groups. i know im playing bad promise myself wont do again and find myself paying to see the turn chasing a high pair. but other times wouldnt dare do such a thing. wish i knew what caused these terrible impulses. :evil:

The key is to be able to comprehend the difference between playing well and playing bad. If you are making bad decisions and getting lucky it will definitely cloud your judgement of your own play.

If we win a tournament or a couple buy-ins despite playing bad you need to make note of it and be sure to remember that when you are on the opposite end of the spectrum.

The key is just always be trying to improve your play and making good decisions. The high of winning a tournament makes you feel like you are good even though you could have played very poorly and got lucky to win. That is the beauty of this game we play.

Sometimes luck plays a big role in winning , and it s fun when it happens when losing, it s like giving you an extra chance to get your self up focus and make up . The important is to make the good decisions, and to avoid tilt .

I don't think it's good to want to lose. As chance is part of the game, it's okay to capitalize on a mistake or bad play. However, I agree that it can make you careless if you don't realize you actually got lucky on a bad play. It's bad when you're playing your hands with an "I got this..." attitude no matter what you're holding. In that case, you're missing out on so many factors that can actually make you a better more consistent winning player.

If you realize that you are just getting lucky your mind will probably adjust to that fact. As mentioned just make sure you don't look at your short term results to determine that you are winning there. It is more dangerous for people who are unsure of the right move and then getting lucky makes them believe they are playing well. As a good player, the luck will be with the other players more than you so you should be feeling like it's about time you got lucky as well. A bad move often stll has some % chance to be the winner. Be thankful when you are lucky and enjoy it and correct your play in the future and all will be as good as can be.

I find it embarassing to win when playing bad, so I try to forget.
Just like everyone else, I remember every time the villain plays bad and gets lucky.