When not to play poker!!!

Hi all.

Like a lot of us, I`m not perfect!!!

There are, however, things u can do to better your game.

One area I think is when to play poker, or not, as the case me be.

For me, the worst times are, but not limited to...

1) Boredom. When you are bored you want something to do. This does not work playing poker. I feel you try to start `forcing` the play - u know u r beat in a hand but u play it regardless. U raise with A10, u r reraised & re reraised. U want to do something, so u think `I`ll take a chance`. U call and u r dominated by AA, 1010.
2) Tilt. Nothing to be said here other than again u try to force the pace. U get into a "I`ll show them for sucking out on me" mentality.
3) Tired. This state pushes u into the above 2.
4) Drunk - I don`t drink so I can`t comment, same with drugs.

Basically, with any of the above you start to force the play, but not in a controlled way.

I`m writing this because I have gone through a boredom phase and lost

So, try to avoid the above. Anyone got anymore to say on this?

I guess this means that playing when coming home from the pub is possibly the worst time to play.. tired, intoxicated, bored. I'm off to the pub now.. question is, will i be able to resist a game or two on my return?

I think a good thing for this is to have a site that you can donk around in on a different network/site you usally play. Stick 50$ on a site where you can do whatever you want kust for the hell of it.

Ok, so i got back from the pub after a few drinks and low and behold i could not resist a game or two. entered a 163 man $2 bounty tourney, finished 5th, and picked up a fair few bounties along the way. a result that contradicts your theory

LennyPigeon said:

Ok, so i got back from the pub after a few drinks and low and behold i could not resist a game or two. entered a 163 man $2 bounty tourney, finished 5th, and picked up a fair few bounties along the way. a result that contradicts your theory

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Do not mistake the exception from the rule.

I can dominate the weak limit hold'em table until I get about my 16th beer in me. Then I'm an ATM machine.

ditto on the beer. My biggest leak. I am a recreational drinker. I dont drink much during the week, unless a friend comes over (I always have a crate of good German beer cold). I am quite disciplined in my poker, my job, my life.

Having said that, I do love beer, and do drink regularly on the weekends. I see friends, go to a beergarden with my wife or friends, have a cold one in the evening when the kids are in bed. And the beer makes a new man out of me and that man wants to play poker. I think it is not an exaggeration to say that the major portion of my losses were when I was drinking. I do all the wrong things. I chase, I go up in stakes above my BR, I say "you fish, you got nothin" when I get aggessed on. Now, one or two, maybe 3, fine. But sooner or later the "new man" kicks in and he SUKS at poker.
I am getting better at leaving the PC off but it is still a leak, and I can only say that if you have a slight buzz, maybe it will not affect your game. Everyone is different, and some people dont lose their thinking skills, but gain confidence to make a play when it is the right time to do it - i.e. a passive player having the guts to aggress when it is actually the right time to - but too much will lose you money in the long term.