Are you mentally ready for this game we call poker.

K

kygamblr09

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Jul 8, 2008
Total posts
79
Chips
0
Today i was playing in a tourney. I was playing great poker . Getting in a hand when i felt good about my position and cards. Raising when i should and calling when i was ahead. Fats forward to almost 3 hours later i knew i was close to getting to the point of making the money. Then my mental games started to surface. 1st mistake was looking at lobby for when the ITM started. Now i know there is a place in time where this info becomes important but for me at that point in time it wasn't. Now i knew where i was at that point i was 55 out of 68 and the tourney paid top 50. Here comes the next mistake. I started playing to tight to make money instead of playing my hands that got me to where i was at after almost 3 hours. Which intern put me into a position of just folding to make the money and not just playing my hands and if i got in a position of all in so be it. In other words i tighten up so tight i left me no room to breathe or relax. Now im concentrating on the leaderboard position instead of my cards and position . So i get 88's in a position which i might go all in but i fold. I would have won. Now i get 88's again 2 hands later and now i call and lose. But im still not out . Now im 50 out of 55. I get aj off bb. with a raise infront of me that basically puts me all in if i call and im teling myself if i fold i still have alot of hands that i could limp into the money . But i call because i felt aj off was a good hand to go all in on and maybe the player was just raising because it was close to the bubble. So it was aj off vs jj's. flop comes 987 . turn a ace. river a j. I lost to the only card that could have beat me . Now whether some say i made the right call or the wrong call doesn't matter. I t was the mental game i played with myself going from being relaxed to now being indecisive about what hands im now going to play and how im going to play them. Wheter im going to make the money 1st before i start taking risk or if im going to fold 88's or play 88's. I lost control. none the less i fell short and finished 53 .I played for almost 3 hours with control and decisiveness. But in less than 5 minutes of looking at my position on the leader board i lost it. I know come to the realization that sometimes we are not mentally ready to play this game we call poker. Even after playing almost 3 hours it took all of a 5 minute stretch and all was lost. Stay focused , stay decisive , and win or lose you don't have to have the feelings of let down. Now i dont know what the % of me was ahead or what % of chance he had to win but it doesn't matter. I feel i lost control and i now am aware of that so i will strengthen my mental game so i can not only just make the money but win it all.
 
J

JAAMEZz

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Dec 2, 2016
Total posts
505
Chips
0
i feel the same way. so much time and effort can be obliterated by one bad call or non call. thats what makes the great players great and the good players not great.
 
mcgregor_415

mcgregor_415

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Oct 26, 2016
Total posts
394
Awards
4
Chips
0
I was wondering how important is the fast recovery of a bad decision or a bad beat. Sometimes hours or days of good and disciplined play could be ruined by few minutes of angry playing. I am still struggling to control that.
 
diadiavalik

diadiavalik

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 12, 2017
Total posts
649
Chips
0
I can only advise you to do as I do: when I get close to the finish, I start to play by the rules that I wrote on paper specially !!!
On the preflop pair: 22,33,44,55,66,77,88,99,10 10, I check., If the raise is fold.
On the preflop pair: JJ, QQ, KK, AA, I raised, and then, as always.
Try it, it can help!
Other cards, I do not play !!!
 
alienat3d

alienat3d

easy-going alien grinder
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 3, 2017
Total posts
2,954
Awards
14
Chips
50
kygamblr09, oh yeah, it's very similar to my experiences, when i play MTTs and can't build a big stack. I tighten up and pray to get in the money. Well i recognize i probably do many wrong moves by that, but mostly folding. But in your example i have seen, you wasn't really sure what is your plan, if you was like "first get into the money and then play". Then i don't understand why you was limping 88 at all and at the end even called with "jackass". I mean call is a weak move anyway and i would prefer to push it myself, rather to call with. And JA itself not my favourite hand, cause it's easily dominated and make you looking like a "jackass" in so many situations, you know.
So you have to decide and stick to the plan, either you get to the money and really playing only AA,KK if KK at all, until you get there. Or you just close tournament lobby and stop watching your position and start playing cards, like if you were not aware, it's a bubble time.
Btw, i practice that sometimes myself. And it really helps. It's really easier to play, when you don't have this heavy knowledge about "bubble time", that does pressure on you for long minutes.
 
Top 10 Games
Top