How can I protect my games from "my mood"?

I am usually getting better at coping with bad steaks. It is part of tournament poker. But usually the longer the streak - the thinner it wears my coping mechanism. One week - two weeks, are no problem... right now I am at about 6 weeks.
I wake-up in the morning - and have a positive attitude, new day etc. real positive. Then lose one game, then lose an other... now I am shaken ... and the problem happens IF I am in other game(s) at this same time. There are these critical first few minutes (in particular - are the worst) when I make IDIOT moves.

Can anyone relate to this - or is it just me?
Any advice?

it happens to me all the time, i can´t bear to lose in a row like 5 or 6 times in a short period of time, therefore i have to stop because i can´t hold it, so i make a break and do other stuffs and return next day when my mood returns and my mind too

Most of the time - I do just that walk away from poker sometimes just for like 30 min other times for the rest of the day and I do other things.

The bigger challenge happens when: I have a relative small game simultaneous with an important game. And I get ruffed-up in the "small" game.
Of course the smarter thing would be not to play a "small" game if the other game is particularly important. The reason I often do is as it provides a welcome preoccupation especially during the early stages of the "bigger" game.

Any suggestions - how to shelter the bigger game from my anger/mood?

Well the way I seenit is u cant do nothing about it but to expect it u can also play a lot of tables at once so u dont habe time to take it in

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Walking away, like everyone else said works. What I've been doing recently is listening to music for a few minutes if I'm playing badly. You could try it. Preferably listen to something soothing that won't further aggravate the tilt.

Walking away is only a temporary bandaid & does nothing to fix the problem.
I'd suggest 'working on the solution'. First identify the underlying reasons/thinking that causes you to tilt. Then work on changing the thinking that evokes those feelings.

Maybe try checking out a book like 'Jared Tendler's books'. There's also a lengthy thread here on CC where Jared was answering member's questions & offering advice.

I have the same problem

It's hard to do but getting away from the screen for even 5 minutes can help. I can go on complete monkey tilt and lose my entire roll but once a couple of bad beats come my way I just get up and get away from the computer for 5 mins and it's gone

When you're in an emotional state where you're less likely to think things through, the goal is to decrease the chance that you'll make a snap decision. Try to take a few seconds before you make any decision. Even when they're obvious, wait those few seconds before you actually act.

Just taking those few seconds is an act of self-control, a small one, but it's still a step toward regaining your normal level of self-control.

Be nice to yourself.
Try to see the whole picture.
Sure, u r down right after, but its not gonna last forever.

I dont think you can protect yourself from doing things like this in bigger games. But perhaps the things you do are not always as bad as you think.
Sometimes we are too result oriented.
A crazy bluff gone wrong, or a really loose call costing your whole stack might not be as bad as it feels when you lose.
Work with your game, analyze it, evolve.

I think a break is healthy ,have you have ever been struggling with a problem and solutions just are not coming ,went to bed and the morning brought some clarity to you?
A break won't solve your problem but it gives your mind time to regroup so you are better equipped to think things out in a logical manner without as much emotion attached.

Hey Vegas my advice is to go back to basics.

have a nights sleep chill out.
the next day you play open 1 table! yes one table

play one table observe every player play the correct range and adjust accordingly to any players you can clearly see are making leaks playing passive... you know the drill.
keep doing this until you are playing right and doing better which you will...

the open two tables and repeat...

highly effective trust me

Go back to basics or go to the bar, sometimes that works as well. Last week played on ACR on 2/4 game and lost AA, QQ, JJ to hands 5,8s, A,3os and 6,9s. I wanted to do some serious damage; instead, I asked for my payout and uninstalled ACR.

Can totally relate. I'll be ok for awhile and then it just builds up. Been reading Jared Tendler's books. Trying to find a good warm up routine (going to the coffeeshop to get coffee apparently doesn't count) and doing the homework of sitting down and understanding the basis behind why I tilt.

Doing the same thing with the boyfriend too. Only problem (which is really our problem) is that we're not disciplined enough to spend a good few hours or days to review our hand histories, identifying our leaks and then working to get it plugged.

So... work in progress. But I hate how sometimes I feel like I've moved forward and then I get sucked out even when I know I'm playing my best to rubbish hands and can only scream at variance.

Sigh.

Thats so up to different personalities. This forum gets a lot of those questions, but most of us are strangers here. Nobody here can know you better than yourself, you need to find your own solution to the problem.
I could suggest, although I dont really get people that get upset with poker in the long term, listening to some calming music or something and when you spot that your mood is affected by the game, just get up and stop playing for a few hours.
Thing is when you are calm and you lose a game, lets say your " Upset metter " goes to 1 out of 10, but from that 1 point, when you lose another game it is multiplied by a lot, could jump to 5 straight, talking stupid stuff here, I know. So when it gets to one just get up and let it cool for a few hours, then sit and play. Hope you can relate, hehe.
It is way better to learn to avoid those situations so you could play as long as you want instead of just being afraid to lose a game just because you will get angry and have to stop playing.
Good luck, but do your best to find your own solution, rather than waiting somebody here to help you, because most of the time, on this subject, the thoughts that people propose to you are so not the things somebody like you would do. Ie - you are an angry person by nature, and somebody telling you to calm down isnt really helping you. Instead - go out, hit something ( Thats not alive, it is better... ) and calm yourself.

Great advice here already, but it seems to me that momentum is a powerful force to reckon with. When you're on a winning streak, you often feel like you are with Lady Luck and you can't be beat. When you're on a losing streak, you often feel the opposite, like Lady Luck is against you and nothing you do is right.

It's imperative that you do whatever it takes to reverse, or at least step out of, the momentum. For me, that means walking away from the game, but doing something to recenter myself, such as meditation. Or a nice swim in the pool. It helps me to relax the tension of the bad beats and focus on something else for awhile.

And then I return to the game when I am again balanced, and I remind myself at that point that we all expect and experience variance, but it is the big picture which tells the story.. not the short chapters in between.

If your cardplay is smart, you will win in the long run. Best of luck

is poker is so difficult
be strong and play with discipline
maintain concentration in the game
the results arrived
successes

vegasjj said:

I am usually getting better at coping with bad steaks. It is part of tournament poker. But usually the longer the streak - the thinner it wears my coping mechanism. One week - two weeks, are no problem... right now I am at about 6 weeks.
I wake-up in the morning - and have a positive attitude, new day etc. real positive. Then lose one game, then lose an other... now I am shaken ... and the problem happens IF I am in other game(s) at this same time. There are these critical first few minutes (in particular - are the worst) when I make IDIOT moves.

Can anyone relate to this - or is it just me?
Any advice?

Click to expand...

I can personally relate to this. I have been on a pretty bad 2 month run. I have gotten it in good over 80% of the time and it has not shown. Obviously tournaments you aren't going to win every flip and your 70/30's are going to lose 1 in 3-4.

Cash game particularly where I have been getting it in a huge pot just to see it slide to my opponent. I guess you gotta keep trucking along and hope itll turn in your favor!

Also, Jared Tendler has a few quick tips in this insightful video: Emotions In Poker And Correcting Mistakes:

TheNoobie said:

I dont really get people that get upset with poker in the long term, listening to some calming music or something and when you spot that your mood is affected by the game, just get up and stop playing for a few hours.

Click to expand...

a bit difficult to do while playing tournaments...

I'm guessing you haven't played enough tournaments as a winning player to experience a long period of time with dismal results? It can be very painful (from what I've been told) especially for folks who are trying to make a living at it.

Arjonius said:

When you're in an emotional state where you're less likely to think things through, the goal is to decrease the chance that you'll make a snap decision. Try to take a few seconds before you make any decision. Even when they're obvious, wait those few seconds before you actually act.

Just taking those few seconds is an act of self-control, a small one, but it's still a step toward regaining your normal level of self-control.

Click to expand...

Great advice. Needed that.

I can relate to you sir. Your not alone. Many like us and many others had experienced it. online poker is different from live and its up to you to observe.

My advice to you is start working on ur game by reading books, watching videos and participating in cardchat learning threads...At the same time play one game at a time and try out what u have learned from the above methods....slowly and slowly u will know ur weak spots and am sure ur results will improve....
Also other than poker skills, u need to have lottt of mind stability and patience to get success in poker....cultivate it by meditation, chess,music, etc.....

best for these cases, use responsible gaming and get a limit according to our bank. That way if we lose the money or not affect us stop our our mood.