What to do to occupy yourself after folding?

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BlakeBrown

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I am a pretty good tournament player, but my main problem is boredom... Especially since my main games are home games with a $10 or $15 buy-in so the money isn't a big enough factor to keep my attention, of course I still want to win! Anyways, I am the chip leader at one point literally about 90% of the time, and I start getting bored playing a mix of TAG and LAG, so I start playing poorly out of being antsy and boredom... Any suggestions?
 
knileh

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I listen to music (The silver sun pickups -- singles collection is my favorite album to listen to through and through). Other things might be put on a movie and such. I play game called league of legends and "alt+tab" my way back and forth, and when the poker screen pops up (of course poker takes president over other inferior games) then I play poker. Fold and play my league game. I fold 80% of my hands so this may not work for you.

Don't overeat before a tournament, DO drink coffee or tea, DO see a doctor, because blowing the chip lead 90% of the time is a BIG PROBLEM. Jk, keep up the good work, and learn to tighten up OR "raise or fold" your hands.

Good luck on the tables! And may the force be with you.
 
Jblocher1

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Watch the table action so you can exploit opponents
 
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redcoyote211

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you can always try playing multiple games.that way u see more cards and more action to watch,that should keep u busy.:goodnight
 
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Swickster007

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I am usually listening to music...but after folding I like to watch the cards and see what my hand would have done lol
 
NCDaddy

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I try to chat with people as much as possible and see how they react when they "have a hand"...I also watch their hands when putting chips in the pot.

Online - harder to keep focused....I tend to just listen to music and watch for betting patterns. It's tedious..and I catch myself facebooking and surfing too much...but, that's what I "try" to do.
 
Arjonius

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Maybe you could ponder the degree of fit between the behavior you describe and your stated assumption that you're a good player.
 
horizon12

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If bored, may poker is not for you, or better to take a break ?
 
suby_rafael

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do whatever interests you most like watch TV, listening to music, or poker podcasts (i listen to them often), book reading, social networking, watching all sorts of videos online, play some other game, chatting with friends, spending time on forums like this one. As of now only these few come to mind. So its up to you.
 
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BlakeBrown

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If bored, may poker is not for you, or better to take a break ?

I am not bored of poker that's impossible! I am talking about live, if playing online I simply multitable with 2 or 3 tables... It isn't bored so much as anxious to play a hand because of how much fun poker is
 
Micro Maven

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learn a game besides NL hold 'em. It's a very boring live game if you're with decent players. Other games you can play 30%+ starting hands and still be winner
 
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thatgreekdude

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watch poker vids on youtube..
 
Jacki Burkhart

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"ghost" the action

meaning, whether or not you are in a hand follow the action with a specific goal or mystery to figure out.

I do this in a few ways:

1)pick a player in the hand and try to guess their range, and then based on their range try to figure out the best way to play their hand.

2)Look for mistakes other players make and traps they get into and try to figure out ways to avoid those yourself.

3)after you fold, pretend you didn't fold and try to figure out what you would do with that hand on the flop, turn, river given the action.

4)after you fold, assign yourself a "trouble hand" like KJo or 77 and try to figure out the best way to play it on that flop vs. those opponents.

this is essentially just keeping you alert and sharpening your skills vs. that particular table so that when you are in a hand, you'll have identified losing and winning strategies vs. these players and you'll have a decent model of their ranges.
 
Jblocher1

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"ghost" the action

meaning, whether or not you are in a hand follow the action with a specific goal or mystery to figure out.

I do this in a few ways:

1)pick a player in the hand and try to guess their range, and then based on their range try to figure out the best way to play their hand.

2)Look for mistakes other players make and traps they get into and try to figure out ways to avoid those yourself.

3)after you fold, pretend you didn't fold and try to figure out what you would do with that hand on the flop, turn, river given the action.

4)after you fold, assign yourself a "trouble hand" like KJo or 77 and try to figure out the best way to play it on that flop vs. those opponents.

this is essentially just keeping you alert and sharpening your skills vs. that particular table so that when you are in a hand, you'll have identified losing and winning strategies vs. these players and you'll have a decent model of their ranges.

Good ideas +1
 
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BlakeBrown

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Good ideas missjacki! I am getting better with the problem, it seems to be a more common problem than I thought :p
 
angelluv725

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I check my messages on Facebook,ect. and see what is happening on forums I belong to.
 
DonV73

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Observe others!! It's just as important to analyse opponents tendencies weither you are in the hand or not :)
Doing other things (which have nothing do to with the game you are playing) is pretty dumb imo.
 
Katyushka4

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I am a pretty good tournament player, but my main problem is boredom... Especially since my main games are home games with a $10 or $15 buy-in so the money isn't a big enough factor to keep my attention, of course I still want to win! Anyways, I am the chip leader at one point literally about 90% of the time, and I start getting bored playing a mix of TAG and LAG, so I start playing poorly out of being antsy and boredom... Any suggestions?

You can not play without experiencing pleasure at all. If instead of the joy of Poker brings boredom, anger and frustration - stop and go do something else.
When I feel that my concentration gradually begins to fade, I start listening to music. Sometimes it helps me to overcome boredom.
 
JustDestined

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"ghost" the action

meaning, whether or not you are in a hand follow the action with a specific goal or mystery to figure out.

I do this in a few ways:

1)pick a player in the hand and try to guess their range, and then based on their range try to figure out the best way to play their hand.

2)Look for mistakes other players make and traps they get into and try to figure out ways to avoid those yourself.

3)after you fold, pretend you didn't fold and try to figure out what you would do with that hand on the flop, turn, river given the action.

4)after you fold, assign yourself a "trouble hand" like KJo or 77 and try to figure out the best way to play it on that flop vs. those opponents.

this is essentially just keeping you alert and sharpening your skills vs. that particular table so that when you are in a hand, you'll have identified losing and winning strategies vs. these players and you'll have a decent model of their ranges.

Sounds like great advice, I am going to try this myself.
 
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bloodspila

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I find when I multi-table 2-3 tables kind of works for me. keeps me busy and from wanting to play stupid hands. I wouldn't recommend any more than 3 tables though, because you cant really take time to make decisions.
 
left52side

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Personally I dont worry about it in friendly home games as much as I do in A regular style MTT tournament.
But my tablet and youtube videos or movies music ETC ,,,,
I always try to focus mainly on my opponents and how they are playing and use my time when not in A hand to solely focus on there styles and play types.
Audio books are great as well to occupy time.
But as I said in friendly home games I mostly occupy my time just Bsing with my buddies small chat stuff.
 
theRaven68

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i play only online these days and after folding i am cursing the cards, then bed luck and stupid client, it lasts few seconds
after that i am watching my opponents play and if it is boring i check headlines in the online news
 
BadB420

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Playing multiple games will definitely help you out with boredom and make the game much more exciting because you will be seeing more hands!!! I really dont get bored that often playing poker unless im in a DS tourney and its past 5 hours of playing than thats a whole other story! While im playing I also tend to watch sports which always gives me something to look at in between hands if not much action is happening at the tables with the other players!!! Hope this helped.. GL!
 
Jackdaclown

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I'd say after you fold, make notes of players . Watch the hands play out and be ready to type in a few things. Or, review old hands where you made mistakes or are unsure of certain plays to determine why they are making current moves. Use all these notes and review of hands to better understand your opponents for tough decisions later. I know all this sounds pretty redundant cause typically it is what most of us do, I think anyway, but for winning poker, it takes a few notes here and there and lessons learned to consistently make it into the money and deeper in the tourneys.
 
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BlakeBrown

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I always take notes on players when I get a read... I almost always note players that have had action as TAG, LAG, Fish, etc... It is so nice when you run into a player and you already have everything you need to know about them!
 
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