Post by lucidaxiom on Dec 11, 2009 16:48:08 GMT -5
I'm back to the point of cringing before the flop hits. Daring to hope that I hold. AK vs AQ - AK lose. 88 vs 22 final table - 88 lose. On the bubble w/AA on a AKQ Board, lose to K9 on a 973 to 1-chance 
. Have I angered the poker gods? Am I the unluckiest guy in the world?
These thoughts go through my head. I expect to lose every flip and lose passion for playing. I'm immediately no longer playing my A-game and blaming my losses on my bad luck. One day I tilted off almost $2,000.00 in a 5-hour session. I was running so bad and so tilted, I couldn't look at another poker hand for 6-months!
After a while, I remembered I love this game. The variety, excitement, psychology, achievement, challenge and competition. These all make poker one of my favorite things to do!
So before I let myself play again, I determined I would come up with a plan to prevent or deal with tilt so that I could keep the game enjoyable.
I'm a fan of the personal developement coach and speaker Tony Robbins. His teachings actually helped me overcome unbearable social anxiety as a teenager. I've been studying and using his methods for 10-years. From this, I have developed a strategy to overcome/or deal with tilt.
Now without any background on the mechanisms and reasons why these methods work, they may seem, a little odd
. However, they work.
First you have to really know what tilt is for you and be able to identify it quickly, before it costs you money. Ask yourself:
- Am I asking lousy questions? ex: Why does this always happen? How come I can't win a race? Am I the unluckiest guy on the planet?
- Am I playing my A game?
- Am I having fun?
The answers to these questions should let you know whether or not you are in the best frame of mind to be playing. If you're not, here are four things that I regularly do to get there and have a great edge over the competition:
1) Get up and move! I keep a rebounder (mini-trampoline) next to me when I play. I get up and bounce on this during breaks. I also work out every day for at least 30-minutes a day. I instantly feel more alert, energized and focused. I now have an edge over 95% of the field who is not doing this.
2) When you're in push/fold in a coin flip or similar, expect to win. Focus on taking the pot down, the chips being shipped over to you. The cards that you want to drop. Do you have magical-mystical powers when you do this? I don't know about that, but it sure makes me feel better about the races I get into, and keeps my focus on the flips that I win. It makes the game more fun, and when I'm having fun, I play better. Edge number 2.
3) Never give up. I have come back from 1.5BB to win tournaments. When I get real short after taking a bad beat, I get excited. I remember that in past tournaments when I got real short, I came back and took them down! People gamble light with an active short stack. Edge number 3.
4) Schedule your playing time. And stick to that schedule! Poker is so fun for me, it's addicting! I could let the rest of the world pass me by one afternoon just immersed in the games. This leaves me feeling more like an addict instead of a professional player. When I approach the games professionally, I just make better decisions. Edge number 4.
5) OK, here's the weird one. Everyone remembers how Mohammad Ali talked. However, not many know that that is one of the reasons WHY he was the best, the greatest, the champion. He'd float like a butterfly.... He convinced himself so well that he was the best fighter in the world, that that is what he became!
So next time you're in your car, put your bluetooth headset on. Then you don't have to worry about people thinking you're crazy. Picture Mohammad Ali and begin to talk like him. Not monotone, but really feel what you're saying. The more enthusiasm, the better the results. I am the best I am the greatest I am a champion! Say it enough and you're brain will make it happen!
I challenge you to do this for at least 5-minutes a day for one week. You don't have to tell anyone you're doing it. But after 1 week, ask yourself if your play has improved. Edge of a World Champion, for free. But you have to do it!
. Have I angered the poker gods? Am I the unluckiest guy in the world?These thoughts go through my head. I expect to lose every flip and lose passion for playing. I'm immediately no longer playing my A-game and blaming my losses on my bad luck. One day I tilted off almost $2,000.00 in a 5-hour session. I was running so bad and so tilted, I couldn't look at another poker hand for 6-months!
After a while, I remembered I love this game. The variety, excitement, psychology, achievement, challenge and competition. These all make poker one of my favorite things to do!
So before I let myself play again, I determined I would come up with a plan to prevent or deal with tilt so that I could keep the game enjoyable.
I'm a fan of the personal developement coach and speaker Tony Robbins. His teachings actually helped me overcome unbearable social anxiety as a teenager. I've been studying and using his methods for 10-years. From this, I have developed a strategy to overcome/or deal with tilt.
Now without any background on the mechanisms and reasons why these methods work, they may seem, a little odd
. However, they work. First you have to really know what tilt is for you and be able to identify it quickly, before it costs you money. Ask yourself:
- Am I asking lousy questions? ex: Why does this always happen? How come I can't win a race? Am I the unluckiest guy on the planet?
- Am I playing my A game?
- Am I having fun?
The answers to these questions should let you know whether or not you are in the best frame of mind to be playing. If you're not, here are four things that I regularly do to get there and have a great edge over the competition:
1) Get up and move! I keep a rebounder (mini-trampoline) next to me when I play. I get up and bounce on this during breaks. I also work out every day for at least 30-minutes a day. I instantly feel more alert, energized and focused. I now have an edge over 95% of the field who is not doing this.
2) When you're in push/fold in a coin flip or similar, expect to win. Focus on taking the pot down, the chips being shipped over to you. The cards that you want to drop. Do you have magical-mystical powers when you do this? I don't know about that, but it sure makes me feel better about the races I get into, and keeps my focus on the flips that I win. It makes the game more fun, and when I'm having fun, I play better. Edge number 2.
3) Never give up. I have come back from 1.5BB to win tournaments. When I get real short after taking a bad beat, I get excited. I remember that in past tournaments when I got real short, I came back and took them down! People gamble light with an active short stack. Edge number 3.
4) Schedule your playing time. And stick to that schedule! Poker is so fun for me, it's addicting! I could let the rest of the world pass me by one afternoon just immersed in the games. This leaves me feeling more like an addict instead of a professional player. When I approach the games professionally, I just make better decisions. Edge number 4.
5) OK, here's the weird one. Everyone remembers how Mohammad Ali talked. However, not many know that that is one of the reasons WHY he was the best, the greatest, the champion. He'd float like a butterfly.... He convinced himself so well that he was the best fighter in the world, that that is what he became!
So next time you're in your car, put your bluetooth headset on. Then you don't have to worry about people thinking you're crazy. Picture Mohammad Ali and begin to talk like him. Not monotone, but really feel what you're saying. The more enthusiasm, the better the results. I am the best I am the greatest I am a champion! Say it enough and you're brain will make it happen!
I challenge you to do this for at least 5-minutes a day for one week. You don't have to tell anyone you're doing it. But after 1 week, ask yourself if your play has improved. Edge of a World Champion, for free. But you have to do it!
