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View Full Version : Expected and received, can your poker Psyche be damaged?


storm
07-10-2004, 04:53 PM
Hello all,

Recently I experienced a moment in an Omaha tournament that made me question whether my poker psyche had been previously damaged. I will spare you all the details of the hand and just say I got my all chips in the pot for the 1'st time in 80 grueling hands of which only 1 was able to bring me a pot. I was in great shape before and after the flop he had only 2 outs short of a runner runner. It is this moment I realize something is wrong with my poker psyche. I should be very comfortable at this moment so why am I expecting him to hit?

I have been very successful at poker for most of the last 18 months. Two months ago or so some personal things came up in my life that affected my ability to focus on poker in the same way I had been. I continued to play on with an unfocused mind and paid the price with a net loss to my bank roll after a month of playing at less then 100%.

Soon the smoke cleared in the personal section of my life and the focus returned to my game. I should be back on track and recovering my previous months short fall. I continue playing my best game in many tourneys I am fighting for a couple hours and falling out near the bubble. Some barley on the pay side of the bubble and some not. Time after time in these bubble situations I am getting my chips in when I am heavily favored and having my opponent outdraw me an unusual amount of times. I don't mean someone drawing at 10 or more outs these have been 4 to 6 outers with 2 or less cards to come.

Back to the moment I realized I may have a damaged psyche. Like I said in the time it takes for Poker Stars to lay down the turn card I had several thoughts cross my mind. Most of those thoughts should be positive in this situation after all I am a huge favorite. Why are my thoughts seeming to expect an out draw? Worse yet as I try to regain control of my wandering thoughts the turn card appears. Yes a set of Kings for my opponent. In one second as I contemplate weather I am experiencing a larger physiological issue with my game and boom another damaging blow. I had a few more then 1800 chips at the start of the hand and that card would nullify an hour and a half of energy I had put into this game. Worse then that it left me wondering if my subconscious has been damaged.

Anyone with any thoughts as to weather damage to your subconscious can affect your over all ability to play your best game? Have I just taken a whole lot of time to come to the conclusion I am on tilt? I hope these and many more exiting questions will be answered when you post you reply.

Al Schoonmaker
07-10-2004, 07:01 PM
Anything which reduces your confidence will probably harm your poker ability and results. It's a natural development, and it should slowly go away as you regain your confidence. If it does not go away, you may have a more serious problem than you think. I will defer to chess pain, bigbaitsim, and other clinicians on the subject of more serious problems.
Regards,
Al

steamboatin
07-11-2004, 04:29 AM
Dr Al, why is it so hard to play good poker? It sounds easy in the books but it seems extremely difficult sometimes to get it from the book to the poker table.

I am all stirred up at the moment because I just lost to a bunch of goobers that probably didn't have any business playing at all but my play was terrible. I lost all concept of how to play after the flop. I didn't get real loose preflop, but after the flop I was clueless, didn't have any idea when I was beat or knew but wouldn't face facts and lay the hand down.

Some days it is just damn hard to keep your head on right.

bisonbison
07-11-2004, 05:31 AM
Dr Al, why is it so hard to play good poker? It sounds easy in the books but it seems extremely difficult sometimes to get it from the book to the poker table.

It's hard to play poker well because poker is complex. Poker books are often written/edited/sold by people who feel poker (at least at the limits their prospective readers are playing) is easy, and/or by people who believe this communicated confidence will make their advice (and by extensions themselves) seem more intelligent, authoritative and wise.


Poker's tough. If it wasn't tough, there would be no demand for the books. How many checkers books do you see in the bookstore?

Mikey
07-11-2004, 05:45 AM
this used to happen to me, but no longer.

You are not going to win every bet you make and a bad player is going to outdraw a good player more often than not.

I don't think anymore, that my opponent hit a 21 to 1 shot when he hits his river card to give him a set, or backdoors a flush. All of that is past me.

I take it back to its inception.

I have KK and my opponent has AQ, thefore I'm a 3 to 2 favorite to win the pot when all the cards are dealt out. Thats it. If I lose that bet when I know I got my money in as a favorite then thats the way it is. I don't even get upset when the flop comes down K 4 6 and then he hits runner runner straight, especially if we both got our money in before the flop.

Don't worry about what you built up to so and so a point, sometimes I wish after a huge winning session I could just pack up and stop playing but then I realize that the only option I have is to go back to this game of risk.