When do you play better?

[Noo Yawk]

I liked Bulls post, so I thought I throw this up there.
When do you feel you play better:
1) When you're ahead.
2) When you're behind.
3) When you first sit down.

And of course, why do you feel that way? What can you gain from this?

[Ryan_21]

1. When I first sit down.
2. When Im ahead.
3. When Im behind.

When I first sit down Im fresh and focused.

When Im ahead, there is no pressure to win. However,

When Im behind I often find myself "pressing" a little. I often have to mentally tell my self to calm down and relax and let the game come to me instead of trying to make something out of nothing.

Ryan_21

I wonder what would happen if each time you found yourself behind you just pretended you just sat down.

[Ryan_21]

However, I found a method that really helps. It is along the same lines as your suggestion. Its Mike Caro's bankroll theory. He says your bankroll is only as big as it is in this particular moment. So, if you started with $1200, lost $200 you are not really down $200, b/c your bankroll is only $1000 now, and if you have $1000 and your bankroll is $1000, then you aren't really down.

I find this helps me out by allowing me to think about the big picture when I'm down.

Ryan_21

[J_V]

You would realized you didn't just sit down.

[hutz]

ditto

When I play online, if I get hit with a couple of losses early, I add chips to my stack even if I still have enough to cap the betting in all rounds of one hand (twelve BB). This helps create a rather thin illusion that I'm not stuck. Whatever works, right?

[bomblade]

Definitely not when I first sit. My hope is that for the first hour, I don't get a playable hand, and if I do, they are no-brainers, like AA, or AQs, where I hit the nut flush. The first hour, sometimes two, I am trying to get a feel for the table.
I play best when I am ahead. But that's misleading. If I am down a couple hundred, and I win a hand, I may still be down, but my play improves. I'm like this in everything I do it seems. I think I simply get an extra burst of motivation and confidence when I'm a winner.
One thing I don't do though, is alter the cards I play, or really the way I play them. My play improves based on my reads of the other players. Should I raise, call, or fold.