What do you do to relax?

[Scuba Chuck]

I've been noticing an interesting trend over the past month.

First some history. I record stats in the super penultimate spreadsheet provided by AleoMagus. In that spreadsheet, after each "session" I record my results. For example I'll write in the notes, 16 tourneys, 42% ROI, +$222 or 12 tourneys, -16% ROI, -$66. You get the point. What's of interest to me, is my first 4 tourneys (I 4 table), consistently over the past few weeks, are my worst set. Many occurances, in fact, I am 0% ITM.

I don't "get ready" to play when I sit down. And I'm wondering if this is a "leak." A friend of mine, puts on his 'poker shirt' and puts on a set of music before he begins. (I ordered a poker shirt if you'd like to see it poker shirt (http://www.crapsjack.com/details.asp?product_id=2747) ) But for me, they only thing I do, is fill a 32 oz bottle of filtered water and fire up 4 SNGs.

So tonight, I'm drinking two bottles of Leine's HoneyWeiss (my beer of choice) before I get started.

What do you do?

[johnnybeef]

classical music, it helps me focus.

[J-Lo]

i'm pretty sure most people sit down/lie down, and fire up 4 sitngos, everyone has their own ritual. What ever workds for your friend, may not work for you, and visa versa... Experiment and do what u feel comfortable with.

[Scuba Chuck]

[ QUOTE ]
i'm pretty sure most people sit down/lie down, and fire up 4 sitngos, everyone has their own ritual. What ever workds for your friend, may not work for you, and visa versa... Experiment and do what u feel comfortable with

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the friendly advice, but I am not seeking any. Instead, I asked a friendly question. What do you do?

[The Yugoslavian]

I hang a noose up in the middle of my room. So I always know I have one extra out.

Yugoslav

[Apathy]

I read 2+2, seriously.

[Scuba Chuck]

#Game No : 1692006783
***** Hand History for Game 1692006783 *****
NL Hold'em $30 Buy-in + $3 Entry Fee Trny:10136556 Level:2 Blinds(15/30) - Saturday, March 05, 23:26:33 EDT 2005
Table Table 11829 (Real Money)
Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: Scuba_Chuk ( $885 )
Seat 2: phillyg777 ( $875 )
Seat 3: background_ ( $960 )
Seat 4: Judge2005 ( $1415 )
Seat 5: trevass ( $270 )
Seat 6: reband ( $790 )
Seat 7: lkjasdfoi ( $735 )
Seat 8: Sarge74 ( $1340 )
Seat 9: love_2wins ( $135 )
Seat 10: dn2dfelt ( $595 )
Trny:10136556 Level:2
Blinds(15/30)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Scuba_Chuk [ 9s 9d ]
dn2dfelt folds.
Scuba_Chuk calls [30].
phillyg777 folds.
background_ folds.
Judge2005 folds.
trevass folds.
>You have options at Table 12698 Table!.
>You have options at Table 12698 Table!.
reband calls [30].
lkjasdfoi calls [30].
Sarge74 folds.
love_2wins is all-In [105]
>You have options at Table 12698 Table!.
Scuba_Chuk calls [105].
reband calls [105].
lkjasdfoi folds.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 9h, Jc, 5d ]
Scuba_Chuk checks.
reband bets [300].

It was right here that I had a few gulps...
Scuba_Chuk calls [300].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 2h ]
Scuba_Chuk checks.
reband is all-In [355]
Scuba_Chuk calls [355].
** Dealing River ** [ Kc ]
Scuba_Chuk shows [ 9s, 9d ] three of a kind, nines.
reband shows [ As, 5s ] a pair of fives.
love_2wins shows [ Ks, Ad ] a pair of kings.
love_2wins finished in tenth place.
reband finished in ninth place.
Scuba_Chuk wins 1310 chips from side pot #1 with three of a kind, nines.
Scuba_Chuk wins 450 chips from the main pot with three of a kind, nines.
reband has left the table.
love_2wins has left the table.
Game #1692012820 starts.

[Scuba Chuck]

Well, this is not statistically significant, but here's how the beer helped...

In order,
4th, 3rd, 2nd, 5th.
50% ITM
13% ROI

Nothing to get excited about. Back to the filtered water now.

[yeau2]

I'd say that one calls for another sip (okay gulp) and a "Ship it" at the end there.

[The Yugoslavian]

I'd be excited if I could ever get those numbers again.

/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Yugoslav

[Scuba Chuck]

Put the rope away. The sight of it alone, would put me off my game. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[The Yugoslavian]

[ QUOTE ]
Put the rope away. The sight of it alone, would put me off my game. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Naw...the rope is the only thing keeping me motivated at the moment /images/graemlins/tongue.gif.

Yugoslav
Who is in a good mood.....curiously considering the rope, downswing and no date for the evening...

[johnnybeef]

[ QUOTE ]
I read 2+2, seriously.

[/ QUOTE ]

[microbet]

Izvinjavam se, dude, me thinks thou dost say thou art -ROI too much.

Seriously, you are not really losing are you?

[Scuba Chuck]

[ QUOTE ]
Who is in a good mood.....curiously considering the rope, downswing and no date for the evening...


[/ QUOTE ]

HMMMM. Maybe that's the issue. Has it occurred to you that perhaps some female companionship would help straighten out the old streak?

[johnnybeef]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Who is in a good mood.....curiously considering the rope, downswing and no date for the evening...


[/ QUOTE ]

HMMMM. Maybe that's the issue. Has it occurred to you that perhaps some female companionship would help straighten out the old streak?

[/ QUOTE ]

where is he gonna get that? hes too busy being here and i dont think lorinda wants to fly to the o.c. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[stupidsucker]

I fire up my vape and load it with teh green..

Sure it hinders me mentaly, but who needs mental power to play SnGs? I need control, I need a lower blood preasure, I need something to keep me from breaking keyboards.

It is a + EV move for me no doubt.

All joking aside..

I seriously worry about my health. High blood preasure,a bad temper, and bad spelling run in my family. I am a loose canon when I am on a bad streak. Especially when the money means something to me(I know this is bad). Nothing calms me down, except a winning streak which is normaly followed by a lsing streak, thus starting the emotional roller coaster again.

I need zen, I need to find inner poker peace... Right now when my At gets called by A7 HU and beats me, I can/will/have flown off the handle. This causes several other things within my room to fly as well.

[The Yugoslavian]

[ QUOTE ]
Izvinjavam se, dude, me thinks thou dost say thou art -ROI too much.

Seriously, you are not really losing are you?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not lifetime. But that possiblity is getting closer and closer! /images/graemlins/wink.gif

You're right though. I seem to mention it altogether too much. It's like I'm one ongoing bad beat post!

Yugoslav
Who feels he's playing better than ever

[The Yugoslavian]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Who is in a good mood.....curiously considering the rope, downswing and no date for the evening...


[/ QUOTE ]

HMMMM. Maybe that's the issue. Has it occurred to you that perhaps some female companionship would help straighten out the old streak?

[/ QUOTE ]

where is he gonna get that? hes too busy being here and i dont think lorinda wants to fly to the o.c. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

As if I'm even in Lorinda's league, /images/graemlins/blush.gif.

Yugoslav
Who actually shares an apartment with an 'OC hottie'.../images/graemlins/shocked.gif. Too bad she's not at all what I'm looking for.....

[raptor517]

LOL. again, i find something from yugo that makes me actually burst out laughing, causing my roomate to ask what the hell is the matter with me.

well, when i wake up in the morning i pour myself a bowl of wheaties and or cocoa puffs and plop down in front of my computer and immediately fire up 8 tables. no ritual, nothing. i actually havent played ONE sng this week. i think its the longest i have gone without playing one in a few years. trying out those NL cash games work on that post flop play. who knows, might improve my sng game. i need a ritual though, dont have a noose laying around for my extra outs though..

as for music i listen too, i like eminem and linkin park. sometimes a lil bit of vocal trance. 2Pac is fun to throw on when you are on the bubble. keeps you agressive. always fun.

[citanul]

Hm... what do i do to relax/prepare?

Well, I keep a steady diet during the day of ice water. I take laps around the apartment often. I take breaks between sets of sngs usually, unless I really feel like I don't need it.

I often start the day with one set of sngs that is either a lower number or a lower buyin than I intend to be playing for the rest of the day. Sometimes, more than one set.

I usually read email, world news, eat breakfast, and twoplustwo before really sitting down to a poker table. eh, I might exagerate there, I probably don't actually eat breakfast prior to sitting down. I usually get a bowl of cereal sometime around when I actually sit down to the first table, which is around 11am or 11:30 (central time).

I play the occasional mtt. I like em.

I chat with people, read comics, and just in general loaf off every once in a while. I stretch, do curls, do pushups, do crunches (though some of these have only escalated since I want to look totally beefcake in my swimsuit in Mexico), and about once a week, I take an incredibly hot bath. In said bath, I read something, or listen to music, or both. Sometimes the reading is poker related, sometimes not.

I find that if I start a set of 4 sngs, and start up some music I really like, and then cut off the music when I get to 100/200 or so, or second half 50/100, I absolutely murder the games. Perhaps I should take this out loud realization to the bank, and do it more often.

By the way, my music of choice for totally rocking the sngs, and you can SMD if you have chit to say about it, are varieties including: Dashboard Confessionals, Eminem, Vanessa Carlton, A Tribe Called Quest, and er, a couple other things. Y'all better not go and syphon all the energy away from these bands though.

BTW, yugo, I don't know if I said this in the other thread, this is a lot of posting in a short time period for me, but I'm in Chicago. I'll probably be in LV in end of April and beginning of June. Wow, now I'm all wondering about how old the people I've just proposed I meet up with having never had any talks with ever are.

whew, should slow down the buzzed posting soon.

citanul

[Scuba Chuck]

[ QUOTE ]
I often start the day with one set of sngs that is either a lower number or a lower buyin than I intend to be playing for the rest of the day

[/ QUOTE ]

I totally think that's great advice. I do this when I play at noon CST as well.

[smartalecc5]

[ QUOTE ]


So tonight, I'm drinking two bottles of Leine's HoneyWeiss (my beer of choice) before I get started.

What do you do?

[/ QUOTE ]

dont drink beer b4 you play

[Apathy]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


So tonight, I'm drinking two bottles of Leine's HoneyWeiss (my beer of choice) before I get started.

What do you do?

[/ QUOTE ]

dont drink beer b4 you play

[/ QUOTE ]

This advice is pretty marginal at best I would say. I often drink while I play, if you can't handle a couple beers and play poker then you are a total lightweight IMHO. Plus it totally can relax you and allow you to focus.

Apathy

(Who is drunk right now and *not* 4 tabling the 109s)

[Scuba Chuck]

[ QUOTE ]
(Who is drunk right now and *not* 4 tabling the 109s)

[/ QUOTE ]

So, did you just skip the $55s?

[Apathy]

No I played them for a while but I won a couple MTTs cashed out a bunch and am easily rolled for them so why not? Until I start losing signifigantly I don't feel like I need to put in my time at each level.

I would be curious and happy to hear your reply about this though.

[raptor517]

i say go for it. you have more than enough bankroll for the 109s, and you are skilled enough to beat them imo. i have seen you play, i have read your posts, and your sng game seems quite sound. i see no reason why you shouldnt be playing the 109s as long as you feel comfortable at that level. good luck.

[Scuba Chuck]

[ QUOTE ]
No I played them for a while but I won a couple MTTs cashed out a bunch and am easily rolled for them so why not? Until I start losing signifigantly I don't feel like I need to put in my time at each level.

I would be curious and happy to hear your reply about this though.


[/ QUOTE ]

Intuitively the higher the buyin, the more challenging the game. IMO, as long as you are able to maintain the right confidence, temperment, and patience for the game, I would think that you'll be all right. I read that their is less of an edge to the $109s, so I'd be interested in your thoughts after you've played your first 100 or so.

[raptor517]

blah, 100 is meaningless. play a million