keeping your cool

[Jack Oscar]

this is more of a psychological issue. I have been getting beat a lot lately to runner runner draws and similar longshots seems like this happens far more than seems statistically reasonable, even though I play my hands very fast and almost never slow play.

Which leads me to a couple of questions. 1.Do other people feel this way, i.e. that they too frequently suffer horrendous bad beats. 2. I play roughly 30 hrs a month of 10-20 online and average roughly 1000 a month in winnings, should I take a break if my frustration level is high or will this bad streak end and should I just continue to bank my monthly wins.

A few examples
1. JJ in mid position
flop is J 2 3 rainbow
I lose to the nut flush (AQ)
2. Q8 in BB (no raise)
Flop is QQ5,
I lose to A 4 when the board fills the wheel.

3. KK in early position
flop K T T
lose to JT when T comes on the river

4. no limit tournament raise on the button with aces get reraised by an ep limper all-in. His 55 crushes my AA, when the board hits a 5 on the flop

Any advice and perspective would be most appreciated.

[tpir90036]

1) bad beats happen.
2) if your frustration makes you play worse than you should *definitely* take a break. or at least click on "sit out" and go grab a soda or something.
3) losing your cool in person could have an even greater negative impact since people will sense your anger and may not give you credit for your holdings if they think you are tilting.

i think #2 is actually the most important one though. if you can still think clearly while punching your monitor (i know i can't) then just keep plugging away.

[GoBrowns]

I've never met a poker player who considered himself lucky. The fact is, if you're a good poker player, you're usually playing from ahead, and someone has to catch some luck to beat ya.

If ur frustrated, tho, there's a problem. I'm anadvocate of taking breaks from the game if the frustration starts affecting ur play. You just gotta ask urself whether you can continue playing well frustrated. Some can...I cant. I dont necessarily think you need to take a month off, or even a week. Sometimes after just a day, I'm ready to enter the fray again. Hell, sometimes 5 minutes will do.

Just remember, everytime some idiot catches to beat you, that therein lies the reason why this game is more profitable than playing checkers. Doesn't mean I still dont yell at my screen every 15 minutes.

[Riverman]

Obviously, bad beats happen, you take them more when you are good that if you are bad, blah blah blah. Make being tiltproof your number one priority. Expect that you will get rivered badly and then be proud of yourself when you have the emotional control to say "nice hand" and move on. It seems strange, but I am every bit as happy with myself when I am able to take a bad beat in stride as when I drag a huge pot because I know that I am gaining an edge on the vast majority of "serious" players who are unable to deal with the luck factor.

On a side not, winning 1000 per month playing 30 hours a month consistently is possible if the game is soft, but I have to doubt that you are winning 1.8 BB per hour.

[Jack Oscar]

well it is possible that I play more than hours a week, but I keep pretty good records. A lot of the play is shorthanded which I think can generate a higher Ev though it does come with more variance. Further, online is much faster than card room so you have to adjust that 1 BB per hour benchmark.

[Bob S.]

Making 1.8 BB's/hr online is about the norm really considering if you make 1 BB/hr in a B&M room you will be getting almost twice as many hands per hour. As for dealing with bad beats, I especially enjoy taking a breather from the game especially online. During that break find something to take out your frustration on. I'm a big fan of taking my mouse by the cord and swinging it into my desk smashing it into pieces (I always have a spare ready to go, the guys at radio shack go nuts when they see me buying them about once a month). Or I like to just go hit the punching bag for a few minutes...cheaper way of relieving the temper. You guys think I should go to anger management therapy???

Bob S.