Another esoteric thought

How much do you factor in stress to your poker thinking?


My working hypothesis is that the looser player, who has chips on a roller coaster, tends to get worn down by the sheer volume of decision making over the course of a session. That has to affect not only his or her poker playing, but his or her general well-being.


On the other hand, the tighter player can content himself that he can save his ammunition for when his big cards catch the right flop. On the other hand, when those hands go down in flames, does it hurt worse, because the opportunities for getting unstuck are fewer?


I may be totally off the wall here, but I get a little weary of the posts asking "did I play this hand right?" from someone who had to make decisions instantaneously, while we all sit back and second guess those decisions from our computer chairs (and I do it too, so no hypocrisy here).

I didn't realize loose players were actually making decisions. I thought they just called and raised if they have anything. Playing loose would seem to be stress-free.

Most of the really loose players I know don't know what stress means. They play, play, play and have fun. It's the tighties that are constantly grimiacing, deciding what to do, folding with a frown.


As for your last paragraph, I think someone asking if he played a hand right wants to know the answer. Of course it's easier to sit here and mull things over. Many times I've responded that I probably would have, under the stress of the moment, done A, but now, upon reflecting, B seems better.


This is, hopefully, how we all learn to play better. Mulling over the situation, digesting others' advice, so that, when a similar one comes up, we know what to do easier than we did before.

Wow. Now there's something I don't think I've ever thought of. With loose play you'll find yourself in a greater number of marginal spots which will in turn require more difficult decision making. So, yes. (I've never thought of it that way) but I suppose loose play is stressful. On the other hand, I've seen very tight players who couldn't catch a flop or had every hand cracked for hours on end become pretty stressed too.


I have a very good friend who becomes EXTREMELY stressed when he loses. He'll give me about 5 bad beat stories. When we go over the hands in detail, at least half of them turn out NOT to be that bad of beats. Often it turns out he played a hand poorly or in such a way that his opponent couldn't have known what he had. Many times his opponent had legitimate reasons for playing the way he did, etc. So what I think it comes down to is this:


The people with the greatest understanding of WHY things happen in a poker game, are those least likely to suffer from stress as a result. Take care.


Kevin

Nifty conjectures, but I think they're off track. Poker doesn't cause stress. It merely reveals one's potential for it. Big difference. It's just like golf in that way, or work, or marriage, or vacation, or pretty much any other activity that we normally consider to be a stress inducer.


Vacation and golf are good examples to make my point. Here we have two activities that can be utterly leisurely, or nightmarishly stressful, dependant only on the traits of those involved.


My goal in poker is to have the same stress level with a modest bankroll that I'd have if I was financially set for life. I'm just about there. In a real sense, I think of poker as stress reduction training, and the progress has bled over into every aspect of my life.


Oh, the plane is three hours late? I don't care! Oh, I hit another shot into the lake? I don't care! Oh, my top set got cracked again? I don't care, much.


Tommy

I don't think bruce is referring to super loose,bad players. maybe he is, but i thought he might be refering to decent players that just play a little looser causing bigger swings and more head aches for themselves. i agree with you bruce. by playing looser they put themselves in much more marginal situations, which in turn will give them more stress. when playing real hands, most regular players know how to play them because they have been in the situation many times before. less stress, you know what to do and thats all there is too it. no stress, you played it right, and if it looses thats okay. becaus ein the long run you know you will make money playing the hand the way you did.


The other thing that playing marginal hands does it causes you to second guess yourself when you lose with them. and can put some peolpe on tilt. i usually play me best game. the few occasions i haven't were because of som hand that i shouldn't have played that cost me alot of money. never because of a hand i should have played, that i played correctly. those you just shrug your shoulders and say there was nothing i could do. the stress comes from the second guessing of hands i didn't need to play. obviously, the more times you put yourself in these situations, the more stress you will have second guessing decisions!

Stress is a result of how you represent an event (for example: bankroll swings, bad beats, etc.) to yourself.


Compare how you feel in response to these two different ways of looking at the same thing (in both cases you are in a roller coaster theme park):


1. You're sitting on a park bench relaxing. As you do, you see yourself over there sitting in front of a roller coaster. Visualize the whole ride in black and white. And very far away.


2. Be in the roller coaster. Actually see the track roll in front of you as the wind smashes your face and blows your hair back. Hear the screams of your fellow riders. Feel the track shake below you as you listen to it rattle and push you side to side in your seat.


Chances are you will feel more stressed after having gone thru the experience the second way than the first way.