dfscott
06-28-2004, 02:52 PM
Maybe this should go in the psychology forum, but I post everything else here, so pardon me while I lie down on the couch and unburden myself...if you're looking for hand histories, you should probably skip this post.
Lately, I've felt very tentative and off-balance during my ring game sessions. I face each one more with a sense of trepidation rather than anticipation. I'm always worried about a) getting a good hand and then getting sucked out on or b) not getting enough hands to play and getting eaten up by the blinds or hands that don't hit. This is in sharp contrast to my earlier play where I was relaxed and confident and took everything lightly, knowing that my good cards were just around the corner. I'm not sure what's changed. My stats are all good (most are trending up!), my earnings are up, I just feel like I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm often rushing to finish a positive session so I don't take a late BR hit. Is this typical? Is this a phase? Am I suffering from poker overload?
Trying to track this down, I've tried to identify possible causes:
1) I'm playing much tighter tables than before. As a result, I've tightened up my play (to the benefit of my game). But I'm playing fewer hands, so there's a lot more riding on the hands that I do play. Maybe this is making me nervous. However, I've been at this level for a month now (4000+ hands), so you'd think I'd be used to it by now.
2) I took a stab at some SnGs for a change of pace. While I took second place in the 2nd one I entered, I then busted out on the bubble in the next two. Even though the entry fee was less than a single big pot in the ring games I'm playing, it really got to me. Even though I enjoyed the more obvious level of competition, I've sworn off them for a while. Whether it's the actual financial hit (minimal) or the fact that I lost 3 out of 4 tournaments, I feel like that's shaken my confidence some.
3) I'm less interested in analyzing the details of my game. I used to devour my PT statistics after each session. Now, I'm less into that and sometime won't even review the hands. Perhaps the whole ring grind was getting to me (which is why I took a stab at the SnGs).
So, please forgive the pity party -- just looking for some advice. Have other people gone through this phase? Is this just the "new-ness" of online poker finally wearing off? Should I just stop whining and go back to the tables and it'll take care of itself?
Thanks for listening...
Lately, I've felt very tentative and off-balance during my ring game sessions. I face each one more with a sense of trepidation rather than anticipation. I'm always worried about a) getting a good hand and then getting sucked out on or b) not getting enough hands to play and getting eaten up by the blinds or hands that don't hit. This is in sharp contrast to my earlier play where I was relaxed and confident and took everything lightly, knowing that my good cards were just around the corner. I'm not sure what's changed. My stats are all good (most are trending up!), my earnings are up, I just feel like I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm often rushing to finish a positive session so I don't take a late BR hit. Is this typical? Is this a phase? Am I suffering from poker overload?
Trying to track this down, I've tried to identify possible causes:
1) I'm playing much tighter tables than before. As a result, I've tightened up my play (to the benefit of my game). But I'm playing fewer hands, so there's a lot more riding on the hands that I do play. Maybe this is making me nervous. However, I've been at this level for a month now (4000+ hands), so you'd think I'd be used to it by now.
2) I took a stab at some SnGs for a change of pace. While I took second place in the 2nd one I entered, I then busted out on the bubble in the next two. Even though the entry fee was less than a single big pot in the ring games I'm playing, it really got to me. Even though I enjoyed the more obvious level of competition, I've sworn off them for a while. Whether it's the actual financial hit (minimal) or the fact that I lost 3 out of 4 tournaments, I feel like that's shaken my confidence some.
3) I'm less interested in analyzing the details of my game. I used to devour my PT statistics after each session. Now, I'm less into that and sometime won't even review the hands. Perhaps the whole ring grind was getting to me (which is why I took a stab at the SnGs).
So, please forgive the pity party -- just looking for some advice. Have other people gone through this phase? Is this just the "new-ness" of online poker finally wearing off? Should I just stop whining and go back to the tables and it'll take care of itself?
Thanks for listening...