Willpower Exercises

Since there is a tendency to rationalize spur of the moment decisions that contradict earlier resolutions, the easiest way to overcome this is by making the resolution more important than the reason behind it. By doing that you can't be sucked into a dubious rationalization to break the resolution. To train yourself to behave this way I suggest exercises. For instance play a video game and promise yourself that if you don't beat a certain score you will eat nothing but carrots for dinner. Then stick to your self imposed punishment if you blow the score, even though your reason is "irrational". Actually it isn't because your ability to keep promises to yourself is an important attribute when you might not otherwise be thinking clearly.

David,


I believe that you touch on this concept in your book Poker Gaming and Life.


I read the chapter called Will Power and you mention something similiar. If I may quote One way to harness your feelings to give yourself will power is to take great pridewhen you stick to a resolution and to feel greatshamewhen you dont.


I agree with this concept.I constantly make mini wagers/deals with myself. I reward myself for doing the "right" thing, and punish myself for doing the incorrect thing.


Just some random thoughts


Best Wishes

MK

I remember, sometimes I used to get caught on the wrong side of a futures trade or two, and realize that I was wrong, or wasn't thinking clearly.


Since there is nothing cut-and-dry about a price move in a crazy market, it would be very easy to do just about anything.


In other words, in choosing which rule to apply, I would select the one that best matched my fuzzy thinking, I would be biased.


So, instead of deciding to get flat, or to hold on, or to do anything, I would use a randomizing device to exit the trade.


So, you have rules of thumb stored up because you don't think clearly sometimes. But if your toolbox runs out, go to the dice.


I bring this up, because I began doing it after reading the Theory of Poker. My "rational" had somehow become correlated.


So, the only way to decorrelate my thinking with what everybody else was thinking, was to use an inanimate object.


In any case, I thought that if I was doomed to make the wrong decision, that dice could beat it and bring me up to 50/50!


Since nobody else does it - or even if everybody else does it - the chance I'm on the same side as everybody else is randomized.


eLROY

The moment of awakening came for me a few years back when I promised myself never again to go on tilt. Without boring you with the bad beat details, I had my set of K's cracked by someone slowplaying his set of A's. This was a weak player, that never gave me a clue until the 3rd raise at the river. I lost a nice size pot, and you know what? It really didn't bother me one bit. I mean not an iota. He had the best hand, I lost. period. Since then, I can't remember ever being upset by a losing a strong hand for any reason, under any circumstances. That was my promise to myself and I've kept it ever since.

I would suggest that every player start there. You'd be amazed at how much further your game advances when your level headed. Just my thoughts.

Well...not to be TOO hard on your post- however, only complete fools go on tilt when their KK gets "cracked" by AA. If your KK got truly "cracked" by ...oh...say...8-2 off-suit...would you exibit the same restraint? That would be a more realistic test.


On the other hand...if you 'WERE' the type to go on tilt when the better hand (all the way)ends up...well.... the better hand, and you are now reformed from that moronic, childish, fools-game you used to play...then God bless you. Keep improving!


Good Luck!


PS. If you wrote this tonge-&-cheek; then...LOL

Two very important reasons why David Sklansky's pride/shame motivation system works is because 1)it correctly uses emotions as leverage on one's motivation and 2)it comforms perfectly with what in psychology is called the "pleasure/pain principle" of motivation (we all motivate ourselves by MOVING AWAY FROM pain and MOVING TOWARDS pleasure.


Shame is, afterall, one of infinite sources of pain while pride is one of infinite sources of pleasure. The rational act of associating shame(pain) with not following resolutions while simultaneously associating pride(pleasure) with doing so has a similar effect as having someone wave a thousand dollars in front of your face while, simultaneously, having someone else behind you poke you with a hot metal stick on your ass. It acts as a propulsion system for your behaviors.


Give yourself permission to use shame and pride to your advantage but don't limit yourself to them.


Once you've decided to take action on a worthwhile resolution, think of as many reasons as possible (in addition to feeling shame) that not following thru on these resolutions can cause you immense pain in your life. Think of what not following thru will cost you personally, physically, financially, in your family life and relationships, on your self-worth, and so on. Stack these reasons together to where the pain is so immense it becomes impossible to bear. This should give you that hot poke in the ass that you need.


Then think of all the reasons that following thru on your resolution will cause you immense pleasure in your life. How will following thru on your resolutions benefit you personally, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially, in your family life and relationships, in how good you're surely going to feel about yourself once you will have followed thru on your resolutions. See vivid pictures of all of these benefits in front of you big, bright, in 3D, panoramic and in full color. Step into these pictures and as you do, listen to all of the positive words and sounds that you're going to hear from yourself and from others each and everytime that you will have followed thru on your resolutions. Ask yourself - Now - "How much pleasure can I stand?"

It was meant as a semi-tongue in cheek story. The point remains the same. Best hand at the showdown wins the pot, and theres no reason to throw away more chips out of irrational anger.

"Best hand at the showdown wins the pot, and theres no reason to throw away more chips out of irrational anger."


Well sure there is! You said it yourself. I'm irrational, and I'm angry. That's two good reason right there. Being irrationally angry, that's the best reason of all.


Telling a poker player there's no reason to throw away chips away is like telling a crack head that there's no reason to do crack. Well, duh, you think he doesn't know that? And just because you stopped doing crack, do you think that suddenly he wants to hear from the holier than thou?


Wanting and willing are so often so far apart. That's why it's hard to bring them close.


Tommy

You're right. Wanting and willing are indeed far apart. That's because wanting is the domain of the conscious mind while willing is usually within the province of the unconscious. Most overweight people want to be thin and know how to be thin (in fact, many of them have read more "weight loss books" than have many thin people have). Yet they can't motivate themselves to implement the steps that would enable them to do so. The solution is to use processes that by-pass the consious and do change work at the unconscious level.


Many players who have conscious understanding of standard deviation and the role that short term luck plays on they're short term results nevertheless go on tilt. Why? Because they are unconscious of the positive intentions that their tilt behaviors are trying to accomplish for them. Once they've become conscious of those positive intentions and have given the part of them, that was responsible for those tilt behaviors, more choices by which to achieve those positive intentions in a non-destructive manner, then they will tilt much less often.