how do you let off steam

[rybones]

So after and evening of bad beats (don't worry I won't bore you). I thought I would try the push every hand at a $5.00 table. That method sucked!!!! my K,7o lost to A,2 soooted, K,Jo and 7,8 soooted. All four hands in on the first hand and the A,2 won on a board of T,Q,2,6,9.

Anyway, after reading the Irieguy and gigabet posts I thought I would be able to handle any beats that came my way today at least. But alas, I can't. I am not as good or calm or meditative as I had hoped to be. Is pounding on the desk and punching the wall ok? what about drinking, does that work? Does anyone smoke anymore? Can someone give me something practical, Right now this Zen crap ain't working.

Ryan

[citanul]

The Zen "crap" isn't crap. All they are saying is "hey, it's a game. you did what you were supposed to do, the rest of it is random cards coming out of a deck. poker happens." This is something so incredibly important for your own sanity and health that you should take it to heart.

Other: ways of calming down -> step away from he computer for a bit, go do something else for a while. For me, a nice lap around the apartment and a pint of ice water, drank slowly, does the trick whenever I'm feeling aggravated.

Consider it my personal way of "dealing with the aggravating thought as they arrive, instead of letting them pile up." I too think that that particular advice is incredibly important. Little things really don't tend to bother anyone until they let them fester, pile up, and become part of something large that they let get to them. If you deal with them one at a time, and learn to just not let each thing bother you, you never have to deal with them as a big pile which can drive you to drink, punch, etc.

citanul

[ilya]

I keep a variety of small, helpless animals around just for such occasions.

[Slim Pickens]

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Is pounding on the desk and punching the wall ok? what about drinking, does that work? Does anyone smoke anymore?

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If you smoke one bowl after a bad beat today, you will have to smoke two next week to achieve the same release. In addition, it may remove the enjoyment at a totally unrelated event when you want to smoke to enhance a positive feeling rather than counteract a negative one.

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Can someone give me something practical

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This is probably a good candidte for "Dorkiest Bad Poker Player Stupid Idea Ever," but I've got a Suckout Garden going. I picked up a few seed packets from the drugstore, and plant one after each suckout that really pisses me off in a seed starter tray. I also hung a hummingbird feeder outside my window, so during the day, I can watch them beat the s*** out of each other trying to use it. Something about watching small animals behave violently toward each other calms me down.

Slim

[wiggs73]

Haha, nice post Slim. I've personally found that going to play money tables and going all-in most hands, while berating the other players and telling them how awesome I am, seems to work for me. A typical hand will look something like the following:

1) I push with whatever 2 cards I happen to have.
2) While others are thinking / folding / calling, I make sure to tell everyone how good I am at poker.
3) I suck out against whatever decent hands happened to call me.
4) I tell the remaining players that I usually play for real money.
5) They respond with 'yeah right' and I proceed to remind them that a) they suck at poker and b) I am better than them at everything.

I don't know, but I find there to be something entertaining about this and I don't lose any money in the process.

[johnnybeef]

there really is no quick fix or gimmick that is going to be able to help you. in order to get over a tough beat you must learn to change the way you think...i read something in cardplayer this month that made it all come together. this is a quote from the jennifer harman interview:

If not playing one’s “A” game after falling way behind due to bad cards or bad play is a leak in someone’s game, what’s the remedy?

JH: Well, Chip Reese once asked me something that has stayed with me: “Why would you ever get upset over things you can’t control?” So, I try to look at it this way: If I play the hand well and some weird card comes off, it’s like, “Oh well.” But if I don’t play the hand right, that’s reason for me to be upset with myself

as i am in a bit of a downswing myself, i took this to mean this: downswings happen, they are something that everybody deals with (whether in poker or just plain life in general). when you are down is when you need to work the hardest in any aspect of life as i have never met any man who was worth his salt who hasnt been down and gotten back up. your task as a poker player is this...examine your hhs with a fine tooth comb, find out if you are in fact on a bad run as there is an illusion that exists within a poker players psyche (which is what makes losing players come back again and again ) that a bad run is just a result of bad luck instead of bad play. make sure that this bad run is actually due to the fact that you are going in as a total fav and coming out a loser. then blow it off because life is way to short to become upset about something that you cant control.

i hope this helps,

johnny

[rybones]

Thanks to all who posted!!!

[ QUOTE ]
The Zen "crap" isn't crap. All they are saying is "hey, it's a game. you did what you were supposed to do, the rest of it is random cards coming out of a deck. poker happens." This is something so incredibly important for your own sanity and health that you should take it to heart.


[/ QUOTE ]

yes, I agree! Actually my original post was sort of my way of regaining my sanity and calm.

On the other hand, I really like ilya's idea of keeping small defenseless animals around.

Ryan

[Mr_J]

Play some madden on the xbox and swear at it. Not really to let steam off, I do it anyway.

[hansarnic]

You can pick up 2nd hand or refurbed CRTs for next to nothing these days. Give yourself an allowance per month and when you need to just lob your monitor out of the window.

(note: you really have to be on an upper floor & ideally above concrete for this to work - dropping one 3 feet into a flowerbed is just going to make you feel like a dick)

[Iamafish]

I dont know if this will help, just another suggestion.

Go work out and blow off steam, get a punching bag or something.

If you can, go box somewhere, learn how to fight. Youll get to kick someones ass and they'll let you. Or you'll get your ass kicked. It still feels good either way.