Patience
 

Does anybody have a mental prep workout that they go through before hitting the felt to instill patience in their game? I have a stressful job so I come home less than patient and run too many bluffs and make too many loose calls. I have struggled with being patient for a long time. On the rare occasion when I am feeling patient I do so well. Is there anything I can do to make myself more patient so that I can play better?

Thanks in advance,

Indy

Re: Patience
 

If you are getting home from work stressed out you should do something to relax first, completely apart from poker. Watch a movie, play video games, go outside, whatever.

Whenever I start getting impatient I start playing very poorly just like you say. Its a form of tilt. I just stop playing. I do something else for awhile. If I have to stop for a day or so then thats what it has to be. Otherwise I lose $.

Re: Patience
 

I have recently found that talking to myself about patience and fortitude has helped. There are some people for whom patience just comes naturally but I'm not one of those guys.

Indy

Re: Patience
 

A walk usually does me pretty well... or just grab something to eat/drink and watch some sportscenter, either one really.


Just remembered, when I was still in school I enjoyed spanking a few people online in Tony Hawk Underground 2(PS2) before a good session.

Re: Patience
 

[ QUOTE ]
Does anybody have a mental prep workout that they go through before hitting the felt to instill patience in their game? I have a stressful job so I come home less than patient and run too many bluffs and make too many loose calls. I have struggled with being patient for a long time. On the rare occasion when I am feeling patient I do so well. Is there anything I can do to make myself more patient so that I can play better?

Thanks in advance,

Indy

[/ QUOTE ]

I strongly advise exercising between work and poker if you can manage the time. And fairly intense exercise. Nothing beats a healthly run when it comes to "reseting your brain" between intellectual tasks.

Lose more.
 

Lose more. Hopefully the punishment/reinforcement will kick in.

Re: Patience
 

I had the same problem Indy.

Call it cheesey, but what I do to help remind me of patience was to write a big "P" on a piece of paper, and put it in front of my chips. Every time I looked down to grab chips, I was reminded about patience. It also helped me remember bathroom breaks. (rimshot).

Re: Patience
 

There have been some good suggestions here, like taking a walk or working out, which I like, hence I use the bowflex to get my fatt ass in shape. Meditation seems to work for me. Another thing I do is to start off playing really, really tight. Almost Phil Hellmuth top 10 tight, and then, as the game goes on, gradually loosening up. This has the aditional benefit of allowing you time to size up your opponents as you're not playing many hands and give those who may be paying attention to you the impression that you're a rock, so you can pull off bluffs later.

Re: Patience
 

Thanks for the great suggestions. I am trying to do excercises in between matches right now. Its helping a bit.

Indy

Re: Patience
 

I made a sign with the biggest font I could use. I have it hanging on the bulletin board on my desk, just above the top of my laptop screen. It says "Great discipline brings great rewards." Helps me stay focused while playing online.

I was thinking of getting a card protector made with a yin/yang symbol and the same phrase on it.