[nolanfan34]

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This is very true. It's very easy for a solid player to reach sort of a Faustian bargain on the tilt issue by making plays that he knows to be slightly -EV, on the rationalization that it might allow him to fend off making grotesquely -EV plays. I'd usually play A8s here; let's give K8s a try! It's almost the same hand!!

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I need to start posting some specific hands, but for example ones for me that have been giving me trouble are ones where it's folded to me in middle position and I have a hand like QJo or A9o. I know I should raise or fold, but raise doesn't feel right when you're getting your hands cracked, and folding doesn't seem right when you're running bad and are eager to hit a hand.

So most of the time I end up calling, missing the flop often holding two overcards, looking at my six outs to a likely best hand, and either betting or calling, yada yada yada and I'm down another 2 BB in the hand.

One other addendum to my original post that I think is a byproduct of being on here so much actually, and is a small detriment.

- Believeing that people play as intellegently as we do:

I catch myself once in a while talking myself into continuing to lead with a hand because I've decided that my calling opponent can't have a hand that beats me, because they would have raised before the flop. Would they though?

Here's one from last night: Two limpers to me, I raise in CO+1 with KQs. Button cold calls, blinds call. Flop is K-high. I bet the whole way, because in my mind, someone with AK would have likely raised or reraised with that hand. Well, that sounds great until the button shows down AK at showdown. Now, I don't think I played the hand incorrectly necessarily, but I think with marginal hands like middle pair if you're getting called, you have to think a little more about the fact that a lot of opponents aren't going to be aggressive, and will call with better hands instead of raising.

Not sure if that part makes sense, but I just feel this is a small leak for certain hands, especially ones where you suddenly get raised by an opponent on the river. Can't remember the last time I called the raise that they didn't have the goods.