[CrisBrown]

Hi LargeCents,

Yes, there are times when each of us faces some huge problem, or some confluence of smaller problems, that takes us out of an effective mental attitude for some activity. For example, when I'm up against a tight deadline (I'm a novelist) and writing 15 manuscript pages a day, I simply cannot play poker well. Either I'm still thinking about my work, or I'm too mentally exhausted to focus. Similarly, there may be "life problems" (ill partner or children, etc.) that are so distressing that it's difficult to focus on other tasks.

The solution is startlingly simple: DON'T PLAY POKER DURING THESE TIMES.

Unless poker is your livelihood (and you've said it isn't), you're under no obligation to play on any given day. So, if you're not feeling up to it and realize you won't be at your best ... don't play! Life can be frustrating enough at times without adding extra, unnecessary frustrations. If your roommate is making you miserable, or your parents have just yelled at you for being a useless slug, etc. ... that's not a good time to play poker.

So take a day or two off. Relax. Exercise. Read a novel. Watch a good movie. Clean your garage. If you don't have a garage, build one. Whatever. Just don't put your money on the table when you know you're going to lose it.

I think this is what chesspain was referring to with his comments about "emotional maturity." If you know you're not in the right mental place to play well, and insist on playing anyway ... that's a kind of emotional immaturity, a denial of the reality of your situation. Conversely, if you realize you're off-center and wouldn't play well, and decide to take the day off from poker and do something else ... that's a mature response.

Let's change the topic a little. Let's say you and your friends have a running (pardon the pun) bet on a foot race. You don't HAVE to race on any given day, and neither do they, but when you do get together to race, the losers have to pay the winner $50 each.

You wake up one morning and realize your ankle is throbbing, and you can barely move it. Would you challenge your friends to a race that day? Of course not. You'd say your ankle was too sore to run, and running could increase the severity of your injury, and you'd take a day or two off to rest it. If it didn't heal within a day or two, you would go to a doctor to find out what's wrong and seek the proper treatment.

Your emotional health is no different. If you wake up one morning and you're fuming over a bunch of irritants (your roommate, etc.), it's foolish to attempt an activity which requires intense concentration, and which is likely to increase your frustration if you don't play well. And if you can't recover your emotional center within a reasonable period, you go to a doctor to find out what's wrong and seek the proper treatment.

None of this is an accusation. It's simply the reality of human experience, for all of us.

Hope this helps,

Cris