Re: Emotion
If I'm on a downswing, I'll usually try to spend some time doing things that don't involve poker for a few hours/days, whatever it takes. It's good to have other hobbies or interests so that all/most of your focus isn't on the one thing that's bringing you down(your unlucky stretch). The bad luck is never the problem, it's thinking about the bad luck that gives you the trouble.
Eventually you have to confront the bad luck before you sit down again, but its best to think of it in a positive way. When I go back over my losing sessions, I think of the few hands where I may have been outdrawn, though my play was correct. Then I do some math in my head to see how much I earned when I value bet my AA on the turn against a flush draw... and I feel better realizing that I earned 7.8 bbs when I made the bet, or whatever the total may be. (I assess my earnings in each situation like Sklansky does in TOP examples)
After going over a few of these hands, evaluating how big my earnings were in each situation, I think to myself, "I kicked ass that day." So I sit down, ready to play well, and ready to earn... that's all that's important, whether I get my paycheck now or in the year 2009.
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