The most difficult thing about poker?

[steamboatin]

At this point in time, I find it very frustrating staying on my "A" game during a downswing. Some nights, no matter how well you play, you are not going to win and watching big pocket pairs get cracked and big draws missing, hand after hand is very frustrating.

Knowing that the odds are in your favor and eventually the player that called your raise with 97o will lose his shirt is a small consolation at that moment in time.

I think I am still to emotionally attached to the game. Downswings piss me off and when the deck hits me over the head, I feel really good.

What is it about poker that you find to be the most difficult?

[bernie]

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What is it about poker that you find to be the most difficult?

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Getting more pots pushed my way.

b

[BluffTHIS!]

Just what you are talking about. Staying focused on making good decisions and ignoring short-term results. A proper bankroll for the limits you play makes this much easier.

[winky51]

Well if you get mad or frustrated take a break. Change tables. As silly as it might seem and it drives me nuts doing these things help.

I have been at a super fish table where they beat me hand after hand after hand after hand for 2 hours with suckouts and crappy cards. My image is shot, I can't bluff, every hand TP TK gets raised on the turn, and on the river they show 2 pair 9966.

This type of bad mojo drives me INSANE!

I take a break and change tables. I don't know what it is but it happens.

I have had 2 tables open at once where at one there were superfish beating me down pot after pot. The other some fish some competent players and I am taking down pot after pot either with cards, big hands, bluffs, whatever.

Now could I be on tilt at one table and playing my "A" game at the other?

Well I switch the superfish table to another and keep switching till things change. If they don't I quit for the night.

Last night I was up a good amount and kept winning. My PC locked up and I had to reboot and pick new tables. The new tables were just as fishy as the 1st 4. I lost my earning and ended down $150 for the night. How is that possible?

I finally quit after within 15 mins this happened.
Flopped a K high flush and the fish gets runner runner FH.
Flopped a straight and get beat by runner runner quads.
Flopped a 20 out str8 flush draw vs a fish bluffing at the pot with no hand and no draw 9s9dJd flop 2 diamonds me KdTd and he hits runner runner FH with hit Q7o.

Thats when I know somethings not right and its time to quit.

[Fianchetto]

Playing well and losing, just as you described.

The game demands tremendous patience.

[onegymrat]

Leaving when I'm stuck.

[mosquito]

Not getting affected by variance swings.

Staying on "A" game, mostly a distraction thing.

Nice post. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[ckessel]

The pit in your gut after a 100BB downswing despite "good poker" where you can almost taste the long hours you know it'll take just to get back to even. That feeling after only winning 10 hands in 300 that you really have very little control over the game.

Poker's not the game for those with emotional swings.

[Voltron87]

Knowing you're right and sticking to your guns.

[Harv72b]

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What is it about poker that you find to be the most difficult?

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Almost the exact opposite of what most of you are saying. I can deal with the bad beats, even when there are dozens of them strung together like that. What really gets to me is when I hit one of those streaks where every time I hit a big hand, someone else hits a bigger one. AA vs. my KK, flopped set vs. someone else's turned straight, flopped trips vs. a FH, AQs vs. AKs...I just hate those kinds of hands, because I know I'm playing them correctly, I know my opponent is playing them correctly, but I just keep getting bit in the ass. During one downswing recently I had a string of 15 consecutive TT-KK hands where an A flopped (no set for me). I think that's far more frustrating than losing with TPTK to a runner runner hit.