I feel kinda weird and I don't understand why, low limit is piss'n me

[steamboatin]

I find myself really frustrated at playing low limit holdem. I think I have a good understanding of the odds and i don't get mad when someone hits a two outer because I know it is money in the bank over the long term but the short term can be really frustrating.

I think I have slipped into the thought process, where, "Because I have studied the game, I deserve to win" and although I know it is the wrong attitude, I find myself feeling bad when I lose to a suckout.

I am on a little bit of a downswing but not enough to mention. It just feels weird playing low limit and watching terrible plays get rewarded.

I played a session of No Limit recently and I thought I played well for my first time at a No Limit cash game and that is probably part of my problem. I didn't get sucked out at NL. One session is way to small a sample and the fact that I find myself wanting to move up in limits during a downswing can't be a good sign either.

I think I will go to my favorite fish pond Friday and see how I play and how I feel. My game is good, I am playing much tighter than my competition and I am not chasing draws in small pots.

This tiny little downswing is just part of poker and is easily explained by standard deviation, but what I can't seem to explain is my attitude.

I told a guy, "Nice River" (sarcastically) last night when he caught a two outer on the river and that is not normal for me, I usually try to encourage that behavior.

What I need to figure out is, am I ready to move up and staying in low limit is frustrating or am I just turning into an ass?

[bigmac366]

its hard for me to NOT turn into an ass when i go through downswings, thats why i had empire turn off my chat. i dont play b&m so i cant really help you there though. good luck on at the fish pond!

[IlliniRyRy]

I've been a winning player for 3 years and I still berate the hell out of people at the tables, something I'm not proud of and can't seem to get over. It's a frustrating game, often times I'm convinced that despite the small fortune I've made, poker isn't even worth playing because it diminishes the quality of my life. I get bitter and angry pretty easily now, and when it carries over to stuff unrelated to poker, that's when I know it's time to make a serious change.

[steamboatin]

I've had a very frustrating year at my "Real Job" and I wonder if some of that isn't carrying over to poker.

I can't tell people how I really feel at my real job due to Agency issues and the nature of my business.

[onegymrat]

Hi Steamboatin,

I think most players, even those regular posters, all know the theories of poker and what is generally the "best" play for the hands they play. I also think, however, that most are forgetting that this is merely a game and since taking this game on a seriously level, have forgotten what we picked it up to begin with.

If you can somehow go back to the feelings of how you felt when you played your first hand, combine that with the skill and knowledge you know now, you will find that the "bad beats", however improbable, will sting a lot less and you will enjoy your sessions more, regardless of the session results.

Good luck.

[Dead]

If you were a winning player you'd know that you make money off of the mistakes of others. It's wrong to get mad at the people who give you a living.

[@bsolute_luck]

[ QUOTE ]
What I need to figure out is, am I ready to move up and staying in low limit is frustrating or am I just turning into an ass?


[/ QUOTE ]

i don't think your level of play (limit size) has anything to do with your anger issues. if you get mad when someone sucks out on you in low limit, what happens when someone bluffs you off a huge pot or sucks out on you again for even more money?

i get pissed probably more than the next guy, but in learning, like you said, downswings happen. you will not win every hand (that's poker). and, in the long run, you will win over the suck outs. too many times we focuse on the "bad" things that happen, but easily forget when the luck went our way.

actually i think there was an article in this month's mag about this type of thinking. i'd suggest reading it (link on home page). gain perspective, remember it's a game, and take a break if necessary. playing a game you get pissed at: is it worth spending your time/life pissed like that?

[bigmac366]

its easy to say "seperate the results from your actions", but its hard to do it. its easy to say " that pot is yours 90% of the time", but thats not much consolation when you just lost a 20bb pot to a 3 or 2 outer. we all know the things you said are true, and we all know the things i said above are true, but they dont make you feel much better when everything goes to hell in a hand basket for a day or two.

[sexypanda]

I actually had a pretty long conversation about this with a friend yesterday, he felt the same way as you. It's actually this aspect of poker that drew me to the game. I feel like poker mimics life in this regard more so than any other game I've played (I used to be a big chess player). I was also sort of depressed at the time I picked up poker, and I constantly felt "unlucky" and powerless about life, which is much like the feeling when you get sucked out on by a 2 outer. The lessons I've learned from poker have carried over very well to the rest of my life in this regard. In games like chess, if you're the better player and play a better game, you're guaranteed to win, but with poker and life, this isn't the case. You can be a superior player, do everything right, and still end up losing. To understand that this is merely variance, and not get down on yourself, or berate other players is a very powerful thing. Variance exists everywhere but the important thing is to make clear, objective and logical decisions, and at the same time, stay completely emotionally stable regardless of the outcome. These qualities I've acquired through poker, in my opinion, are priceless.

[Mike]

Go test drive a new Mustang or another fast car, get on it a few times, then bring it back to the dealer with some story about how its not quite you. Then when you drive back home in what has now become your pos you will feel much differently about poker.

Did your n/l game possibly taint the color of your glasses?