Character flaws and how to deal with them?

[IamLeach]

I am writing this post to get an idea on how I can be more consistant, as well as to find out if other players here have or, have had similar problems.

I have lost my BR due to what I think is a lack of patience and Discipline. No doubt I have other leaks, I am not saying I dont. However, the donk really comes out in me when i get too excited or impatiant. If I play one table I go insane because I cannot stand to sit around and wait for good hands. As a result I play hands I shouldn't and lose money when I don't need to. I figured my solution to this would be to multi-table. Four was too much so I stayed at three. This worked ok for awhile but I went broke eventually. If I play poker and I am in the right mood I do fine and somtimes great. Because of flaws in my character, I cannot just turn this mood on and off or, just don't know how.

Now I have to try and rebuild a BR and am wondering what other may think is a good way for me to go about that. I cannot just come up with a BR from my normal job due to bills etc. Also I am wondering if anyone has had the same or similar problems with impatience and/or lack of dicipline, and if so how did you deal with it? I am willing to accept that I just might not be "made" for poker but I don't want to give up so easily. Know what I mean? ANY COMMENTS APPRECIATED.

my first week of online poker, i won about a grand. i actually did it in one day. i thought i was the best damn player in the whole world. turns out i got lucky...extremely lucky. the next day i lost it all. i was dumbfounded and heart broken, and felt much the same way you do. i personally think that multitabling is a bad idea if patience is one of your issues. you need to become more patient, rather than satiate yourself with more tables because very likely you'll get junk cards on all three for a long stretch as well, and now your impatience can cost three times as much. i spent a week not playing, and just read and read and read. Harrington is great, and so is theory of poker. the next week i came with a fresh attitude, and tried my best to keep myself undercontrol. one way i kept myself calm was to realize that aces in the pocket are nice, but they won't make my bank roll. i had to realize that that hand was one of a million i'd end up playing, so it helped me not to fall in love with it. The patience thing is something you just have to push past. just realize that each hand is one in a million you'll play, and your cards will come. hope that helps at least a little bit.
ps now i'm back up about a grand, so i must be doing something right, but i did take some really rough beats last night, still steaming.

[IamLeach]

I definitly agree that becomming more patient is better than accomdating my impatience. And you make a great point about multi-tabling potentialy costing me three or more times as much so ty for pointing that out. I have decided (through the advice of other posters) that playing at 6-max may be a good plan of action, so I will try that in the future. Ty for your comments.

np, hope i helped. i play solely at 6-max, i love the action there.

[R_Ellender]

read the seven habits. the first and second habits alone could make you a pro.

(exaggeration, but a good book)

[IamLeach]

Hmm, never heard of it. Who is the author?

[Shoog]

This has been a problem in my game that I have been grappling with recently. I'm not a psychologist but feel it's an issue of "impulsivity".

There are various methods that can help you maintain at least a minimum level of composure during play and you should do some Web research on the subject. I would recommend starting with methods used in cognitive-behavioural psychology used with ADHA, substance abuse and other impulsive disorders.

Please don't take this the wrong way - I'm not suggesting you have these problems or that your quit poker. I don't know much about you. Although a bit ironic, I'm just saying that the methods used to treat these disorders, can be adapted and applied to correct bag poker habits.

Before going on about emotion in play, I can't stress the importance of continuous reading and study about all aspects of the game.

Speaking as a layman of course, cognitive-behavioural psychology is all about talking (or writing) through your actions - verbalizing everything in an analytic way. It's harder to con yourself. (Sometimes I really feel that the more verbal my thinking tends to be, the more thought there tends to be in my thinking.) The method is based on the belief that cognitive possesses can affect behaviors.

e.g. -- 1. formulate a problem or goal, as detailed as possible in words, such as - I'm losing money at poker and I believe playing too many hands is the main source of this problem. This problem typically happens when I'm tired, drunk, high, pissed off, bored.... And it's a problem because I want to be winning player or can't afford to lose...
2. Suggest a series of solutions or avenues to the goal in words, - such as I will keep a diary, I will log when, how long and how many sessions I play a week, no. of hands played, flops seen, other stats. I will verbalize every fold, call or bet and why I'm doing it
3 Choose the best options and say why they are better than others.
4. Then reflect if your reasoning and choices were in the end correct or not and why.
5. It should also include reward, but that can come from winning.
Of course this method isn't going to help you in B&M games much.

So often we pass over the obvious when playing. There are so many distractions and the game really requires a good deal of concentration. Let's be honest - winning a big pot is a rush for most for various reasons -- chemical, neurological, money, confidence, feeling of control, feelings that you are smarter than the average bear.... But if you let the urge to live in these feelings override your analytical card skills, you will be a loser.

I think for some people like myself emotional noise can drown out subtler cognitive functions required in reading an opponents hand or assessing probability or pot equity. Over time I hope the cognitive skills can be firmed up to withstand the distractions.

And there are times when we are all more vulnerable to impulsivity, and it is important to be conscious of this and be able to pull away from a game when we are playing badly, watch some TV, get something to eat, read a book, get a blow job... whatever.

sorry for the long post.
Chrs

[Dan Mezick]

Set up some cash-management/ risk-management rules.

Address:

1. When where and what to play
2. Stakes to play at (determined by BR)
3. Precise rules about what to do when losing (stop loss per session)
4. Non-ambiguous goals for each week and month

Write all of it down and tack it in front of your seat.

Typical settings:

300BB to play at a given stakes level; or 30 tourney buy-ins;

Limit losses to 30BB for Limit sessions, or 4 SnG losses in a row for SnG;

"Circuit breaker" rules where you stop playing for X days if you lose Y a sizeable percent of the BR in a week or a rolling 3-day window. (helps prevent tilt)

You sound like you have not structured any rules and that implies you have no specific goals. Set some and set appropriate rules to manage and measure how you are doing.

[Guruman]

if you set stop-loss rules for yourself, be sure to let go of that mindset once you learn how to beat the games your at. A winning player can absolutely go through a 30bb downswing and still be sitting at a profitable table that he should remain seated at.

That said, if losing makes you play poorly then by all means stop when you lose enough to affect your decision making (at least until you learn how to play well consistently). Just be aware that stop-loss measures are for people who can't beat the games that they are sitting in on. If you can't beat the game due to a deficiency in skill or composure, then get up from that table and either A)find a better one or B)read books and forums to improve your fundamental knowledge of the game.

Also, just stop for the day if you're tilting. Don't tilt your way down to your stop-loss threshold and quit. Just quit.

[vexvelour]

I think that poker players are a bit too hard on themselves for the most part. We want to make more money, we want to make better calls and even better folds. We determine our success by how much money we've made. So on and so forth.

That being said, I don't think you should be down on yourself because you lost your bankroll. I don't know what stakes you usually play, but I would recommend starting back in the micro limits. A considerable amount of money can be made in a .10/.20 table over a period of time, and even more in a .25/.50. Vary between limits depending on how you feel that day - this is the most important part. This has saved me a lot of money.

However, before you deposit any more money into poker, I think that you need to address your patience issues. Patience is key, and along with it comes the ability to not leak and win hands. This may sound elementary, but it really is the crux of the issue. If you really cannot focus on a slow game, get a book something like a Garfield or Calvin and Hobbes strip comic book. Point of this: Short amusement. You can read one or two, and still keep an eye on the game and what is going on without becoming immersed in a novel or something. Good luck and I hope this helps.