"The Zone"

[chezlaw]

[ QUOTE ]
No, of course not. The secret of playing in the zone is being in a relaxed, focused state of concentration. When in that state of mind, visualization can be part of the process.

Nobody can predict the outcome of a flop, for example, but if I put myself in a position to succeed by playing good hold cards I can visualize a good outcome which gives me confidence.

[/ QUOTE ]

Fair enough. The zone is different for me, part of being in it is not being at all concerned about outcomes and not caring what the next card happens to be or whether I win or not. All that matters is playing as well as I can.

I'm often in the zone for several minutes on the trot. Hope to make the full half hour one day.

chez

[rusellmj]

All your questions can be answered in the book Enter the Zone by Dr. Barry Sears.
www.drsears.com

[chezlaw]

[ QUOTE ]
All your questions can be answered in the book Enter the Zone by Dr. Barry Sears.
www.drsears.com

[/ QUOTE ]

[img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] txs, but I'd rather be in the Falluja zone than that one.

chez

[Al Schoonmaker]

You mentioned that it was illogical and a "weird state of mind." I agree, and I believe that logical thinking is the key to success for most people.

A few people have great instincts, but I don't. Those instincts relate, not to what cards are coming, but to what other people think and do.

If you have great instincts, temporarily while in the zone, or permanently because of a gift, rely on them. BUT you must realize that most people give themselves credit for much more talent than they possess. This overestimation tendency is particularly common for "instincts." I have encountered many people who brag about their great ability to read people, etc., but are worse than average.

I therefore urge you and others to get an independent check on how often those gut feelings are accurate. If you keep accurate records, you may find that your feelings about other players are no more accurate than chance.

You will certainly find that your feelings about which cards are coming are no better than chance.

Regards,

Al

[Al Schoonmaker]

There is a massive contradiction between your original post and this one. In the original post you wrote: "you have 14 and you must hit....how do you know the 7 is coming? The 'feeling', the 'zone', whatever you want to call it."

That definition of "the zone" is unquestionably ESP, even though you did not use the term.

Now you're saying that you don't think you can predict the cards that will come.

A few sentences later you say, "somehow I knew the Vikings were going to cover tonight. Dont ask me how I knew because I cant answer you." Again, you're talking about ESP.

Those contradictions are exactly what I meant when I said you seem to be two different people. You simply haven't decided whether you believe or don't believe in ESP.

I hope that the rational side of you prevails. Otherwise, you will lose a great deal of money. ESP is utter, absolute nonsense, and believing in it has cost people billions of dollars.

Regards,

Al

[Fabian]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Svar till:</font><hr />

When I play poker and I see a player who is hot or in the zone, I am not going to butt heads with him. You must respect that momentum he has built up otherwise he will bite you in the ass.


[/ QUOTE ]

This is wrong.

On a related note, I think some people (not all) who have had a good run of cards (who are in the zone) will begin to overestimate themselves and their cards, start chasing in bad situations, make bad river calls or whatever, meaning you should be more inclined than usual to "butt heads with him"

[Demana]

People tend to lose sight of how they came to a correct thought and instead they try to make that correct thought happen.
Much better to just let it come to you.

[tek]

I believe that there is some confusion here. Being in the zone does not mean using "ESP". It involves intuition, which is the processing of external data internally (similar to a computer running a program 'in the background').

Brunson wrote about this in his S/S book.

Common examples, which have already been alluded to, involve athletes. But being in the zone can occur in many other arenas.

***

Now to totally throw a monkey wrench in this conversation, there are periodically a few times each playing session when I "know" what card is coming (I only play in B &amp; M's. I have no idea if it would happen to me online). It involves my hole cards. For example, the other day I was dealt a 10s and said internally, "Now the 10d". It came.

That doesn't happen all the time, but I will assume that if it can happen at all, it is something that can be developed and possibly be extended past the hole card phase.

To give further fuel to Dr. Al and others who will surely make light of this confession, I should add that I also have been able to (again on a few limited occasions and not 'on command') do "readings" for people I have not previously known. Now these readings did not provide me with any insight to help them solve any problem, but was merely anecdotal in that it told them what they already knew. However, the accuracy of that anecdotal information was interesting. Again, I assume this skill can be developed.

An example was a fellow namd Joe. I said things such as:

You live in a house with doorways and windows, but with no physical doors or windows. You sit in the center and the wind blows by in all directions. Your house has a domed roof.

His response was that he is into Native American philosophy (Joe is caucasion and wore no clothing or jewelry reflective of his philosophical leanings). As far as the dome, his dog has a house with a dome on it. The dog had been sick that past week and he has been worried about him, so feelings about his dog clouded my reading of Joe.

So in conclusion, the Zone is related to intuitive processing of external data internally (subconsciously) and usually free of ESP. However, ESP does exist in some people to certain degrees. To the extent that this area can be developed in tandem with intuition, this would be a formidable weapon in poker.

I plan to attempt this development.

Flame away folks...

[Zoltri]

[ QUOTE ]
Flame away folks...

[/ QUOTE ]

Not me.

[RydenStoompala]

[ QUOTE ]
However, ESP does exist in some people to certain degrees.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes. I have it. I can also levitate the dealer, pop buttons on the blouses of pretty girls, re-shuffle the deck in mid-deal and order drinks without speaking a word. I have to be careful. I was once careless while trying to move a big stack of black chips from across the table to in front of me and I accidentally set a nearby slot machine on fire.

It is sometimes tough being an omnipotent being.