Psychology/Mindset

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The best state of mind I can get in to play is just a confident, relaxed state

[/ QUOTE ]
Crass as it may be, I think the best way to start a session is right after getting head. I bet we could prove that ROI increases a couple points (and it would undoubtedly be a fun study).

[/ QUOTE ]

This is so incredibly true.

-Phoenix

[/ QUOTE ]

sry for the triple quote, but i believe this is 100% true after i won my first step from 11$ i proceded to go up about 8k in the next week or so.
Also i try to go in every SNG/Tournament with calm and confidence. but also i like to play with a chip on my shoulder, i know it sounds funny but for some reason i think it helps me read opponents hands better.

[Degen]

Indifference

I do poorly in live games (or at least am not on top of my game) when i get involved talking to them and whatnot. Live i bump the iPod full blast and never look anybody in the eye and i can play my best.

Online i'm rarely in the chat box and usually have that off. They are not people to me, just stacks of chips. Its almost like playing Super Mario Brothers.

[YourFoxyGrandma]

[ QUOTE ]
My approach stems from something I learned while making a living at live ring games for about 6 months.

I thought it was the funniest thing in the world that all the people I played with worked hard all week, then dumped their money off to me, a stupid 17 year-old (at the time) who didn't work or go to school. I can be obnoxious, to say the least, and used to love needling them, trying to see if I could put them on tilt.

There was a guy that played a couple times a week, I really respected him. He took me aside one day, to tell me yet another "You remind me of myself as a kid" story, but I actually listened to him. Told me that I shouldn't feel superior to my opponents at all, that I should recognize everyone in the game has different motivations for playing, and the most common one is pure entertainment. He said my profits would shoot through the roof if I were more pleasant in the game, and hell, I might even make a few friends to boot.

So I experimented for about a week doing this. Simple things like never laughing at a bad play, or even check-raising someone because it harbors resentment. And ust all-around being a more polite, pleasant person. Turns out I did make more. People were far more willing to give me action, cause they weren't always trying to nail me anymore. If I would break someone in a hand, they were a lot more likely to buy back in instead of getting pissed off and leaving. I don't have any numbers to back it up, but I'm positive that it all changed as a result of my attitude towards my opponents.

That thinking has carried over into the rest of my life, really. I was a varsity runner/wrestler/soccer player back in HS, and I used to always think whoever I played against was a chump. I'm still competitive in every aspect of my life, but I just have a different outlook now I guess, I give people the respect they deserve.

Not sure how much it applies to online SNGs, but that's my initial mentality regarding my opponents. That's one aspect of live play that I love - figuring out what everyone's motivation is, and how to play to it. Gigabet discusses this a bit in his "Almost there with success and failure" post, and I made an ill-received post on deserving and entitlement, which I think is a leak many players have.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is an awesome post.

[Bigwig]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

But again, it appears that everyone is retardedly translating my comments into 'actual' hatred of my opponents. For the last f***** time, I don't really hate them. It's a competitive attitude.

And it doesn't mean that I'd throw cards, swear at the table, and kick the host's f***** cat.

[/ QUOTE ]

For someone as clearly tiltproof as you... I'm sure it's the optimal approach.

Irieguy

[/ QUOTE ]

You can easily get upset, and not go on tilt. I grumble as much as the next player about my opponent hitting a two outer, but I don't let it affect my play. That's a question of discipline.

[Jay36489]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
So I experimented for about a week doing this. Simple things like never laughing at a bad play, or even check-raising someone because it harbors resentment. And ust all-around being a more polite, pleasant person.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is an awesome post.

[/ QUOTE ]

It is except for the part about not check raising. You give up too much EV, and if people are going to get pissed about a CR, then they are being overly sensitive, and will probably never be pleased.

[pergesu]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
So I experimented for about a week doing this. Simple things like never laughing at a bad play, or even check-raising someone because it harbors resentment. And ust all-around being a more polite, pleasant person.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is an awesome post.

[/ QUOTE ]

It is except for the part about not check raising. You give up too much EV, and if people are going to get pissed about a CR, then they are being overly sensitive, and will probably never be pleased.

[/ QUOTE ]
I didn't mean never check-raise. There are obvious spots, like where the player to the left of you raised preflop and you hit a set, that failing to check-raise is giving up way too much.

But if I'm heads up with someone who I KNOW will get upset if I check-raise him/her, I wouldn't do it. I'm talking low limit games, 3/6 and 5/10, where people are just screwing around. If I check-raise them and they decide they won't give me any action for the rest of the session, how much EV am I giving up?

The point is that losing money is hard enough. I found that I made more money by playing solid poker and softening the emotional/mental blow than by playing 100% Sklansky poker.