I'm Depressed and Don't Want To Play

[PhatTBoll]

[ QUOTE ]
I certainly hope not, because it would now be really sad to see a once proud prodigy, who was once touted for his steely nerves, whining worse than a stuck, freshman cheerleader after a date gone bad with the star quarterback.

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I agree. I strongly doubt this is the real Gata Kamsky. He is known as an intensely private person and a borderline recluse. It wouldn't be very consistent with this personality type to be pissing and moaning on an internet message board under his real name.

[CrisBrown]

Hi bison,

I second (third, fourth?) this advice. This poster sounds as if he not only lost yesterday, but seriously tilted. I think it's almost always wise to take at least a day off if you've tilted in the previous day's session. It helps to prevent "throwing good money after bad."

Cris

[jimymat]

Im still on vacation from a 240 BB loss in five sessions on 10-20. The first thing a individual needs to do is evaluate their play. 90% of the time you will find it was operator error. You must have done something wrong along the way. If you cant find any errors in your play and just took a xxxx load of bad beats like 85% vs 15% favorite going into the river or better than take a break. The game is designed to have a luck factor. If it didnt than Hellmuth would win every tournament he played. If you go back and try to remember what you held against these "fish" on the flop, turn, and river, were you ahead of them or was it one of those coin flip hands where you had a slight advantage? You should always be evaluating your play after big losing sessions. Go back and study harder. Read this forum every night looking for posts that apply to you. Ive done this after every losing streak Ive gone on and I always come back stronger. Never assume you know it all and that theres nothing more to really learn. This " thing of ours" goes on forever. Good luck.

[Duke]

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Can you guys give me some advice on how to move on after being raped by fish by bad beat after bad beat yesterday to the tune of 40 bb in 10-20 and 7 buyins in baby nl 1-2.

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I don't know about NL, so I can't comment on that part of it.

As for the 10-20, well, you had a bad 30 minutes? I'm assuming multi-tabling.

I've become so numb to the inherent swings that they don't affect me. I don't tend to ever play with the vigor and excitement that some seem to bring to the table, though. I think that's a good thing, but maybe it doesn't work for everyone else.

Someone told a friend of mine something that he shared with me, and well, it makes sense and is obvious. The beats don't matter if you have a bankroll. That's what a bankroll is for.

~D

[paland]

You just can't make this stuff up.

[Mikey]

If I asked this question I would hate the answer you and bisonbsion have given.

This is not the answer I would want to hear at all.

[Mikey]

Stand up straight. Get your act together and slap yourself upside your face.

Are you seriously considering playing poker well or are you playing just to play?

If you are seriously considering it playing as a means of income and of joy then I suggest you replay the hands of where you lost money.

Take a break from playing the game and get your nose into the books. Learn new things. You may be making some mistakes. You may learn something you never had learned before.

Also realize that you can lose and lose miserable session after session after session and still be playing well.

Get yourself pokerTracker and make sure you are using it well. Replay those hands.

BANKROLL???? What's the size?? Are you playing above your means?? A bad streak should not effect you this much "40 bb in 10-20 "
You may be playing above your means.

The personal mental battle of poker is by far the toughest battle.

Get yourself together.

[Lawrence Ng]

Hi Gata,

Here's my advice:

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how to move on after being raped by fish by bad beat after bad beat yesterday

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Honestly, go home, let it out somehow, yell, scream, cry or be like me and go online and shoot some frickin' Germans in Call of Duty! Then, tell yourself it's going to keep happening. Fish will suck out, Bad beats will happen (to you and for you).

Here's something that helps me mentally: Remember the most ridiculous suckout, bad beat that you ever laid on someone and that will make you feel better because then you know what goes around..comes around.

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It just seems like I should give up and not play. Should I take a break or fight back today and get it back?

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Yes, we all get that feeling. But are you really a quitter? You can quit if you don't have the mentality for it. It's a lot of mental toughness. Or you can learn, apply it, move on and make yourself better and stronger. The choice is yours.

If you are good at the game, and quit this easily, then you are not as good as you think.

I tell you something that almost made me quit! It's not bad beats, bad slumps, or how much I've lost. It's about my family that hates me playing cards, it's my 2 x's that hate me playing cards, it's my peers that see this as a taboo. It's about a society that views poker as some degenerate sport where a bunch of guys have nothing better to do than play with these 52 cards and take each other's money. Stuff like that really bugs me and almost made me wanna quit..and guess what? I'm still here as are tons of other pros/casual players. Keep fighting Gata, don't give up so easily because your gonna give up on everything else too.

[Al Schoonmaker]

Mikey,
As a professional psychologist my job is NOT to tell people what they want to hear. It is to tell them what I believe they NEED to hear, the truth, no matter how unpleasant it is.
The same is true for any professional. Good doctors and lawyers and accountants will tell you the truth about your health, legal, or tax problems.
If a professional fails to tell you the truth, there is a very nasty word for his actions, malpractice.
Regards,
Al

[MicroBob]

Good response Al.

If he isn't in the proper mind-set to play then he obviously shouldn't be playing. You shouldn't tell him to force himself into that mindset if it likely won't happen.