Poker Emotion

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Celebrate your wins and mourn your losses privately and briefly and let that emotion pass. I personally don't equate Zen calm with being an automaton. I equate it with enlightenment.

When I trained sales reps I used Nolan Ryan as an example. If you turned on baseball game with Ryan on the mound and did not see the score, you would have no way of telling from his demeanor whether he was pitching a no-hitter or getting shelled.

When someone asks me what my goal is at the poker table, my answer is "to play this hand as well as I can." Nothing more. Nothing less. Poker is a game of making good decisions. Emotions get in the way of making good decisions. Like mercy, emotion has a place in life, but that place is not the poker table.

Not to sound too Klingon (or too Zen), but the warrior leaves his emotions behind when going into battle.

Not to say I've gotten there yet, but it is a goal.

[Equal]

I think golf is a very good sport for a poker player to play. They are very similar when it comes to the mental side.

I'll let others elaborate. (heh, I dont have time right now)

[uuDevil]

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I personally don't equate Zen calm with being an automaton.

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Hey Kurn,

Jennifer Harmon sometimes says things like "I wish I was a robot." "Why can't I be a robot?"

I've posted the link below before, but it's a good story. It's about 30 minutes long, and the "robot" quotes are towards the end....

Scroll down the page to the show called "Meet the Pros" and click on the RealPlayer icon to listen. The WSOP segment is the second one so fast forward through the first one to a time index of 20:45. Of course, you need RealPlayer to listen.

This American Life: Meet the Pros