Emotional competence

good point!

One thing that has helped me with that is looking over my past performance. because of the way i choose to set my goals, i can see my positive daily performance. i had lost 3 str8 about 2 weeks ago and it really hurt my confidence, but i kept reviewing hand histories and saw i was playing the same game i always have played, but i was getting sucked out on. lost AA 5 str8 times i had it, and mix in losing KK 3 str8 in there, i lost premium hands preflop 8 str8...hard to swallow, but nuttin u can do. I look at my daily performance and realize it will only take me 2 days to win it back...and, historically, this is a bad run for me, so things are bound to change...and i have since won 7 str8 session...a solid track record i guess is the best for keeping my mind str8...which doesnt help either LOL

Sorry guys, I am trying to help...not trying ot lead others astray [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

well, grasping a concept and controlling emotion are two different things...

[sofere]

I think this is the best advice in the thread. If you have enough SNGs under your belt to have a strong idea of what you're ROI is at that level (which I'm sure you do), then every session you play is worth $X whether you happen to lose, breaking even or win in that session.

I think that thinking of a session in this way helps keep a detached emotional state about a single session, but may not work for an extended downswing.

Something that might be a little more +EV than taking a day off is to move down a level or two for that day and crush them.

[zipppy]

I was not flaming you. I didn't berate you as a person or player; I'm simply trying to disagree with you and point out that it could be a dangerous way to think.

Please don't think that anyone who disagrees with you is just trying to be an [censored]. I'm sure that you have insightful things to share, I'm equally sure that you are off in some of your thinking. Everyone is.

[Blarg]

I didn't think raptor's reply was bad. There's a difference between knowing something in a sort of off in the distance fashion and knowing it up close and personal in a way that it's really integrated into you and matters. Everyone knows that, but knowing isn't good enough. It suggests you don't really understand, in a way that counts, what you think you know if you can't behave accordingly. It's kind of like knowing it but not believing it, which is like not knowing it at all.

I'm hoping in another 10 or 20k games, I might know what I already know, too. But for real this time.

I didnt think that nor did i mean to imply...sorry zip.

No, but what i was trying to say is i was giving advice how i overcome negative mindsets and thinking...and i just dont understand how it can be wrong because its what i do. maybe my logic is flawed, but whatever logic you need regardless of how flawed, if it works to keep your mind fresh and positive, thats all that matters. i would rather do what gets the results. if pushing 72o was making me money, id do that too! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I think we are all egomaniacs in here with an aggressive, ultra-competitive side...i say you gotta find a way to feed that side of yourself when your luck runs cold.

[Slim Pickens]

There's also a huge difference between how a recreational player should approach the game and how a professional should approach the game. A rec player is motivated firstly by enjoyment. Most of that enjoyment comes from money, but some of it comes from the "gambler's high" one gets from winning. If you play for enjoyment and stopping with a winning day makes you enjoy your hobby more, then do that. I'm seriously demotivated to play now since my big MTT score, so I'm not going to play for a while. It's -$EV to do that, but I have a job and I don't need the money. If I wake up and don't feel like going hiking, I don't go hiking. No one should care if I do or don't because I do it for fun.

Bigwig is a pro and that's totally different. What he's saying is essentially "I'm calling in sick whenever the hell I feel like it and damn it if it affects my position there." This is a bad attitude for a working person to take toward his job.

There's also the difference between little downswings and big-time funks. If a professional hits 2% ROI over 2500 tournaments, it's likely his game has changed and is in major need of repair. He needs time off to do this. If a professional is at 2% ROI over 100 games, that's variance and it's unprofessional to let something integral to your job get you down. Of course, going on tilt and losing is worse than not playing, but that's like saying calling in sick for a week because you don't like your job is better than coming in and punching your boss in the face. Sure it is, but...

[bigt439]

... go on...

I was responding to when he said he understood variance.

And to be more direct with the emotional competence issue, if you can't handle breaking even on a day, then consider not playing as much poker or lower stakes. I mean breaking even? It gets alot worse than that.

I dont think Raptor or your response is bad, but i think we are forgetting human nature. We all know murder is wrong, but why are there so many people in prison for it...we can understand things, but when it comes to controlling emotion and ego, that comes with experience. and you cant talk someone into being more experienced...sometimes you just gotta ride the wave to understand it.

AGREED!