Psychotherapy to increase winrate?

[Slimmah]

Has anyone actually gone through any therapy for emotional problems to better their poker returns? I'm a long term winning player, but I'm positive I'm only at 70% efficiency because I have a serious problem with rage. I'm a mathematician - so it's not a logical issue understanding the nature of beats/variance/etc, my emotions simply take over after taking too many beats in a certain timeframe.

Obviously, at my middle limits, any therapy that would increase my return would be worth it's cost, I'm wondering about its effectiveness.

[RiverTheNuts]

Interesting Q... I often will piss away a bet in a blurr of red anger after I obviously got sucked out on...

[Malachii]

Yeah, I made a post the other night about using affirmations to put yourself in a positive mindframe. I think there's a tremendous profit potential. I don't have a problem with rage per se, but I often make plays that I know are stupid and go against my instincts out of boredom and a lack of discipline.

[dsm]

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I made a post the other night about using affirmations to put yourself in a positive mindframe. I think there's a tremendous profit potential.

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You can also try repeating a mantra over & over again to yourself. Richard Lewis from Curb Your Enthusiasm swears by it. The mantra he recommends is "Jai Ya." Feel free to use it.

[Dan Mezick]

You're on to something. It's not you against them, it's just you. Any psychological-preparation seriously done will increase your win rate.

99% of the players play for drama, not cash. Recognize this in yourself and watch results improve quickly.

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Drama:
A situation or succession of events in real life having the dramatic progression or emotional effect characteristic of a play: the drama of the prisoner's escape and recapture.


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Repetitive dramatic behavior at the table (same anger sequences, berating others at the table in the same patterns whereever you play etc) is more than a clue regarding your true motives for playing.

For many players, drama is the payoff and there is always a corresponding cover story that explains that away.

NoLimit tables in particular are a great place to observe this.

[popniklas]

If you, as you say, have a _serious_ problem with rage, I think you should try psychotherapy. At least you could visit a therapist and explain your problem to him/her and then the two of you could discuss whether or not therapy would be worthwhile.

Perhaps it will help you a lot, perhaps not, but at least I think you should give a phone call to a therapist and explain your problem and your situation. At least that's my two cent.

[neorab]

I've got a schizo active sort of problem and started seeing a doctor about it about a year ago. At that point, I was playing fairly well online, but taking all of my profit and losing it at around 9 big beats an hour at the local poker room. Incrediable social anxiety.

When I started getting therapy and medication, my entire game changed. The meds seemed to slow my mind down to the point that keeping track of odds, bets, patterns and even the action was difficult. The plus side was that I started to understand what my social anxiety was doing to my game. It took a few months to be able to handle the meds well enough to play a decent game for long sessions, but it came back.

Before all I saw was the math, even playing live against drunken gamblors. I pay attention to the way players play more now. I also don't fold kings into people because I think the drunk russian is really a KGB agent who is going to kill me in the parking lot with a magic knife, so that's nice.

[Aytumious]

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I also don't fold kings into people because I think the drunk russian is really a KGB agent who is going to kill me in the parking lot with a magic knife, so that's nice.

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You can never be too careful [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[Shakezula]

this reminds me of what a player had said on one of the WPT shows a couple years back. it was the guy with the shaved head who ended up playing heads-up with Noli Francisco(?). he had said that he became involved with Hawaiian shamanism and such, and that working on himself, and on his own personal development, had made his game better.

if to play better poker is a reason to work on yourself, go for it. any incentive at all is a good enough reason to do so, and having anything "in your corner", so to speak, urging you on, is better than having nothing at all.

[Al Schoonmaker]

By chance, I'm writing an article, "Don't take poker too seriously." Your post illustrates my main point.

You state that you "have a serious problem with rage" and wonder whether therapy will increase your winrate. It will probably increase your winrate, but you've got your priorities wrong.

If you have a serious problem with rage, you had better get therapy before it has much more serious effects than costing you some money. For example, it is almost certainly damaging your relationships with family and friends, and it can easily ruin your career. Those effects are immeasusably more important than your winrate.

Regards,

Al