Emotional competence

Bigwig · #1 10-24-2005, 05:26 PM

Depending on what day of the week you speak to me, I'll be on the way to earning 200k+ per year within 2 years, or I'll be completely unsure of my ability to play winning poker.

This stems from individual sessions. My Friday session (my last) was break even. This, somehow, constitutes a total disaster in my mind. I don't have the confidence now that I had at 6:00 Friday evening when I sat down.

This is absurd, of course. I understand variance, and I know that having my confidence swing on such a small sample (and not THAT bad of one either) is crazy thinking. Yet, that is how I feel.

How does one combat it? Review past success? Remind yourself of these obvious facts? For me, a day break followed by a winning session usually does the trick.

But to maintain a levelhead, does it simply take time and constant reminders to yourself? Or are some people just inevitably going to suffer confidence variance?

raptor517 · #2 10-24-2005, 05:28 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I understand variance

[/ QUOTE ]

no you dont. learn to live it, and you will understand it. holla

Bigwig · #3 10-24-2005, 05:29 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I understand variance

[/ QUOTE ]

no you dont. learn to live it, and you will understand it. holla

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't tell me what I know! Blearrrrrghhhhh!!!!

zambonidrivr · #4 10-24-2005, 05:30 PM

stop losing.
mix in a book, or some basic math.
if you are not comfortable, perhaps this is not the game for you. i am not trying to be a dick here, but i am suggesting that if you can't keep even tempered about this [censored], it's gonna affect your personal life and everyone involved (-ev).

Bigwig · #5 10-24-2005, 05:41 PM

Oy vei.

Slim Pickens · #6 10-24-2005, 05:40 PM

It's fine to feel bad about a losing session as long as you understand on an intellectual level that it means nothing. Let your emotions run their course without letting them change your logical thinking. I've always secretly hated the cockeyed optimists of the world who give you a "the sun will come out tomorrow" every time something genuinely bad happens.

When we all started playing poker, we were results-oriented. Did I win this hand? If not, that's bad and I did something wrong. Most people get the next step soon enough. "I was a 2:1 favorite when the chips went in so even though I lost I played correctly." Your obsession with winning and losing sessions is similar, so take the next step and get over it. You're obviously a winning player.

If you have to stop playing for a day to get over a bad session, your poor mental attitude is costing you one day's EV worth of $$$. I imagine this is a lot for you.

Bigwig · #7 10-24-2005, 05:42 PM

[ QUOTE ]
It's fine to feel bad about a losing session as long as you understand on an intellectual level that it means nothing. Let your emotions run their course without letting them change your logical thinking. I've always secretly hated the cockeyed optimists of the world who give you a "the sun will come out tomorrow" every time something genuinely bad happens.

When we all started playing poker, we were results-oriented. Did I win this hand? If not, that's bad and I did something wrong. Most people get the next step soon enough. "I was a 2:1 favorite when the chips went in so even though I lost I played correctly." Your obsession with winning and losing sessions is similar, so take the next step and get over it. You're obviously a winning player.

If you have to stop playing for a day to get over a bad session, your poor mental attitude is costing you one day's EV worth of $$$. I imagine this is a lot for you.

[/ QUOTE ]

See, this is a good response.

sofere · #8 10-24-2005, 07:14 PM

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.

#9 10-25-2005, 12:25 AM

[ QUOTE ]
...cockeyed optimists...

[/ QUOTE ]

Sounds like somebody's read one too many Billy Mumphrey stories.

tshort · #10 10-24-2005, 05:57 PM

At the end of your sessions, take 15-30 minutes to review important hands or revisit close calls. If you feel you weren't making mistakes, then you should feel good about the session. If you made blatant mistakes... then you might have a reason to feel depressed about the session.