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Hey guys, I am having a lot of trouble managing the frustration that comes with bad beats, especially when I am playing really well and the cards don’t agree.
Has anyone experienced solving this issue in their own life? I’m not talking about even keeled mellow people like Brad O. I wanna hear from people who have had outbursts and then feel bad about it and are desperately trying to get it under control.
I know the poker brat has worked on this A LOT! I meditate regularly, do yoga, try and employ whatever I can but when your aces keep getting cracked…agh! Lol. Advice?
I also struggle with frustration, not cripplingly so… but nonetheless I struggle. Based on a recommendation from Andrew Neeme and Brad, I started reading “The Mental Game of Poker” – J.Tendler.
I’m only a few chapters in, but already I am much more adept at dealing with the swings of poker, both run-good and bad beats. Have a read!
Matt.
I have the same issue sometimes. But have also realized that you can not control variance at the table. You will get bad run outs, and there is nothing we can do about it. I try to say it to myself all the time, but after grinding out 1/2 and 1/3, there are people that will call on a range that consist of anything in their hand.
It’s about your thoughts (of expectations) and self-talk. Just because you’re 98% to win doesn’t mean the one outer won’t come and when it does, it’s the expectation that leads to the emotional response. First, I think you have to be prepared for it, knowing that it will come some of the time – basic statistics here. Secondly, when it does come, telling yourself it was a possibility (and they got really lucky), I need to keep my cool, because as long as the villain is in the game I have an edge on him/her and we play long enough, I will win all their money. The self-talk can vary from that but that’s the essence I find that helps me. Lastly, realize no one really cares and making a fool of yourself serves no good purpose for anyone except your opponent. Reading Mike Caro’s poker stuff from back in the day is good info on this aspect. Jared Tendler’s stuff already mentioned is good as is the Tao of Poker. Hope it helps.
I had a bad session at the casino recently; afterwards I also felt that I was playing too focussed on my holding and shifted from my own strategy.
So the next time I was heading to the casino; I verbally aloud said a little mantra, basically verbalising key words; objectives for my session… it helped me to stay focussed and play my own game.
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