Poker psychology – Discipline

After you have learn about strategies and odds you still lack in a very critical side of the game – the psychological. If strategies was about learn and understand and odds was about learn and memorize, this field is some worse – it’s about learn and become. Therefore the true is: some players don’t need to read this (even if it wouldn’t harm) because they is already in the right region of the psychological sphere. And unfortunately some players will never get to the right region. A rigid statement, but it’s honest. Some other players will be able to get there and if you are one of then I hope this following advice could get you on the right track.

The reason I do this dividing is because in this part of poker abilities are in such a high degree united with very complex factors that can’t be excluded from the individuality. 

The subject of discipline can’t be enough emphasized. The urgency of being disciplined is just such a big part of the game. For many players this is the thing determining the result in the long run. You can always make some good results just by practising your strategic knowledge, but do you have what it takes to constant play in the top of your game?

Sporadic victories doesn’t really counts, that counts is your bankroll. If two good days is followed by one disastrous your bankroll is going down. You cannot avoid occasional downswings, but you must avoid the tendency that’s puts you in direction for disasters. 

Tilt
Tilt is a description over a player’s condition. When a player is “on tilt” he is reacting to one or several bad beats in manners that bring negative influences to his game. It’s very hard not being emotional in the game of poker, not at least in periods when you are constant unlucky with the cards. It’s natural for people to react upon things they facing.

In poker though the ideal behaviour is to not act like a human being (!), it would be much better if you was a machine. But it’s problematic to become a machine; therefore you must learn to control yourself. If you being over heated by emotions you losing control. And loosing control will often spoil your game.

How do you get in control over the emotions? A good way is to always rationalize the situation instead of feeling the situation. Always remember that the nature of luck isn’t regular albeit symmetrical in an endless time. 

The problem is then you letting the quality of your game be reduced then the cards are unfavourable, because the risk that you don’t being able to take advantage of the moments you got favourable cards – you are too disturbed.

The conclusion turns out: 1) avoid going on tilt by control your feelings with the right thinking; 2) if you nevertheless go on tilt (it will happen), stop playing!

Coldness and heat
The majority will agree with me saying that’s better to make decisions then you are sober but then you are drunk. You can apply this to poker in a transferred sense of coldness and heat. You are “cold” and no-affected before you start playing, then you start playing you getting affected in different ways and it generates “heat”.

Therefore you should make decisions about how much money and how much time you will use in maximum for the session before you start. And then stuck to it, instead of changing your plans then you are affected of things that make you less “sober”.

Please don’t ruin your bankroll because you get over heated, it’s such a waste and you will get demoralised.

   
       
 
 
 
 
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