Relating to that Last Post (or: Why Tilt Sucks)
I can't believe that I'm quoting my own post (which was a quote of someone else's post), but I just thought of something brilliant:
Why is tilt such a problem online? Many players (myself included) are results oriented. We are playing poker not only because we love it, but because we want to win money. I'm right so far, right? When you play live at a casino, you buy in, and you're handed a rack of checks. You get to the table, and you plop your chips in front of you. You play, and you can kinda tell if you're up or down, but as long as the chips you have in front of you somewhat resemble the pile you brought with you, you're good. At least I am.
Online? You are constantly reminded, right in front of you, in plain view, of exactly how shitty you're doing in that session. Don't get me wrong, in no-limit, it's quite useful. In limit, you're either calling/betting/raising or you're not. I see that number, perhaps that I'm down 10BB in the first two orbits, and I find myself playing looser to try and get it back. To pimp a blog and describe another's analogy, the Richmond Rounder is a golfer like me, and I will tell you that when you are a high-90's/low-100's golfer and you have that ugly first hole, you begin to squeeze the clubs tighter, and really try to get back those strokes.
First--you can't get them back. Not the chips you lost to that bastard who sucked out on you, and damn sure not those 2 strokes you spent hacking your way out of the tall heather after you sliced your drive halfway to hell. Second--unless you've progressed to that next level of either game, this is almost an unconscious response for someone naturally competitive like me. You want to try harder to get it back and succeed. Whether it's pushing a bad position in Holdem, or trying a risky approach from the rough, you try harder to get it back. If it doesn't work, you either lose another hand, or you push another shot, but either way, you get frustrated. This is the definition of tilt. Golf, poker, whatever the game. In golf, it's called the yips. In poker it's tilt.
ScurvyDog looks at the big picture, like I do at a live game, and he mentions "playing each individual hand optimally." That is the absolute best advice you can get. Play each hand optimally. If somebody sucked out on you with a 74o and cracked your aces, who cares? Wnen the cards are dealt again, does he have 74o? Probably not. Are you dealt aces again? Probably not. Are the flop, turn, and river the same? Probably not. (explosively profound thought coming up:)
Read that again. Unless you have allowed the Tilt Monster to come and mind-screw you, whatever happened in that last hand is done and over with.
Example: At the Trop, I got sucked out on by a guy playing T5o, who called my raises all the way with a pair of tens, then turned two pair. He even had the balls to taunt me after. If I were home, playing online, I'd see that reflected in my stack, get all pissed off, and God and baby Jebus only know what would have happened. Live, without a real care for the actual number in front of me, I literally laughed in his face. Because I knew that if he continued to play that way, I'd get the best of him. I did. I looked at Poker Tracker, and found that my percentage of winning sessions online is 55%. I've played live ring games 8 times (yes, I know all about sample size), and I've won in seven of those sessions. My loss? One for $5.
The number representing your remaining stack has to be there, whether you're playing limit or no-limit, stud, or O8B. For me, maybe the key is paying a little less attention to it, and paying more attention to just playing each hand optimally. Great play will get rewarded in the long run. It's just inevitable. Look at the pros. Other than Hellmuth, and maybe Matusow, how many of them really allow that crap to get to them? Look at Ivey, Lederer, Daniel Negreanu, all the rest. Daniel seems like he's legitimately having a blast at the table. It might just be image, but if it works... Did anyone see how Lederer got bounced from the US Poker Championships at the Taj? He flopped trip 10's, went all-in, turned the full house, then got beat by a guy who drew a bigger full house. Not sure if it was a bad beat necessarily, but he just got up, shook the hands or the players at his table, then left. With a smile. He made the best play. He had been sucked out on before, but he realized that he made the best play. More profound stuff:
You can play optimally, but if you push with trip Aces post-flop, and a guy just knows he's gonna call no matter what, even though he has 23o, and all he has is a pair of deuces, he's calling you. If he draws out quads, nothing you can do can or will change that. Play each hand optimally. Do your best to ensure a winning session, tournament, or whatever you're playing. If a guy makes a bad call and wins, all that will do is make him feel more invincible, and the next time he makes that crappy call, maybe you'll be there waiting for him.
The bottom line: Spend a little less time sweating your stack. Sweat the cards in front of you, and try to make the best possible play on every hand. If you play well, you will win far more than you lose.
It may sound basic, but that is one of the keys to this game.
I think a lot of success in poker is internal smoke and mirrors, as far as finding a way to trick yourself into ignoring the short-term stings of bad beats and suckouts, to divorce yourself from all of the factors that lead to a visit from the Tilt Monster, solely focusing on playing each individual hand optimally.
--ScurvyDog
Why is tilt such a problem online? Many players (myself included) are results oriented. We are playing poker not only because we love it, but because we want to win money. I'm right so far, right? When you play live at a casino, you buy in, and you're handed a rack of checks. You get to the table, and you plop your chips in front of you. You play, and you can kinda tell if you're up or down, but as long as the chips you have in front of you somewhat resemble the pile you brought with you, you're good. At least I am.
Online? You are constantly reminded, right in front of you, in plain view, of exactly how shitty you're doing in that session. Don't get me wrong, in no-limit, it's quite useful. In limit, you're either calling/betting/raising or you're not. I see that number, perhaps that I'm down 10BB in the first two orbits, and I find myself playing looser to try and get it back. To pimp a blog and describe another's analogy, the Richmond Rounder is a golfer like me, and I will tell you that when you are a high-90's/low-100's golfer and you have that ugly first hole, you begin to squeeze the clubs tighter, and really try to get back those strokes.
First--you can't get them back. Not the chips you lost to that bastard who sucked out on you, and damn sure not those 2 strokes you spent hacking your way out of the tall heather after you sliced your drive halfway to hell. Second--unless you've progressed to that next level of either game, this is almost an unconscious response for someone naturally competitive like me. You want to try harder to get it back and succeed. Whether it's pushing a bad position in Holdem, or trying a risky approach from the rough, you try harder to get it back. If it doesn't work, you either lose another hand, or you push another shot, but either way, you get frustrated. This is the definition of tilt. Golf, poker, whatever the game. In golf, it's called the yips. In poker it's tilt.
ScurvyDog looks at the big picture, like I do at a live game, and he mentions "playing each individual hand optimally." That is the absolute best advice you can get. Play each hand optimally. If somebody sucked out on you with a 74o and cracked your aces, who cares? Wnen the cards are dealt again, does he have 74o? Probably not. Are you dealt aces again? Probably not. Are the flop, turn, and river the same? Probably not. (explosively profound thought coming up:)
The hand that just happened has absolutely NOTHING to do with what will happen in this hand, unless YOU allow it to.
Read that again. Unless you have allowed the Tilt Monster to come and mind-screw you, whatever happened in that last hand is done and over with.
Example: At the Trop, I got sucked out on by a guy playing T5o, who called my raises all the way with a pair of tens, then turned two pair. He even had the balls to taunt me after. If I were home, playing online, I'd see that reflected in my stack, get all pissed off, and God and baby Jebus only know what would have happened. Live, without a real care for the actual number in front of me, I literally laughed in his face. Because I knew that if he continued to play that way, I'd get the best of him. I did. I looked at Poker Tracker, and found that my percentage of winning sessions online is 55%. I've played live ring games 8 times (yes, I know all about sample size), and I've won in seven of those sessions. My loss? One for $5.
The number representing your remaining stack has to be there, whether you're playing limit or no-limit, stud, or O8B. For me, maybe the key is paying a little less attention to it, and paying more attention to just playing each hand optimally. Great play will get rewarded in the long run. It's just inevitable. Look at the pros. Other than Hellmuth, and maybe Matusow, how many of them really allow that crap to get to them? Look at Ivey, Lederer, Daniel Negreanu, all the rest. Daniel seems like he's legitimately having a blast at the table. It might just be image, but if it works... Did anyone see how Lederer got bounced from the US Poker Championships at the Taj? He flopped trip 10's, went all-in, turned the full house, then got beat by a guy who drew a bigger full house. Not sure if it was a bad beat necessarily, but he just got up, shook the hands or the players at his table, then left. With a smile. He made the best play. He had been sucked out on before, but he realized that he made the best play. More profound stuff:
No matter how much you try, or how perfect you play, you CANNOT control what your opponents do.
You can play optimally, but if you push with trip Aces post-flop, and a guy just knows he's gonna call no matter what, even though he has 23o, and all he has is a pair of deuces, he's calling you. If he draws out quads, nothing you can do can or will change that. Play each hand optimally. Do your best to ensure a winning session, tournament, or whatever you're playing. If a guy makes a bad call and wins, all that will do is make him feel more invincible, and the next time he makes that crappy call, maybe you'll be there waiting for him.
The bottom line: Spend a little less time sweating your stack. Sweat the cards in front of you, and try to make the best possible play on every hand. If you play well, you will win far more than you lose.
It may sound basic, but that is one of the keys to this game.
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