mental game accountability blog
Hello.
This will be focused solely on the mental/psychological aspect of grinding poker.
The plan for this blog is sim
I have a bullet list of some bad habits and one is "internal and external grumbling over variance". I find that when the internal grumbling becomes external I've clearly reached a point where my emotions are starting to have a negative impact on my decisions. Berating an opponent in chat definitely falls into that category, of course. Question is what do you do about it mid-ses
sry for not replying.
I think that's great, and in the past I've also thought that that is a kind of threshold and thing to watch out for.
How to react is the hard question, right? I've often tried to re-set, recover, found it hard and then even when I thought I'd recovered, later completely lost control and found myself in a very dark hole... thinking in hind-sight that from the first outburst I must have been firmly on the wrong track, so off-balance that actually everything after that point had just been adding weight...
And of course it's difficult if there are tables you feel like you can't quit.
Took a break due to a mild injury,
and then missed 3 sessions partly because 2+2 wasn't loading in my browser.
All 3 sessions very chill at lower limit, nothing special.
Yes, there were some problems with the site for a couple of days, but everything is working fine now.
short easy session yesterday at the lower limit.
first session after a long break due to summer, injury, focusing on other projects. Need to get back on the grind though...
fairly short session yesterday tableselecting the higher limit.
wasn't in serious grinding mindset. lost a very silly hand early on against a fish, then from there on I couldn't take it seriously and played very spewily against the fish, quitting after losing a bit despite running hot...
medium length session 8-tabling lower limit. Went fine, was able to take it seriously and maintain a suitable level of focus whilst taking it easy.
back on the grind after several weeks of summer break, only playing some light casino sessions.
2 days ago played 1 hour at lower limit, very light and pleasant considering how long I hadn't played.
2 hour session.
OK - first half easy, 2nd half slightly fatigued and missing some subtle dicisions
thanks!
medium length 3rd session last night.
fatigued, but fittingly adjusted my focus to the games.
2 medium length sessions yesterday evening/night, felt much longer than they were.
some minor instances of a minor annoying error and one instance of a major error after which I briefly felt bad but recovered.
problem and solution is primarily technical I think, so if I practice those spots, the error and annoyance will be alleviated.
Have you read MGOP 1&2? If Yes, what are your biggest takeaways?
(Started to read first part myself)
P.S. Gl in your grind!
nope, I never read any poker books. I just picked up some key ideas along the way. Couldn't say what specifically Mental Game of Poker's idea is though...?
fairly long session yesterday
fatigued after 3 days of drinking/partying.
issue that definitely cost me:
While I knew I was in bad shape and should just play very carefully/conservatively, I didn't stick to this and instead ran some huge bluffs, e.g. bluff 4betting river for full stack.
I think this is because when I'm fatigued and try to play carefully, I can easily end up disengaging and feeling bored and then over-compensate by pushing way past the boundaries of my normal game...
Not sure how to solve this.
Great blog, thank you. Do you play only NLH?
Don't play fatigued?
Treat the game like a sport?
If you were still in recovery from partying and than played bad at (football, baseball, etc.), would you not know how to fix that problem?
short-medium session at lower limit.
fairly fresh and session went very smoothly/easily, which is noteworthy considering my mood was quire bad today. I was worried about how I would feel and play, but seems that poker-motivation and OK physical condition determined the in-session mental game.
Don't play fatigued?
Treat the game like a sport?
If you were still in recovery from partying and than played bad at (football, baseball, etc.), would you not know how to fix that problem?
- Firstly, It's not necessary to avoid playing fatigued.
At least for me and in the games I'm playing, my winrate and mental game can be good enough when at least somewhat fatigued.
Let's say my fresh is 10bb.
My fatigued WR, assuming I adjust my play to my mental state, might be 5bb.
However, if I try to play the same intensity as when fresh, WR might drop to zero or below...
- Secondly, I can't really avoid playing fatigued or treat poker like a sport.
couple of factors:
I've gone through longer-term phases of general fatigue - I would end up basically not playing at all, which isn't an option. I'm not in such bad shape right now, but true a-game is very rare for various reasons. It's given me a different perspective on how I used to be able to play and how other "grinders" play - I can now better relate to many grinders who never really experience what I would call a-game.
Also, I don't live to play, I play to live: Poker isn't my main priority in life like it used to be, it's just how I make money. So I have to balance energy between poker and the areas of my life I care more about. One of those is indeed a sport - and If I have an intense stretch of that sport planned I basically wouldn't drink any alcohol for months. But sometimes other aspects of life take priority, especially during summer months.
- Firstly, It's not necessary to avoid playing fatigued.At least for me and in the games I'm playing, my winrate and mental game can be good enough when at least somewhat fatigued.Let's say my fresh is 10bb. My fatigued WR, assuming I adjust my play to my mental state, might be 5bb.However, if I try to play the same intensity as when fresh, WR might drop to zero or below...- Se
ok, mushrooms then. 😀
second session yesterday, medium length 1k hands, also went well.
Both phenomenological and indirect game-technical indicators that my mental-game was at a fairly good level throughout.
Feeling more optimistic now than after that session several days ago that was too much for my mental game to handle after such a long break barely playing.
well ****, it happened. i tilted. so much for that. dazed. wanted to smash a beer bottle against my head. at least i didn;'t do that.
Meditate and travel back to the OP where you showed tremendous dedication
