Disproportionate Emotional Reactions Generated Through Poker
My last 2 days have been utterly bizarre in terms of how my emotions have interacted with my net results, and I am trying to figure out if this is a typical human reaction.
I decided to try for a 100 block in that Stars sit and go promo at the $10 level and was doing exceptionally well after 82 of them (mid 1300s score at that point). I then ran into a 12 sit and go block where nothing could go right no matter what situation I was in. 1-7 with pair vs lower pair, 2-18 in races, it got comical after a while. Happens, though I kind of wish it happened in sit and gos 101-112 of the week :P
While this happened, I also completed a couple of monthly casino bonuses I do and also the silly Will Hill poker one for this month which I (and everyone except high stakes players should) still do, and with some fairly silly good luck that netted me several times more then the loss of the above 12 sit and gos.
Yet, despite this I am still in utter anger about the sit and gos, when if you had told me at the beginning of yesterday I would end the next 2 days up net xxxx amount I would say that sounds great.
I like to think of myself as usually a logical person so I am kind of annoyed that despite the net results, I am angered by how I got to them. I should just think "ok up xxxx for 2 days, extreme bad luck in Stars poker, extreme good luck in the casino bonuses and W Hill poker- goofy but it worked out a bit above expectations in the end anyways" and move on. Yet the frustration remains for now :P
Can anyone relate and or provide theories to this type of unequal reactions to events when in the end the only real thing that matters is the bottom line? I like to think I am not too insane, but maybe I just am
I decided to try for a 100 block in that Stars sit and go promo at the $10 level and was doing exceptionally well after 82 of them (mid 1300s score at that point). I then ran into a 12 sit and go block where nothing could go right no matter what situation I was in. 1-7 with pair vs lower pair, 2-18 in races, it got comical after a while. Happens, though I kind of wish it happened in sit and gos 101-112 of the week :P
While this happened, I also completed a couple of monthly casino bonuses I do and also the silly Will Hill poker one for this month which I (and everyone except high stakes players should) still do, and with some fairly silly good luck that netted me several times more then the loss of the above 12 sit and gos.
Yet, despite this I am still in utter anger about the sit and gos, when if you had told me at the beginning of yesterday I would end the next 2 days up net xxxx amount I would say that sounds great.
I like to think of myself as usually a logical person so I am kind of annoyed that despite the net results, I am angered by how I got to them. I should just think "ok up xxxx for 2 days, extreme bad luck in Stars poker, extreme good luck in the casino bonuses and W Hill poker- goofy but it worked out a bit above expectations in the end anyways" and move on. Yet the frustration remains for now :P
Can anyone relate and or provide theories to this type of unequal reactions to events when in the end the only real thing that matters is the bottom line? I like to think I am not too insane, but maybe I just am
Comments
The only people that can play them and remain emotionally unattached are Mother Teresa and Mahatma Gandi.
i quiet SNG and move to cash game.
i can't handle the emotion.
The losses emotional toll seems much worse than wins emotionally high...... despite winning more than you lose you feel a net bad effect.
I try to keep track of my wins in statistically significant hand quantities. ... (on the 30,000 hand groupings.)
If you examine your short term results too closely you'll go nuts.
Last couple of times, I dropped 3 buyins per session.
This time I'm up six buyins.
Short term results like how you did per session is totally insignificant.
Worry about errors you see in your play... not how well you did...
If you don't think you make errors you're not looking hard enough.
Barry Grenstein says he makes about 20 errors every time he plays.
I try to avoid the big egregious errors but I still make them...
The reason this formula is true is that variance doesn't give a crap about me, you or anybody else. She can be your friend or your enemy at the drop of a hat. That's why we don't like her.
The key is to keep her out of our decision-making process. If I knew how to do that, I'd write a book.
Winning or losing is no longer what I look out for. I look at how many mistakes I make in comparision. When examining your play further you will see that there may have been a mistake in your play that actually cost you the hand in comparision to the other player playing the hand badly or calling without the proper odds/outs/etc.
Anyone who plays with me actually finds me rather annoying because I always have a good time even if I get called preflop with 45 and I lose with KK even after a raise of 6-7x the BB to prevent this from happening.
On the other hand sometimes you do all you can to prevent bad play but it just happens. Remember part of poker is still gambling and there are players that just want to do that.
Cliff notes:
1)Bankroll management prevents tilt (just open a new table)
2)Stats prevent tilt (better stats you keep the better you feel about your play long term)
3)Concentrate on errors in your play more than your opponents (you want to get better and you want your opponents to keep making those stupid 1-2outer calls)
4)Remember at the end of the day its gambling....there has to be a winner and a loser. Mitigate your risk accordingly.
Get tested, you might have syphillis. (House humour)
Now thats a beat....
One point that I can make about all of this in tournament poker is this: If you call AI as 2-1 fave 3 times in tourney you are quite likely to be eliminated. If you shove 3 times as a 50/50 and never get called you are still alive for sure.
P.S. Everybody tilts when they take bad beats. If you don't understand the math and variance you tilt the first time 64o beats your KK AIPF. If you do understand the math you tilt after a month of this.
I have learned to just log off when I feel the monster rearing his head. =D