I decided to try to complain less this year. It isn't really a New Year's resolution. I just want to be more positive about things poker and non-poker related.
This post isn't meant to be a whiny "whoa is me" post. In the past I might have posted the graph below with something about how bad I am running. You'll get none of that today. This post is really to highlight how much my perspective on things has changed.
The first couple of days of February haven't treated me well. I have played 5 or 6 sessions of 50NL full ring Rush Poker on FTP (although HEM has them grouped as 4 because I had too short of intervals between some sessions.) I am barely break even (up $58) over 4,092 hands, but I am running $306 below expected value. This might have been a reason to get frustrated in the past, but not this time. I haven't let losing 80/20s, 70/30s, or 60/40s effect my play. No tilt for me!! Let me say that again - No tilt for me!! My mind is in a much better place poker wise. As I mentioned in my previous post, if you tilt easily then Rush Poker is not for you. Bad beats will lead to tilting and spewing your bankroll.
I don't know if I have had that "Ah ha" moment recently, but it sure feels like it. My biggest leak in the past has been tilt. It might not be the full on definition of tilt, but it is/was tilt. I didn't spew stacks, but I would get very stubborn when running bad and make a call or raise when a fold was the obvious choice. My tilt would make me less likely to think someone really had a hand, when all I had to do was step back and look at the information to know that it was -EV to continue. I haven't completely fixed this problem, but I have reduced it dramatically. I sit back and really exam if I just got unlucky or if I played a hand poorly after I lose a big pot. If I think it was due to poor play, I might sit out for a few minutes and review my biggest winners and losers of the current session as a gut check to see if I feel like I am playing good or bad. If I feel I am playing bad I will usually quit for at least an hour or so.
Bottom line for me - Complaining less = Tilting Less. I'm not in a "Rush" to post my latest bad beat on the forums now. No one cares. Bad beats happen. Everyone has a story of running bad or how horrible their beat was. Again, no one cares. The real question is will the beat lead to you eventually being a stronger or weaker player - both short and long term?
Next time you get your set in on the flop and your opponent hits perfect, perfect for the suckout, maybe sit back and say, "I got unlucky, but if I keep playing against guys like this I am going to be a huge winner in the long term."
Good luck at the tables!! Stay Tilt-Free!!
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