Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="ObbleeXY, post: 6876226, member: 437841"] Fear and anxiety in poker are not uncommon, especially in less experienced players, but it is also commonly experienced when players move up a level in stakes. Hear is a summary of an article I read on the subject by Paul Seaton: Fear and anxiety are usually caused by the following: 1) Fear of Losing Money 2) Decision making regret (Fear of doing the wrong thing) 3) Fear of failure (Being outplayed by better players) FEAR OF LOSING MONEY Guess what? EVERYONE loses money playing poker. Maybe only in the short run. Maybe only occassionally. Maybe some are up in general...but everyone loses money at some point. So dealing with losses is something you need to find strategies to help overcome. One of the best ways to lose the fear of losing is to simply DO A LOT OF IT. Volume in poker is what is needed to test how successful your strategies are. One win is not enough to say "I play profitably this way" The sample size is too small. The more you play, the more you realise that a loss isn't really important if you're making the right decisions. Right means +EV decisions...not necessarily winning outcomes. DECISION MAKING REGRET Poker is a game of mistakes. The challenge is to not only make fewer mistakes than your opponents, but to make sure that when you do make them, it is not at critical points in the game. Like the Fear of losing Money, you need to flip this fear around. You need to acknowledge that everyone makes mistakes. You will continue to make them. But if you study your game...review your hands after your session, and identify the leaks, you will reduce your fear of doing the wrong thing. GETTING OUTPLAYED Again, we all get outplayed. Most of the time when you sit down at a table, you are not going to be the best player at the table. Your job is not to be the best, but to play a solid strategy. Your job is ALSO to pay attention to how every opponent plays...take notes. Get intel on how they play. Identify betting patterns, bluff tells. To play exploitative poker (as opposed to, say, GTO), you need to classify your opponents. You need to know who the Nits are. Who the TAGs are, Who the LAGs are and who are the fish -- because you'll treat their behaviours differently. Other things to help with anxiety: Mindfulness - Poker is a psychology game. Practice mindfulness to gain more control over your thoughts and feelings. Be Positive - You cannot change the cards, but you can change the way you react to the cards. Naval Gaze - Look inwards and explore your own thoughts and feelings. Dig deeper and find out where they come from. Take breaks. exercise. Eat well. Sleep well. Acquire balance in your life between Work/Non-Work. Family/Non-family, Poker and Non-Poker. Go to the pros - nothing wrong with seeking some professional help. Sometimes you need approaches which have stood the test of time...and science. at any rate -- relax and enjoy. Poker is a great game. Regards, JT [/QUOTE]

Verification

Search

Reply to thread

About CardsChat

Our Community

Our Site

Follow us

Language