Oh, the swings. They'll kill me one day.
I'm not sure what sparked it, maybe it was the 'times' getting tough around here in my real life, but I was in a very stressed mood for like 5 days there and it translated directly into lost money on the felts. I dropped around $900 before I smartened up yesterday and got back to 8-tabling full ring which netted me a nice $250 and put me back on track. I'm not sure what it is with 6-max, but I need serious coaching there or lots and lots of discipline from myself because it seems like I just can't beat it.
My play was getting a little ridiculous - I was in a state of mind of chasing losses that I hadn't seen in quite a while. I'm not sure why this is getting more frequent lately, but my guess is because of my personal life. I'm not playing as much, getting more slobbish and more idle, and it's getting pretty evident that my overall state of mind definitely translates into my poker game.
My confidence was basically shot and all I needed was a winning session to break me through that rough patch. I've been a little depressed lately for some reason (maybe the empty bottles of liquor and beer cans and an ashy pipe have something to do with it), and I've been trying to find ways to basically think positively to regain my confidence.
I'm a firm believer that if you're thinking positively then in general not much can go wrong, and conversely if you're dwelling on negative thoughts and have no confidence, a lot can go wrong (see the law of attraction, minus all the bullshit). Think about the last time you had a horrible downswing and couldn't get those past losses out of your mind; it sometimes seems like you can't possibly win. Now think about when you're playing poker or another sport and you're 'in the zone'. On a hot streak or just feeling in perfect physical shape or whatever - nothing ever seems to go wrong then. That's the state of mind I'm trying to reach at the moment but my issues away from the felts are basically keeping me in a mixed up emotional state and it's affecting my game.
As much as I'd like to sit down and continue to grind out full ring all day today, I have some tedious filing stuff to do for my mom so I'm not sure I'll be able to squeeze too much play in.
Back by popular demand (ie myself), we have Mr. Tilt-Killer again:
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Back on track, I think
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5 comments:
Hey man, great blog. Downswings happen and sometimes you just gotta walk away. If you KNOW life is bothering you, then it'll effect your play - undoubtedly.
You need every edge mentally to stay one or two steps ahead of the competition ... so I'm not sure why you are dabbling with "ash pipes" and liquor. It's a waste of time, only kills brain cells, and numbs your ability now and in the future to make decisions.
Nice to see you back in the groove Chuck. Personally I dont know why your changing to 6-max, especially when your killing Full ring. If it ain't broke, don't fix it etc.....
I think 6max is just a different game. It's less drastic but it'd be similar to a NLHE winning player wondering why he couldn't win at limit. Personally I've tried a few sessions at 6max and gotten killed. I'm also not positive but isn't the rake higher there? (not percentage-wise, but when the same rake is only split between 6 and not 9 it's bigger per person)
If you can win like you do at full ring, I'd stick with that, unless you have some other reason other than attempting to profit for playing 6max.
Good to see you're back on track.
imo 6 max is more about aggression than 9 max, but that's with limited exposure.
And whatever is going on in ones personal life, especially if it's negative, can feed into how you play. Some people seem capable of keeping things separate but I'm one of those that the balance of desire/frustration/aggression/confidence needed to play poker properly is so tenuous that it easily gets knocked askew.
NineLions
Thanks for all the support and input guys, much appreciated.
As for my reasoning for 6-max, well you're just plain in so many more marginal situations and the fact that, if played properly, one can improve so much faster at 6-max than at full ring appeals to me. Basically I see FR as a game of nut-peddling and 6m as a game of steals, resteals and playing your position.
FR simply takes way less skill and I want to get better, but my MO right now should be profits, not progress. I'll probably be taking shots in the future too but not before studying 6-max long and hard.
Again thanks for the input guys.
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