To be taken to the level of art, any complex activity requires deliberate and elaborate introspection. So much so, that even to be able not to engage in poker, one must be able to know oneself more intimately than most people are willing to. Introspection is difficult because our consciousness struggles against self-revelation; because self-conscious thinking is hard and the only way to be good at introspection is to be constantly self-conscious; and because it is easier to dissolve in outward activity rather than deal with your own character. That is why many people who would gladly play less poker paradoxically play more and more, yet have no idea why they do or how to stop.
You may have come to poker because you had no idea what to do with yourself in the first place. Persons without purpose regularly engage in pointless activity. If you just won’t take any introspection, but still want to deal with the problem, a possible way is to deliberately focus on the idea that poker is about winning and that nobody, including yourself, despite what may have been happening for the past year since you had taken up this accursed game, nobody likes to lose.
Focus on the fact that your decision to stay or leave directly influences your profits from the game and that you just can’t afford to lose. Then it will become apparent that the only reason to stay in a game is because there is a good chance to win. Reason broadly with this ultimate goal and ideology in mind. It does not matter whether you are wining or losing at present; it does not matter whether you are being lucky or suffering a bad spell; what matters is the final overall gain; and if you see clearly that the current game, however great it is going, will in the end translate into overall loss, leave the game.
If you wish to play safe and adopt a hit-and-run strategy, go ahead. If your goal is to win, though, you must play with clarity of mind, and know when to hold and when to fold.
You must also realize that all hands in poker are dealt by pure mathematical chance, not an evil entity which haunts you. Therefore it does not make sense to feel especially anxious when the game isn’t going particularly well or be rash when you think that “luck is on your side now.” On the other hand, self-fulfilling prophesies are a real enough psychological phenomenon: after a good game and some luck, you success creates the impression of a good player; you play better, with greater confidence and aggression; while your opponents instinctively feel weaker and thus assume weaker roles, playing worse, feeling unlucky.
The important thing is not to let the same happen to you – you will have to allow at least this much introspection and admit that you are afraid of chance and have a tendency to demonize it, but that it is only a quirk of your nature and should not control either your game or your life.
The author of this article plays online poker and gets Rakeback at Players Only where they offer the highest Players Only Rakeback.
Visit Rakeback Solution for the best Rakeback rates and Rakeback Promotions.