Texas Holdem Poker Lessons on Minimizing Tilt

A lot of my texas holdem poker lessons surrounding tilt will be overlapping but most of it will be new material.

I hope you read all of my articles and texas holdem poker lessons on discipline and form your own opinion. And I hope you read all of the good stuff that's out there.

What would happen if you started improving or even eliminating everything that isn't your A-game (the best you are capable of). How much more would you win or how much less would you lose?

What if you just stopped playing everytime you dipped below your B-game or even A-game? Imagine the impact it would have on your game.

Nevermind all the texas holdem poker lessons that tell you to make big bluffs or big moves. This is where the money is at for most players!

A lot of players are a bit too serious about the game of texas holdem.

From my own experience when I start getting serious I start getting bored and frustrated. I play my best when I'm focusing on the game as a challenge, as a war you could say.

Figuring out what my opponents have and how I can do better than them.

My Demons

What are the things that block my way?

  • Not having enough cushion in my bankroll (playing underrolled)
  • Wanting to win right now
  • Being in a bad mood from life circumstances

These might be my top 3 ones. I'm sure you have some of your own which you must identify in order to make progress.

Remember, there is no rush and make sure to keep it fun :)

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.
- Confucius

Turning Mistakes Into Gold

Doyle Brunson likes to say "Experience is the best teacher" and I tend to agree with him.

Sure, it helps if you have a poker teacher, read and study texas holdem poker lessons AND play to get experience.

It's usually assumed normal that when you make a mistake, you should feel bad. And that is the most common response. This is especially true in poker because it is your money that is at stake.

So if you lose money you failed, you suck, right? Nope :)

We are conditioned to have this response. If we do something wrong everyone will laugh at us. But what most don't understand is that mistakes are essential to making progress.

It is only when you do not learn from your mistakes that you are making a mistake!

We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.
- Samuel Smiles

The Short-Term View

Let's look at this from a short-term perspective. You make a call because you weren't sure what your opponent had, and you lost. Maybe you just read it in a texas holdem poker lesson and wanted to try something new ;)

But where is the fault? Did you have enough evidence to make that call?

If not, how can you improve? Could you gather more evidence before making looser calls or was it just an unlucky break?

This is where a poker teacher or good poker playing friends come in and help you analyze your hands. Two minds are better than one when it comes to learning poker.

The Long-Term View

What about the larger perspective? Everyone who ever became great has made big mistakes and they've learned from those mistakes.

Take the mistakes you make in poker, and write them down to discuss and learn from later.

When I started saving all the hands and situations I had trouble with, I started improving rapidly. Because when I talked about those hands with friends and teachers I learned how to handle them and how to approach them.

When those same situations came up the next time I was playing, I knew what to do.

Another texas holdem poker lesson learned :)

What happens if you do this on a constant basis? Daily, Weekly, Monthly?

Think about that...

Tiny drops of water form oceans.

The More Mistakes I Find the Better I Get

I try to find as many mistakes and leaks in my poker game as possible. I always tell people not to hold anything back. Flame me, yell at me, curse at me as long as you provide constructive criticism for me to learn from.

Most players hide their weaknesses, even when they are working with coaches or discussing hands. They change their reads when discussing hands so that they were right.

Yay, no problem then. You were right but you will NEVER become a better poker player if you operate like that.

WHY?

Because you will never learn from your mistakes, your rate of improvement will slow to a halt.

So who cares about mistakes?

Sure, in the short-term your ego will take a blow.

Who cares? It's awesome to become better.

Learn to love your weaknesses and mistakes. They are the things that will make you great.

Does This Sound Familiar?

If you are uncomfortable with thinking like this then you have to ask yourself.

  • What are your goals?
  • Do you want to become better at poker?
  • Do you just want to have more fun?

Who, then, cares about acknowledging your weaknesses? The more you practice focusing on what you want, the more the small unnecessary things will melt away, and the closer your goals will be.

And as you do that, you will start to realize how much fun it actually is and how good it can feel to take your mistakes and turn them into gold.

If you tell the truth you don't have anything to remember.
- Mark Twain

Summary

  • Minimize how much time you spend on your B and C+ games.
  • Identify your demons
  • Learn to embrace your mistakes
  • Identify your goals
  • Look at things from a larger perspective to find your direction
  • Feel good now :)

Oh No, Don't Read More, You'll Win Too Much!


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