Thinking outside the game.

Marcus Bateman / Marcus Bateman / 18 August 2008 / Leave a Comment

Poker has a huge amount to do with outside events.

Being able to think about your own state of mind is critical to poker success. I remember learning this lesson the hard way, and would like to recall the events following the first live final table I ever made. I had been playing well, was 2nd chip leader at the table, and was involved in a pot with the chip leader while we were five handed.

I had re-raised the ace jack of spades and was looking at being check raised all in on a 5d5h6s board. I had a decent read on this player (he threw his chips in very aggressively when he was bluffing but slid them in slowly when value betting), and this, coupled with his line on the hand not making much sense, made me decide to call.

He turned over 9c7h. The turn was the 8s. The river was the Tc. I bust out fifth and got £600. The win was over £4,000. Despite this, I had still cleared a decent profit on my original £50 buy in, and should have just gone to bed, thought about what my state of mind would be after such a beat, and left poker alone for a while. Instead I sat down in the biggest pot limit Omaha game available and lost it all plus interest in less than an hour.

These sort of self control mistakes make a massive difference on your total profit at the end of the year. Being able to control yourself after big major events is critical to long term success. Be it a bad beat, the loss of a girlfriend or boyfriend, or any other event that has a major psychological effect; really think about if you should be playing poker soon afterwards.

There is no instant gratification, no chance of winning your money back or reversing that horrible event, but walking away at the right time can be one of the most satisfying parts of your poker career. Get away when your feeling bad, sit down when your feeling sharp, and watch your opponent's money flow straight to you.