Feeling Pressure and Hearing Those Damn Voices

Poker over the weekend was frustrating. I don’t have a very large bankroll at the moment, and I keep losing. My attitude is also really hurting my game. The pessimistic, “I’m so unlucky” part of me has thrown all kinds of doubt into my game. I focus on all the unlucky beats that happen to me, and seem somewhat lost in a hand. Rather than pay attention to the players and their beating patterns, I play too many games at once and don’t completely focus on what is happening at the table.

Therefore, I’m going back to poker basics. Relearning the game from the ground up. Rereading some of the books I’ve read, and also start paying attention to just one game at a time. I need to increase my bankroll before I can multitable at PokerStars again (unfortunately).
I’ll continue with the freerolls and play as many as I can. I’m not thinking through my decisions as much as I should.

Gavin Smith told Doyle Brunson the single most important paragraph about poker is sometimes taking the worst of it in certain spots because you picked up all those small pots at little risk.
There are lots of exceptional poker players nowadays. My current records are not very impressive. I’ve never won a big tournament with any big money. And I sure could use a win right now.

I am going to create a Word file of a poker log, along with an Excel file of my poker performance. I’ve been too careless with my poker logs. I’m not taking my results seriously enough. I understand maximizing time, but I also think it’s important to play few tables at once, especially no limit, which is so much harder than limit.

There is a way to win at this game, but it takes patience, commitment, discipline and stamina. It also takes money. I can really improve my game, but I have to get serious, stay humble, and not let my emotions get the better of me. Play to win, both in poker and in life.

I was very depressed yesterday, and it’s true that I’m starting to feel the pressure of not having much money to fall back on; however, I do feel energized today and look forward to playing poker and studying tonight.