I'm a decent player but there is still one leak I struggle with. I have the hardest time getting away from top pair, top kicker. Even when betting patterns and tells are screaming to fold, I still feel a strong desire to call. Typically, I think it is a fear of being bluffed that drives people to do this but with a lot of self-reflection, I don't think that's it for me. But I don't know what it is. So how do others stay disciplined with what they logically know they should do and how have you tuned out that gut instinct to call when all evidence tells you to fold? Incidentally, I also tend to briefly fall for hollywooding even when it's blatantly obvious. Not sure if that's related though.

Oh and I do often fold in these situations so it's not impossible for me but it sure doesn't come easy.

Crickets? Really?

If it's not fear of being bluffed it might be fear of laying a hand down that might still be good vs a slightly worse hand. I just assume I'm going to lay down the best hand periodically to both bluffs and worse hands. But if I'm reading/analyzing good I know I'll save a lot over time.
When I struggled with this I tried to focus a little more on the health of my stack and bit less on the pots I was trying to win.

The first thing you learn about in poker is hand rankings. Then we learn all that elaborate stuff. In the process, we can forget about the hand rankings, the real meaning of them. Sure you know a flush beats a straight, but the real significance of the table becomes forgotten. You just have a pair. It is a fairly lowly holding. ok it's not easy to make top pair top kicker, and often it's a nice hand, but there are plenty of times you're beaten when facing strength. Approach it abstractedly. Say 'there are going to be quite a few times when I have a great hand, eg TPTK, and mathematically even, come up against a better hand. Are these coolers? Mostly not. So I'm either going to have to give some serious weight to the evidence in front of me showing that my holding is not good any more.
Good hands are a terrible thing in poker. You lose money with good hands
Another abstracted approach is: what kind of opponent do you want to be? That's right. A ****ing nightmare. An opponent who can have a great hand, and you have a better hand, and you can't make money from him, cos he can see what's going on. I sure don't want to play against that opponent. Be that opponent.

Hi Dr. Meh:

I think the answer to this is to improve your understanding of Game Theory and how it applies to poker. Then in these situations you'll be playing defensively and calling enough to stop other players from taking advantage of any weaknesses you may have. A good place to start is Matt Janda's book Applications of No-Limit Hold 'em.

Best wishes,
Mason

Poker news had this recent article. Sounds like a plausible explanation.

https://www.pokernews.com/strategy/d...akes-25794.htm