I searched around these forums for info on this but I couldn't find much. Please delete/move if inappropriate.

I have been working on my mental game a lot this year. Trying to stop being a "mental fish" as it was described in "Mental Game of Poker." I think I have made a lot of progress and I am enthusiastic about moving forward and improving even more.

In Mental Game of Poker, Tendler said something about saying "one time" and crap like that can be a sign that you are a mental fish or whatever. I only do crap like that jokingly when I do something horrendous and I am in bad shape lol.

Something that I do actually partake in is some mild pre-gaming superstitions.

(a) if I am in the midst of a hot streak I have started this habit of making modest charitable contributions before starting one of my long weekend sessions. It makes me feel like I deserve the run-good.

(b) when I am in the midst of a downswing, minor or major, I usually buy a new article of clothing or accesory and I don't wear it until I am going to start my session. Usually it is just a hat, a sweatshirt or a pair of sneakers.

I don't see either of these things as inherently negative. Giving money to charity makes me feel good regardless and it is a good thing. I am not giving so much that it is putting me in a bad position or anything like that. As far as the new gear goes, also not a bad thing, spending a few bucks on stuff that I will use anyway.

However, my question is if this is a symptom of some deeper problem that indicates that I am totally hung up on luck and chance as opposed to focusing on my actual game and developing my skills. It might be harmless, and if it is, fine, but everything in my game is open to deep examination and I am hoping to hear some feedback (and any superstitions that other people might have).

Moved from poker theory

Duh, thanks!

Would you consider yourself to have a more internal or external locus of control.

By this I mean do you believe that your success in life, not just related to poker is more controlled by destiny and fate, or the actions you take on a day to day basis ?

For example, would you avoid obesity by hoping that God hasnt chose you to be a fatty, or by watching what you eat each and every day?

I feel that both of these opinions are considered "normal", however especially for the context of poker it is much more conductive to have an internal locus of control. This is because you believe that your success or failure is a direct result of the effort and skill that you have, rather than forces that you cannot control.
This makes it much more difficult to make an excuse for your poor results for example.

I'm not really sure if this is too relevant or helpful, but I'm studying this at the moment and I thought it was interesting!

Sounds interesting, can you recommend any books/websites?

Right on. I am studying similar things right now and that is why I am examining this. I really believe that I am at a place right now where I am trying to focus on playing well and developing my skills. I think that these habits are remnants of the past when I felt more tied up to the external locus of control of luck and injustice of the universe (I sort of used to believe that God didn't want me to play poker and that is why I ran bad, now I realize I used to play bad lol).

I really feel like I am at that zen place lately where I really feel like I can play my best, make good decisions and be pretty damn ok with the results no matter what happens (fortunately I have been running hot in 2012 so I haven't had to test this theory too much).

I am asking because I feel like this is a pretty harmless little ritual. I want to know if people feel like it really has a real negative impact on the way I approach the game. I feel I do those little things because they are comfortable and even a little bit fun. Anybody else have rituals?

luck is a very fascinating subject, a good book is The Luck Factor by richard wiseman, he is a college professor he states there is no luck good or bad he goes on to explain why some people are concede to be lucky or unlucky. now for my self my practical side agrees with him my other side believes luck exist but no one can prove luck good or bad exist or how it works. i use to play craps . some days i could not miss other days if i bet both dies would stay on the table one would jump off. i would look at the shooter if he looked like a loser i would bet against him. if he looked or acted lucky i would bet with him. i played craps about 10 years & keep records of my win/ lose after 10 years i was up about $700 i think that was good because the house has the advantage.
texas holdem also is a game of chance , the better players have a better chance than someone who dosen''t understand the game but it is still a game of chance sit down in a game 1 or 2 will have most of the money so are they lucky or is the chair lucky if the best cards find this spot?