Really interested by this and would like to ask you readers 3 questions

1. How do you prepare yourself before you start a session either online or going to the casino?

2. How do you deal with variance in-game and continue playing your best game despite setbacks?

3. How do you deal with long term variance/downswinging?

I just try to avoid doing dumb stuff. Sometimes it works.

I target people trying to avoid doing dumb stuff and make crazy moves on them. Sometimes it works.

I try to always "get it in with the best of it." When i do so I am pleased with my play regardless of results.

When I run into quads or a straight flush...well that's just running bad then!

I'm not a great player but I'll share my thoughts:

1. I personally kind of keep a running diary when I play of what I did well and did poorly, and when I go to the casino, I pick ONE mistake I've made recently and concentrate on not making that ONE mistake - by concentrating on one thing at a time I avoid "paralysis by analysis" so to speak. Recent examples are I've been struggling with boredom tilt (playing marginal yet unprofitable hands after folding 30 hands in a row), so I'll tell myself DON'T GO ON BOREDOM TILT. Before that I would assume that if I were on a rush that the rush would continue no matter which two cards I played so I would "ride the rush" rather than playing each individual hand the optimal way.

2. As much as possible, I think ahead and consider the possibilities. Like if I have TPTK and there are 2 hearts on the board, I know that there's a possibility of a 3rd heart hitting and it completing a flush for a villain. I also as much as possible try to make plans, i.e. who are the villains in the hand, which ones would never raise without something that can beat an overpair etc.

Also, extensive study AWAY from the table can help this too. The more Pokerstove simulations you run, the more you encounter situations at the table where you know EXACTLY what your odds are, i.e. a 70% chance to double up, a 45% chance to triple up, a 20% chance to octuple up etc., and you can be mentally prepared for the other 30%/55%/80% etc.

tl;dr - I've been playing so long that bad beats no longer faze me. I just move onto the next hand.

3. BRM. Simple as that. Never sit down at a table with more than 5% of your bankroll - ever. Conservative players never sit down at a table with more than 2% of their bankroll.

Hope this helped.
DTXCF

1. How do you prepare yourself before you start a session either online or going to the casino?
I use to listen Elliot Roe MP3 before my session sometimes I watch some theory videos.

2. How do you deal with variance in-game and continue playing your best game despite setbacks?
Take a deep breath after a bat beat or making a bad play

3. How do you deal with long term variance/downswinging?
I don't worry about if I am playing my A game winning in the long run should happen.

+1

mental issues can be reduced by stop controlling results every 50 hands. you can only influence the way you play a hand, not the result.

1. If I have been playing regularly, I don't prepare, other than I take a cup of coffee, go to the toilet, if need be. If I think I need to prepare, maybe I play a little bit chess first, to avoid being too stupid; I probably don't watch videos or read books for it, as it isn't playing, although I might look the cryptocurrency situation or read some news.

2. I play about 2-3 hours and take a break and stop before only if I am on too much tilt. That much tilt doesn't happen too often. Too much tilt makes one play worse and I am no professor of psychology, so I take at least a pause, then continue and instantly stop if I soon get a bad beat (that happens often). If I could hit the person (in my mind I might drill their knees or tie them and then punch them many times), I could possibly manage longer, but I have bad beat chatted enough already and the only good it might do is to get others also tilted for balance.

3. If I feel comfortable about the site and limit, I change between nlh, plo, mtts. Often it helps.

Hi OP,

1-to prep, I like to shower, put on nice clothes, do whatever it takes to get the self confidence at a high. If I am not feeling good about myself , I rather don't play.

2- variance doesn't matter, my job is to get it in ahead as many times as I can. Results will be whatever they are.

3 - try to find the funny side in it by seeing just how ridiculously bad it is possible to run and also by knowing that nothing is permanent , upswings or down.