Quote:
Originally Posted by Herbbb
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'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