Hi all

I've still got far too few played hands to be worrying too much about that but I have noticed I've got a big leak. Even when the logical side of me is saying 'you are beat, give it up'. Far too often I'm calling and blowing large stacks as villain invariable does 'have it'.

Now there are plenty of places for a beginner to go check out the mechanical side of the game such as opening ranges, odds and percentages, equity, etc, etc. Are there any good articles or discussions that focus more on the mental side. Things like avoiding being a calling station or coping with tilt?

Thanks

Why are you calling? Do you distrust your instincts? Do you want to show everyone how unlucky you are? Do you fear being pushed around? Are you just frustrated and want it over(inb the case of a tournament)?

There are a lot of reasons why decent players who can actually read the threat become sticky with hands. Sometimes it is good, in the case where aggressive players are running over you. Sometimes it is a sign of tilt. You have to look pretty deep in yourself to find out why you are calling when you intellectually have concluded you are beat.

Darn good question. I'm talking micro stakes cash games. Being totally honest I think it's a combination of the following:

I don't like being pushed around so there has to be some element of 'even if I'm beat I'll prove you can't bully me to fold'. Stupid but then the whole thing is stupid. I used to play exclusively micro SnG's where you can get away with this attitude more often. The change to cash needs me to break that habit.

I seem to have an entitlement problem as well because these large punts are normally when I'm dealt something 'good' pre flop like AK or QQ. There has to be an element of small child tantrum there because my hand was supposed to be 'good'. I'm not supposed to lose.

There is also an element of 'tilt' here in as much as these usually happen after I've painstakingly grown my stack and on the back of several winning hands. So it's not 'tilt' in terms playing angry/frustrated but more in terms of too much ego from winning previous hands.

As a new player I often find myself 'lost' in the later stages of a hand. I seem to have a default position of just betting big when I really don't know what to do. I reason that if I check and they bet I'm gonna have to put it down and emotionally I don't want to do that even when I should for the above reasons.

Now you have made me reason that out I might stand a chance of combating it.

Thanks.

Calling with bluffcatchers is about winning the pot a higher percent of the time than your investment in the pot expressed as a percentage:

Calling a 1/2 pot bet = 25% investment.

This means you need to win 25% of the time or more to earn a profit by calling.

Mental game? I tell myself that it’s just a game.

Yeah, my question is not really about bluff catchers it's about my inability to put down a hand that all logic tells me is beat.

Stupid situations like when villain has opened the pot strongly and I've gone over the top with QQ and he has called. In theory there is a good chance he has a high pocket pair or Ax where x is a reasonable kicker.

The flop comes with an A he bets I call.
The turn, he bets I still call.
The river, he bets again and I either call again or try raising which he calls

He wins with his pair of Aces.

I don't think getting involved in the hand is bad, I can even possibly justify calling the c-bet just in case he has air and wants to see if I'll fold. I can't really justify doing that all the way to the end of the hand. Yes he might have JJ but realistically what else am I beating if he has a reasonable range to open with? What was I hoping for on the turn and river? Again realistically I need a Q to improve if there is no straight or flush draw out there.

I'd probably lose less if I raised his flop bet and fold if he doesn't!

I'm tending to find that in the micro ring games people might be creative in the early part of the hand but much more often than not bets around the river or after it are not bluffs.

Maybe they don’t bluff the turn or river because they know you’re gonna call.

Your question is actually exactly about bluffcatchers. You're treating the call or fold decision as a binary process of (I think i'm beat /or/ I think I have the best hand) when you need to accept that it's not a binary process; when a player bets, you can't make your decision based on (I think I'm beat /or/ I think I have the best hand). You must accept that your opponent has a range of hands that might take this action. It all boils down to the math I presented above when you can't beat any value hands.

Hmm, I need to go away and think about this. You are right in that my thought process is very binary.

Thanks for the insight.

One of the phrases I use to myself is ... "Win the war, not every battle."

There is a lot of pride in poker, no one wants to be out played or shown up. Even online when playing behind an alias pride creeps up on you ... and pride leads to entitlement and tilt issues.

'The Mental Game of Poker' I and II, by JTendler, may be available through this site or at the local library. There is basically zero poker math/theory in these books, only how to prepare and use your mind better during poker (life).

As an inexperienced Player it can be hard to fold .. and you do need to fold a lot in poker .. because you want to 'see' all the information. And typically you want to use the excuse of 'learning' as a reason to pay off opponents. As long as you are mentally ready to pay for (and deal with) that information, then sometimes paying is OK. But if you aren't recognizing 'repeat' spots or that sometimes an opponent just makes a better play, then that payment is not going to good use.

A couple of weeks ago I Flopped the bottom end of a straight (9x8h7h w 5h6h), with an open-ended-straight-flush-draw and folded to a bunch of action on the Flop, including a 3.5x pot shove. I even showed the fold to the table and caused a huge ruckus/discussion.

The results of the Turn/River aren't relevant here, but I knew I would have other chances at those chips in the middle ... if not today, then some other day ... and that's where the mental aspect comes into play. When you get to that point of acceptance poker becomes an even more enjoyable game.

That mental status comes and goes daily ... you're not always on your 'A' game and being able to recognize that is important as well. GL

Delay of gratification and group theory are heavy in poker.. These two can conflict and turn you into a payoff wizard.
Delay of gratification~bored
Group theory~ego

I've spent the last few sessions reminding myself that I'm in this for the long haul and not just to win every hand. I'm sure I've laid down too many hands as a reaction to trying to stop spewing off stacks. However at the moment I think the loss I'm taking in folding when perhaps I should not is tiny in comparison to punting away most of my stack because I couldn't back down.

Obviously this needs much more work before I get the balance correct and it's far too early to be sure how it's actually affecting my BB/100 but in the last few hundred hands there are no big drops in the graph where I can't justify the play to myself.

I second what Answer20 said. I recently listened to the audio book "Peak poker performance" by Dr. Tricia Cardner. It is an EXCELLENT book about the mental game of poker. There is literally no strategy. It is about changing habits and routines to better yourself AND your game. It talks about some of the fears and reasons that some players call when they know they are beat, like you say you do. It talks about dealing with tilt. I recommend you read or listen to it.

I suffered terribly with the "entitlement" issue when I first started playing a lot and still do sometimes if I get tilty. But you have to constantly remind yourself, you aren't entitled to ANY pot, much less all the ones when you have a good starting hand. Sometimes good starting hands don't hit, and you just constantly have to fold them. It is what it is. Being able to be level headed during that time is what keeps you from losing extra money.

Also, something on what answer20 said, you won't always be on your A game. But recognizing when you aren't on your A game and whether or not your C game can beat the villains at the table is EXTREMELY important. Off table study is what builds the strength of your A,B,C,D games. Mental work is what keeps you playing one of those games rather than dropping down due to tilt or whatever.

Take it easy. When you do in your call, you put yourself in a situation that you dont know what will happen. So, in this case, you only need some consideration and consciousness. Let's practice. There are some interesting games on top1apk that can help you. You should learn how to consider every possibilities and judge them,

There are some interesting games on mobidescargar that can help you. You should learn how to consider every possibilities and judge them. Stay calm with the situation

Maybe analyse where this mindset comes from that makes you want to call. Here's an idea: With few hands played you may still be affected by all the poker shows/videos you've watched.
These shows are cut to show the interesting hands (all bluffs, none of the preflop/postflop raise/c-bet-and-take-it hands)

What this means is: In reality people bluff far less than you are led to believe. The strength of their bet more often indicates the strength of their hands than not
(I'm sure this is different at high stakes where GTO is more of a thing)

Trust your logical side.