Constantin Reporting From Republic Of Moldova

Studied the articles from this great site before I turned 18 , in the summer and worked pretty hard on the mindset --- I think that the most important part of poker is the psychological part and the way a player thinks --- That's why my biggest expectation from the Boot Camp is to improve my mindset and to learn to controll in my favor even the negatives aspects of my character - Like anger , A very big ego , and the incapacity to lose .

I Am not tilting , but I have a tendency to deteriorate my game when I have a few bad beats or coolers in a row - I need from a minute to , maybe , 3-5 minutes to get back at my usuall play - But of course my Game is not so optimal like before

I'd love to learn more about the psychological part , but I know that I need to improve my play also , so I'm going to post my stats for NL50 that I have ( I lost everything a few weeks ago when my PC broke)

Hey Constantin11!

My name is Erik and I will be part of the coaching staff focusing on Tilt, A-Game, Mindset, and Lifecoaching. So if you have any questions I will have a thread up soon where you can easily let me know if you updated your thread with anything I might be able to help out with. I'll be trolling around the forums but just so i don't miss anything. smile

Any specific questions you might have about psychology, mindset and tilt etc. Don't hesitate to ask. Try to be as specific as you can and take one spot at a time. Chose your biggest mental game leak and break it down. When does it show up? In what spots? What does it feel like? What is the reaction? And more importantly, why do you think that you react this way?

Good luck and keep working hard!

@ ErikStenqvist , Thank You For Your Response

First of all I would Like To improve my mindset on Loosing Sessions
I am trying with all costs to win every session and to se my BR just grow - is a bit hard for me to accept a downswing and when it takes place I can't play my A-Game
Since I began to play Poker Seriously my results were like this :

And NL 50 after my adaptation :

But I had a period were the variance was killing me and I just couldnt run from the tables , I wanted to stay untill I make it at least break-even - And of course my game was deteriorating with every second and I just was loosig more

So my Question Would Be : How I better manage my mindset in the period of a downswing and when I have losing sessions ? Should I set a stop loss point or to play a certain amount of hands/time every session no matter of the result ? What other tricks might help my crazy mind to develop a better shape ?

And also , I want to know how to approach a new limit , because everytime im moving to a new limit I have a period of time where I just make bad plays ( Over Agressive play ) Even if I know that I shouldnt do IT

So my Question Would Be :
1. How I better manage my mindset in the period of a downswing and when I have losing sessions ?

2.Should I set a stop loss point or to play a certain amount of hands/time every session no matter of the result ?

3. What other tricks might help my crazy mind to develop a better shape ?

And also , I want to know how to approach a new limit , because everytime im moving to a new limit I have a period of time where I just make bad plays ( Over Agressive play ) Even if I know that I shouldnt do IT

1. First of all you need to ask yourself why you want to win every session. We actually don't want to win every session. Why? Because then no one would play us. accepting that the only reason that we are able to play this game is because there is an element of being able to asses your skill vs the other persons skill. Without variance it would be like chess. If you are able to embrace and accepting variance you will be ahead of most other players. Ego can be a big part of this so taking a look at that and see how ego is actually holding you back here if its showing up. Think of this in a broader perspective than just poker. How is the person you are being affected by the game?
This make the game much more fun and interesting..

2. Well if you think it might be a good idea it probably is. Look back at your session the last few months and see if you can find any trends. For example when i lose 5 buyins i tend to lose more. If the average number is 5 bi for example set you SL to 3 or 4. It doesnt mean you have to quit for the day, but you actively take breaks at this time. Setting alarms to go off every 15 min as a sign that you need to bring awareness and attention to your mindset in the present moment is a great tool. I personally use this. http://www.fungie.info/bell/# But any alarm will work.

3. Mindfulness! I'l will cover this in the upcoming videos!

Hi constantin, how are you? Are you enjoying the course so far?

If you have questions for the coaches you can post them here and it keeps your thread nicely current.

Best regards,

Mal.

@ ErikStenqvist , Thank you for your attention and a good response

@ gadget51 ,I'm fine , thank you ! Yes , I enjoy the course

Sorry for responding so late I had a little vacation

I have another "psychological" problem : There are some situations where I know how I should play but , still , I make the wrong decision - like I can't controll it ... I read some materials about that but I need some recomandations on how I sould handle this situation , maybe some exercises that will teach me to controll my impulses and to improve my level of concentration
The Snap call - is a part of the problem too - how can I begin to eliminate it from my game ?

Thanks In advance for your help

Originally posted by Constantin11
@ ErikStenqvist , Thank you for your attention and a good response

My pleasure!

If you have any follow up questions don't hesitate to ask

@ ErikStenqvist ,Thanks

I have another "psychological" problem : There are some situations where I know how I should play but , still , I make the wrong decision - like I can't controll it ... I read some materials about that but I need some recomandations on how I sould handle this situation , maybe some exercises that will teach me to controll my impulses and to improve my level of concentration
The Snap call - is a part of the problem too - how can I begin to eliminate it from my game ?

Thanks In advance for your help smile

Originally posted by Constantin11
@ ErikStenqvist ,Thanks

I have another "psychological" problem : There are some situations where I know how I should play but , still , I make the wrong decision - like I can't controll it ... I read some materials about that but I need some recomandations on how I sould handle this situation , maybe some exercises that will teach me to controll my impulses and to improve my level of concentration
The Snap call - is a part of the problem too - how can I begin to eliminate it from my game ?

Thanks In advance for your help smile

Ahh the good old snap call! It's like an annoying old friend we so don't want to run into anymore

First of all I would like to hear what you think the reason could be? From what you've read so far,c an you think about anything that logically would fit here? (even thought he action itself is illiogical)

Originally posted by ErikStenqvist

Originally posted by Constantin11
@ ErikStenqvist ,Thanks

I have another "psychological" problem : There are some situations where I know how I should play but , still , I make the wrong decision - like I can't controll it ... I read some materials about that but I need some recomandations on how I sould handle this situation , maybe some exercises that will teach me to controll my impulses and to improve my level of concentration
The Snap call - is a part of the problem too - how can I begin to eliminate it from my game ?

Thanks In advance for your help smile

Ahh the good old snap call! It's like an annoying old friend we so don't want to run into anymore

First of all I would like to hear what you think the reason could be? From what you've read so far,c an you think about anything that logically would fit here? (even thought he action itself is illiogical)

From what I read I know that the snap call is like an animalic instinct to protect ourselves and this instinct used to be more pronunced in the distant past ,when we were more like animals ♦ . Now it can appear just in some moments which are considered dangerous by our mind . I dont really know why it appears , but I think it may be because of the fact that the mind doesnt want to accept a certain Idea , can't accept it and that's why it doesn't think and doesn't analize the idea/situation properly .
I think its because of that , other causes I can't really think of ... ♦ What i know is that this is a major leak in my game ( And not just in mine ) and I need to fix it ♦

Originally posted by Constantin11
an animalic instinct to protec

My pleasure!

What happens is that you find yourself in a situation where you are a. Not comfortable with you poker strategy knowledge b. The pressure is on and you have a fear of failure/making mistakes. c. A mix of both of the above.

Good exercises are Meditation and mindfulness (starting to feel like a broken record here) and really focusing on being in the present moment while playing. Try to anticipate the situation coming up and begin talking your thought process out. Try to set regular alarms every 15min or so just to remind you to be present and not too caught up in the game.

Also mark every single hand when this shows up and study it, hard! So that you get comfortable in these spots. Try to timebank, let go of the mouse and just spend time where you aren't comfortable. That will help am ton.

Let me know how it goes

Hi Constantin, you gone awol on us soldier? ♦

How are you progressing with Erik's suggestions, how are they benefitting you?

Forward!

Mal.

I think it makes sense to want to win everytime, just that its not realistic to do so. Losing action is only applicable for HU, if regs are afraid of joining your six max table then u can just play vs the fish