blonde poker forum

Hey guys & girls,

Well, first post, so... I'm ready, fire canons!  ;)

I'm new here and also pretty new to poker.  Well, by that I mean actually playing poker live and for money.  So, yes, I'm the  ;flushy; at the moment.

A couple weeks ago I had a lads holiday in Vegas and rather than spend the evenings with the others getting mullered, I instead went and played poker.  As I had never done it before (live game I mean) it was quite nerve wracking to put my name down on a $4/$8 list in the Bellagio and then sit down and play.  It was quite exhilerating and I thinking I learned more in those 5 minutes than I did playing with my mates on Saturday evenings.  But I had a serious issue, which I will illustrate shortly.

Anyhow, found a poker room/club in a nearby town and have joined as it's a members only.  And I've begun to start playing the cash games there.  I absolutely love it.  But I have a problem.

As soon as I get into a hand where I know I'm either strong odds to have the better/best hand, or have the nuts, I get this massive dose of adrenalin and guess what?  Yep, the shakes.  I can cover it up enough. Well, at least I think I can.  Otherwise, when recently i had pocket Aces and the flop gave me my 3rd Ace and the turn the 4ft Ace, the other 2 people would have folded if they saw my hands shaking.
 
The point is, as a new player in a live game, how to do get this reaction to a winning hand under control?  I'm not a shy person and certainly don't have any problem with speaking in public, etc.  But playing poker in a live game, with 7+ other people watching what you're doing, knowing you have money and your reputation on the board, it just gives me that shot of adrenalin. 

Does anyone have any good techniques, suggestions, ways of thinking to help reduce it?  Obviously I can't sit back and take a few big deep breaths, etc ;)  Or is it just experience and time that lets you get used to that situation and it eventually 'stops' being so much of a rush?  I hope not, cos I love it!  Just wish I could hide my excitement.

Kind of like a puppy who can't stop weeing on the floor.  Thankfully the poker club owner hasn't noticed the wetspot under my chair yet :)

Generally I try to keep them up front and not sit on them.

Just think how shit your life is.

Then you just look all depressed instead.

See.. experience works... does it work for you Horneris??

jar. Iz what im sayin.

Must remember that for next time!! ;)

Welcome to blonde.

It really is an experience thing and it will lessen the more you play. Basically just try to think of something else, thinking how crap Horneris's life is seems to be the way to go.

Become an alcoholic. Then your hands will shake all the time, thus disguising your tell.

Problem solved.

 :cheers:

I do exactly that.  I pretend I'm Horneris, and think fk my life. 

Good First Post, I got it when I started to play live and i actually hated it, at one point put me off playing live al together, i used to sit forward, hands shaking, and sometimes even my eyes, and lips would go a tad mad.

Ive slowly learnt to sit back, in the chair, look at your cards and then dont touch them again, just sit back and relax, only way i could stop the shakes!

it comes with experience..but I am ussually never more relaxed than when I have the stone cold nuts...

Practice.  I still get nervous for the first couple of pots I play in a live game, after that it's not too bad, especially once I start concentrating on how crap Horneris's life is

rotflmfao

I just sit there emotionless really, Kin will tell you the amount of times hes told me to cheer up or pulled a massive grin @ me from the other side of the cardroom.

Its really just an experience thing, keep going and it will be less and less.

You are a miserable arse at the table.  You must have been thinking about Horneris's life far too much.

 rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao

I had similar problems with subduing my body language when holding monsters.  I have Cystic Fibrosis, so when I have a big hand I cough a lot.  This is because my heart beats faster and my breathing increases and coughing ensues.  This is a problem for me if I'm playing with people who know me.  I've had to resort to throwing out fake coughs to throw my opponents off the scent.  In order to calm myself down, I've found that replaying the horrific fight scenes in Watership Down supress my inner euphoria.  I'm welling up as I type this.

Of course, you don't want to look too depressed.  A heavy sigh followed by a chunky raise is all too suspicious.

think of margaret thatcher
(http://www.thewe.cc/thewei/&/images3/reagan/thatcher_eulogy.jpe)


naked

;kev;

I now have this picture in my head of you having a coughing fit as soon as you read that post rotflmfao

Lol!

Thanks all for the welcome and suggestions! I like the idea of focusing on something that evokes the opposite emotion. A naked Thatcher...well, that could emotionally stunt me :)

But i guess it really is down to experience in playing live games.

Was watching WPT on itv4 last nite and if it had been me making some of those moves, id be a wreck. But then, thats why those guys are the pros.

Hmm.. Dyu think a gimp mask would be OTT?  :)

A routine that you should get into is thinking what your opponent(s) might have in every hand - hopefully concentrating on this when you have a monster will take your mind of your own hand.

Just try to imagine everytime that u hold the nuts,u have to lick fatima whitbreads hairy pits after 5 rounds of the javelin,

Try and learn to shake when you bluff ?

Whats the nuts ? :'(

Ask Fatima Whitbread.

and if you imagine licking them your just sick!!

Whos Fatima Whitbread ? :S

More like what is Fatima Whitbread?????????

Yes, like Mongo from Blazing Saddles

rotflmfao

I got very twitchy when going for an MRI scan - I don't do enclosed spaces very well, and the helmet thing on as well - yuk, shudder etc.

I found I calmed myself down by mentally singing Genesis and Yes songs. A quick rendition of "Squonk" followed by a run though of "Awaken" managed to keep me calm - had to speed up Suppers Ready to get it completed before the end of the scanning process though  ;D

Would prefer to sing something a little more country - some Emmylou or Patty Griffin perhaps, but I only listened to prog rock in the days when I read lyric sheets so they have to do the job. If you ever have to remind me it's my turn to act I'm probably mid-way through Gates of Delirium!

Might be worth a try with the music of your choice. Or just try and think about anything else not related to the matter in hand.

the easiest way i've found of calming yourself down is to pleasure yourself - although some card rooms have actually banned this....dont know why. cant see the harm in it as long as you clean up afterwards

but seriously though, take a song and learn it and then sing it in your head to yourself. i find imagine by john lennon a good song. sing the song and listen to your own words, dont look at the cards on the table, dont look at your hole cards, and just sing to yourself