Wow, why did I just do that?

[kvnstv]

A famous and often used quote from Benjamin Franklin;

‘The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results’ 

Two questions for the great minds of the blonde forum,

Is there a scientific term/explanation for the times you know the outcome but continue regardless?
Do other people suffer from this as well?

Two examples;

When the wife was pregnant many moons ago we were living in a small flat. I had begun to redecorate to accommodate the new arrival and was dismantling some god awful MFI fitted wardrobes.  These hideous looking objects where drilled in segments to the wall, so instead of doing it properly I was just attacking it haphazardly with a hammer and screwdriver. I couldn’t remove the side with a screw driver because they where imbedded to deeply into the wall so I decided to climb inside and kick the panels out. After a couple of kicks it started to weaken and at this point I realised that there was a massive top segment which if I carried on kicking had nowhere to go really but land on my head. I knew it was going to fall on me and I new it was going to hurt but for some reason and it didn’t much feel like a conscious choice I carried on regardless. I was concussed and spent the night in hospital but only after I threw up on a staff nurse.

Two days ago I was sitting in the kitchen with the wife enjoying a glass on wine and playing a MTT on party after the little one was in bed. The misses has had a bit of time to herself recently because the nipper has just started full time nursery and she was telling me about a hand she played today where she had turned the nut flush but had called and all in on the river when the board paired. I trotted out some old poker cliché about there being no such thing as the nut flush on paired board and she nodded at me (whilst probably thinking shut up you patronising plank) and replied the annoying thing was she knew she was beaten and called anyway. About two hands’s later two limpers in the big blind I find K J of hearts re-raise 3 times and get one caller.  Flop comes 677 one heart, he check I check behind. Turn brings another heart and he bets out, the wife says what do you think his got I immediately replied ‘he flopped the boat’ and I called. Turn brings the ace of hearts making me the nut flush on the paired board he bets the pot and I re-raise all in and surprise, surprise he turns over pocket sixes for the boat. You will have to take my word for this, this is lay down I’ve made before and am capable of making .  The wife asked why I did it and I said ‘I don’t know? But I always knew I was losing the hand and always new I was going all in’. I suppose you might be thinking ‘your just stupid’, fair point well made, but honestly most of the time I make reasoned sensible decisions and act upon them but very occasionally I seem to suffer from ‘brain freeze’. It does not appear to be linked to any state of mind on the particular day just seems to surface randomly. 

[Jon MW]

 

I've done that before as well.

The explanation I came up with is that I get so paranoid about people trying to steal my pots that I just don't believe my own reads. So when I put them on a higher hand then me I will sometimes still end up losing all my chips just because I'm so neurotic about laying down a better hand.

It doesn't rank that much higher than just being stupid but I wonder if it's the same for your decisions?

[kvnstv]

Hello Jon, but as with the case with the wardrobe it's not just poker happens with other decisions as well. 

[roverthtaeh]

The medical term, I believe, is: "CuriosityKilledTheCat"

[Claw75]

The medical term, I believe, is: "CuriosityKilledTheCat"

yep - you'll never be able to satisfy yourself that you were right unless you follow-through (so to speak)

[kvnstv]

"CuriosityKilledTheCat" or concussed the idiot.

[Snatiramas]

Most people will do something similar.....
some do it more than others

[RED-DOG]

The medical term, I believe, is: "CuriosityKilledTheCat"

yep - you'll never be able to satisfy yourself that you were right unless you follow-through (so to speak)

I agree. The other day I thought, 'I'm sure this is a little more solid than just trapped wind' and when I followed through, it proved that I was right.

[paddyjim]

Well have you ever had quads and called a bet on the end knowing you're beaten? I have...

POKERSTARS GAME #5578979005: TOURNAMENT #27652493, 500FPP HOLD'EM NO LIMIT

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to paddyjim [ ]
Pass_72: folds
crazyshorts: folds
AdenDean: folds
hoboman50: folds
paddyjim: raises 100 to 120
pool_shark_1: calls 120
JacksAgain: folds
rvrangel: calls 110
hixon: folds
 
*** FLOP *** [   ]
rvrangel: checks
paddyjim: bets 100
pool_shark_1: calls 100
rvrangel: calls 100

*** TURN *** [ ] []
rvrangel: checks
paddyjim: checks
pool_shark_1: checks
 
*** RIVER *** [ ] []
rvrangel: bets 1000
paddyjim said, "hmm"
paddyjim: calls 1000
pool_shark_1: folds
 
*** SHOW DOWN ***
rvrangel: shows [  ] (four of a kind, Aces)
paddyjim: mucks hand
rvrangel collected 2680 from pot