How to control yourself?

[ACE2M]

When playing live what is the best way to calm yourself down when you have hit a monster?

Usually the heart starts to go ten to the dozen and my face reddens up a bit.

This is clearly a massive tell and i use it to spot other players who have big hands.

I have done lots of stuff that has pretty much shattered my nerves and would think i could overcome this by now.

Playing the good fun home game last night against players who are terrible but the game is a laugh and very relaxed i hit quads on the turn and just couldn't stop the excitement from having it's usual effect.

[AdamM]

can I ask how long you've been playing and how much time you've managed to put in at live MTTs?

[AndrewT]

Just do what's been happening to me recently - every time you raise, miss the flop completely. That way you never have to worry about it.

[Scottish Dave]

When playing live what is the best way to calm yourself down when you have hit a monster?

Usually the heart starts to go ten to the dozen and my face reddens up a bit.

This is clearly a massive tell and i use it to spot other players who have big hands.

I have done lots of stuff that has pretty much shattered my nerves and would think i could overcome this by now.

Playing the good fun home game last night against players who are terrible but the game is a laugh and very relaxed i hit quads on the turn and just couldn't stop the excitement from having it's usual effect.

get drunk pre game!

I have this tag on me that suggest i like to drink ALOT -  now i have no idea where this has come from, but apparently i play better when im drunk (so im told by a few people BTW)

so my drinking isnt for social purposes its part of my game  

[ACE2M]

can I ask how long you've been playing and how much time you've managed to put in at live MTTs?

About 2 years worth when i had no idea what i was doing a few years ago and about 8 months ago i started again, playing about 5/6 times a month (not including home games, at least one a week).

[ACE2M]

When playing live what is the best way to calm yourself down when you have hit a monster?

Usually the heart starts to go ten to the dozen and my face reddens up a bit.

This is clearly a massive tell and i use it to spot other players who have big hands.

I have done lots of stuff that has pretty much shattered my nerves and would think i could overcome this by now.

Playing the good fun home game last night against players who are terrible but the game is a laugh and very relaxed i hit quads on the turn and just couldn't stop the excitement from having it's usual effect.

get drunk pre game!

I have this tag on me that suggest i like to drink ALOT -  now i have no idea where this has come from, but apparently i play better when im drunk (so im told by a few people BTW)

so my drinking isnt for social purposes its part of my game 

The perfect excuse

[AdamM]

the reason I ask is that, unless I'm different (which I doubt) time should sort that out. I've been playing at the local casino 2 to 4 times a week for almost exactly two years and I cant remember the last time I felt nervous playing poker. If I find AA on the button after a raise, or if I flop the nuts when I've called a maniacs raise, or whatever the scenario, I don't realy feel anything. I just calmly get on with playing the hand. thing to get used to is, the situation thats come up will happen again and again, even if it's making quads or a straight flush.

making a big hand or winning a big pot is nice but you need to amake it feel like a day to day occurance.

personally when it comes to alcohol it's not one drop for me (at the poker table that is)

[mikkyT]

I agree with Adam. However, I've never overcome the europhia of winning a big hand. You've been suppressing those feelings the whole hand and once you win it, the sudden rush that fills your body is uncontrollable for me. Hence the smoking the cig so I can calm down for the next hand

[AdamM]

I agree, if winning big key hands in tourneys doesnt make you feel good you should get out of the game.
no american table banging though please

[Graham C]

I was amazed I was like Adam,  before the game started, I was really nervous, the first couple of hands I was really nervous but that was because it was my first ever live  game but when it came to monster hands, I was ok with it.  I probably have tells but I wasnt aware of any and think I stayed pretty cool.

[ACE2M]

the reason I ask is that, unless I'm different (which I doubt) time should sort that out. I've been playing at the local casino 2 to 4 times a week for almost exactly two years and I cant remember the last time I felt nervous playing poker. If I find AA on the button after a raise, or if I flop the nuts when I've called a maniacs raise, or whatever the scenario, I don't realy feel anything. I just calmly get on with playing the hand. thing to get used to is, the situation thats come up will happen again and again, even if it's making quads or a straight flush.

making a big hand or winning a big pot is nice but you need to amake it feel like a day to day occurance.

personally when it comes to alcohol it's not one drop for me (at the poker table that is)

I never celebrate a hand but if it's the 1st big hand i've won in that tourney my heart goes nuts and i go bright red, i just can't help it wether it's a £5 chip throwing contest or a festival main event nothing beats the feeling that you've got some chips and your in the tourney.

[matt674]

I agree, if winning big key hands in tourneys doesnt make you feel good you should get out of the game.
no american table banging though please

You can still feel good about winning key hands and not show any emotion to the rest of the table. Personally i try my best to be a member of the "Phil Ivey school of winning and losing" where my expression stays the same after winning or losing a big pot, sometimes its difficult if you've got £10000 riding on the turn of a card but i'd rather go down that road than that of the "Phil Hellmuth school of winning and losing".

The feeling of gratification and satisfaction i have on the inside is still just as much as everyone else's even if my emotional state on the outside is still blank.

As for controlling yourself its hard to give specific pointers as each person has a different reaction when they hit a big hand - thats part of the fun of live poker, spotting everyone's tells. I just try to get to a tournament (live or online) in plenty of time to allow me to get in the right frame of mind to play poker, i find that once i'm "in the zone" i play every hand to the best of my ability without giving away much to my opponents (at least i dont think i do!!  )

[Pommy]

The way I got around this was to wait until it was my turn to call/fold or raise after the cards have been dealt to look at my cards.  Then when I look at my cards I count to 5 before saying or doing anything.  This, I find, forces me to concentrate on the game, my opponents, allows me to do a rough calculation of their chip stacks, and removes a lot of potential reaction of seeing pocket Aces or the like as I am already calm having taken my time.  

Then I don't even look at the flop when it is being laid down, I'll look at my chips or move the stacks around and re-arrange them, or look at others in the pot as I am always worried that they will be looking at me to see if I have hit anything in the flop.  Again, this is to calm myself down, give me time to think of what I will do and evaluate my opponents.

This works for me and I know a few others that do it too.

It makes it very hard to read at times too which is a bonus.

I started doing this after my wife (who had been watching me play) told me that she knew when I was going to fold or play my cards before the cards had finished being dealt.