Pointless poker

[titaniumbean]

Also doubt you have played enough hands live to have any idea of what a downswing can be like.

Thanks for the replies, all.

Actually I do have some idea of how many hands I have played live and it's around 30,000 in the last three years on and off.

Also, while poker is a  'hobby', at the same time I am currently out of work so I have been effectively using it to pay the bills but doing it off an extremely vulnerable bankroll. It was only a matter of time before the downswing hit and with the profits already spent I was going to find myself in real trouble.

I would play £1/£2 if I could afford it as it is even easier to beat than 50p/£1 but when you are barely rolled for the smallest game and the biggest game plays four times higher in reality then that wouldnt be wise.

As regards the moral justification, I agree with jakally, there is none. But there is no moral justification for a lot of things we do really. I suppose we all have a choice and if I try to win his money I must remember he is trying to win mine.

I've played 15k hand sessions before lol.

Just deffo take a break and maybe find another hobby which doesn't have swings in it so you can actually relax when you are away from the tables. When i'm really feeling mentally crushed I generally tell everyone how much I hate poker and then play another format for a bit, a couple of sngs and I remember why I chose to grind cash all that time ago !

Live is silly.

[George2Loose]

If you are making a longterm profit out of poker as you say and you are currently making +EV plays at the table what exactly is the problem? If the results are tilting you so much you are playing bad then maybe you should take a break. But if you're still playing well why are you being results orientated? Poker is a test of character imo and feeling sorry for yourself during inevitable downswings isn't the characteristic of a good player.

Cos we're all robots.....

Yeah it's natural and human nature to feel cursed when you're on a downswing. Are you actually cursed? Prob not. Does feeling like you're cursed help you play better? Prob not. Ultimately, if you want to be a better player acquiring a more robotic attitude to downswings is prob a good thing. Aren't you currently seeking to improve your own attitude to downswings and bad beats?

If we weren't human we wouldn't enjoy the highs (which is probs why we play the game) as much as we loathe the lows

[titaniumbean]

If you are making a longterm profit out of poker as you say and you are currently making +EV plays at the table what exactly is the problem? If the results are tilting you so much you are playing bad then maybe you should take a break. But if you're still playing well why are you being results orientated? Poker is a test of character imo and feeling sorry for yourself during inevitable downswings isn't the characteristic of a good player.

Cos we're all robots.....

Yeah it's natural and human nature to feel cursed when you're on a downswing. Are you actually cursed? Prob not. Does feeling like you're cursed help you play better? Prob not. Ultimately, if you want to be a better player acquiring a more robotic attitude to downswings is prob a good thing. Aren't you currently seeking to improve your own attitude to downswings and bad beats?

If we weren't human we wouldn't enjoy the highs (which is probs why we play the game) as much as we loathe the lows

really though what highs are there left for you in poker? winning tournies outright is one good feeling, i've never felt great winning just a single pot or having a winning session. yet every time sklansky lies to me about how much i'm going to get back on an all in I feel used!!

[Royal Flush]

Actually I do have some idea of how many hands I have played live and it's around 30,000 in the last three years on and off.

WOW! I assume way more than that. 30k hands is nothing, you know when you see those graphs people post with those huge downswongs, well your current swing would be 1 of those tiny blips on the st8 part of the curve.

[titaniumbean]

Actually I do have some idea of how many hands I have played live and it's around 30,000 in the last three years on and off.

WOW! I assume way more than that. 30k hands is nothing, you know when you see those graphs people post with those huge downswongs, well your current swing would be 1 of those tiny blips on the st8 part of the curve.

250k break even graphs have always scared me!



maybe have a play with this pyso

http://www.pokervariancesimulator.fr/

[MANTIS01]

If you are making a longterm profit out of poker as you say and you are currently making +EV plays at the table what exactly is the problem? If the results are tilting you so much you are playing bad then maybe you should take a break. But if you're still playing well why are you being results orientated? Poker is a test of character imo and feeling sorry for yourself during inevitable downswings isn't the characteristic of a good player.

Cos we're all robots.....

Yeah it's natural and human nature to feel cursed when you're on a downswing. Are you actually cursed? Prob not. Does feeling like you're cursed help you play better? Prob not. Ultimately, if you want to be a better player acquiring a more robotic attitude to downswings is prob a good thing. Aren't you currently seeking to improve your own attitude to downswings and bad beats?

If we weren't human we wouldn't enjoy the highs (which is probs why we play the game) as much as we loathe the lows

It's pretty easy to say it's just human nature to feel a certain way and leave it at that. And that's what most people will do. Hence why most people are average or bad at poker. I think conditioning your temperament is possible and you can at least attempt to enjoy the highs fully while resisting the depression of the lows. Yeah that's not natural and takes some work on character but if you can make progress in that finer point of the game you can become a more cultured player. At the very least you will become a more cultured person.

Every single person who plays poker longterm will feel cursed from time to time, every single person. I have felt like that loads of times, and so have you. What I have learnt is abs nobody gives a shit, abs nobody.

[Pyso]

Actually I do have some idea of how many hands I have played live and it's around 30,000 in the last three years on and off.

WOW! I assume way more than that. 30k hands is nothing, you know when you see those graphs people post with those huge downswongs, well your current swing would be 1 of those tiny blips on the st8 part of the curve.

Yeah, thinking about it that does seem a low number. I guessed it quickly before rushing out of the house. I do know that I played 6000 hands in four months since I started counting and I've been playing on and off, mostly live, for 3 years.

Anyway, I know it's a blip in the scheme of things and that poker is gambling amongst other things so these things could and will happen. My post really was more about the moral problems we suddenly have once the variance turns against us, and also about the perceived futility of it all.

To give you an example of how the warped brain works - I have just returned from a friend's home game (I'd agreed weeks ago to play) and for a £5 buy in at silly microstakes I made a £27 profit. Now, increasing your stake five fold should make me happy but I just drove home thinking "Typical, why do I get my good situations in a pissy home game and not at DTD"

The mind boggles. Well, mine does.

[T_Mar]

If you are making a longterm profit out of poker as you say and you are currently making +EV plays at the table what exactly is the problem? If the results are tilting you so much you are playing bad then maybe you should take a break. But if you're still playing well why are you being results orientated? Poker is a test of character imo and feeling sorry for yourself during inevitable downswings isn't the characteristic of a good player.

Cos we're all robots.....

Yeah it's natural and human nature to feel cursed when you're on a downswing. Are you actually cursed? Prob not. Does feeling like you're cursed help you play better? Prob not. Ultimately, if you want to be a better player acquiring a more robotic attitude to downswings is prob a good thing. Aren't you currently seeking to improve your own attitude to downswings and bad beats?

If we weren't human we wouldn't enjoy the highs (which is probs why we play the game) as much as we loathe the lows

It's pretty easy to say it's just human nature to feel a certain way and leave it at that. And that's what most people will do. Hence why most people are average or bad at poker. I think conditioning your temperament is possible and you can at least attempt to enjoy the highs fully while resisting the depression of the lows. Yeah that's not natural and takes some work on character but if you can make progress in that finer point of the game you can become a more cultured player. At the very least you will become a more cultured person.

Every single person who plays poker longterm will feel cursed from time to time, every single person. I have felt like that loads of times, and so have you. What I have learnt is abs nobody gives a shit, abs nobody.

Not sure about the whole becoming a more cultured person but but I do agree with you Mantis that by becoming more 'robotic' or investing less emotion when playing will make you a better player - Its something I really struggle with though. Like George says it goes against human nature to be like this - more so for some than others. It must be possible to train your temperament but for most its what makes people the way they are, its built in. Outside forces have a massive influence aswell - Eg Someone with life pressures (Pyso mentioned he has been out of work) is going to find this excercise much more difficult than someone without any money concerns.  I doubt very much that the majority of people have the will and mental strengh to overcome the emotion these pressures bring - I know I dont.

If you playing live only Pyso, then you really are at the merci of variance. Swings are going to last for longer (time wise) which will make any downswing  feel all the worse and never ending.. someone playing high volume online could suffer your swing and come out of it in a day or two where it could take you 6 months or a year.  There is really not alot you can do about that - If your personal circumstances can stand it then dont put the pressure on yourself, you'll feel like a weight has been lifted by giving yourself a break and give you a bit of perspective.

GL

[titaniumbean]

If you playing live only Pyso, then you really are at the merci of variance. Swings are going to last for longer (time wise) which will make any downswing  feel all the worse and never ending.. someone playing high volume online could suffer your swing and come out of it in a day or two where it could take you 6 months or a year.  There is really not alot you can do about that - If your personal circumstances can stand it then dont put the pressure on yourself, you'll feel like a weight has been lifted by giving yourself a break and give you a bit of perspective.

GL

Chicago Joeys prop bet graph. Playing 6max online cash $0.10/$0.25 for 22 hours.....

Click to see full-size image.

[StuartHopkin]

I think a lot of it depends on why your going to play?

Ive been playing a lot more cash recently, I dont really keep records of how Im doing because its not really why Im there.

Im preferring cash to tournaments at the moment and the main reason is that you normally get a couple of peope you know on the tables. I would rather sit with a few of the cash regs at DTD and have some food a couple of drinks and some banter than sit on a table of complete idiots who all think they are amazing.

I think some of this may be what your missing, as a rule I find the .50/1 pretty painful to play, mainly due to the majority of the opponents (KINBOSHI included  )

Jakally, Red-Dog, Mitch, George, Blatch all make for a great atmosphere on your  cash table. Last week I was sat playing Scrabble on someones I-Phone and just generally enjoying being there! (anyone fill in that guys name? really nice guy, is his first name Tom?)

[poonjoe]

I think a lot of it depends on why your going to play?

Ive been playing a lot more cash recently, I dont really keep records of how Im doing because its not really why Im there.

Im preferring cash to tournaments at the moment and the main reason is that you normally get a couple of peope you know on the tables. I would rather sit with a few of the cash regs at DTD and have some food a couple of drinks and some banter than sit on a table of complete idiots who all think they are amazing.

I think some of this may be what your missing, as a rule I find the .50/1 pretty painful to play, mainly due to the majority of the opponents (KINBOSHI included  )

Jakally, Red-Dog, Mitch, George, Blatch all make for a great atmosphere on your  cash table. Last week I was sat playing Scrabble on someones I-Phone and just generally enjoying being there! (anyone fill in that guys name? really nice guy, is his first name Tom?)

Yeh know who you mean but I don't know if he wants his name in a public space or not!

As far as the thread is concerned...

Pyso if you are at all interested in my opinion, it seems clear from reading your post and a number of your previous posts, you are not in the right frame of mind to be playing at the moment. Take as much time out as you need. You will be ready to come back when you can turn round and laugh at all the little things that are bothering you so much at the moment.

The addictive element of poker will f*k with your brain. As per any other addiction, your brain will be very creative in finding reasons why you should keep playing even though you know you shouldn't.

[Pyso]

I am enjoying my break from poker. I don't know if it will become permanent or not, but at the moment I'm not missing it. My PC is fooked at the moment so I'm not even tempted to play online.

I caught some poker on the telly last night and if it wasn't for the allure of a Spanish babe called Leo Margets I wouldn't have watched more than a few minutes. The whole thing seemed a bit surreal, and.. well....silly.

I wonder if things will change.