In my previous blog I touched based on ideas centered around psychology--the feelings and emotions generated by playing poker and betting the horses. I also noted that the benefit of the whole cause-and-effect-relationship of emotion/reaction processes isn't simply confined to sports/gambling but also applies to life in general. In this entry I plan on taking a closer look at an exceptional sports icon and analyze how he converts seemingly negative emotion/reaction behavior into the ability to excel further in his associated discipline.

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Tiger Woods

Eldrick "Tiger" Woods, the absolute superstar of golf. There is no doubt that emotions are a part of his game. He doesn't try to hide how he feels, he puts everything on the line and wears his emotions on his sleeve. So how does Tiger benefit from this incredible amount of emotions he releases?

Tiger is a wonderful example because of how often we get to see an emotion/reaction out of him. Bad drive? He slams his club. Bad putt? He takes off his hat and looks dumbfounded. Awesome shot? Fist pump. So how does he manage to handle so much varying emotion? It's incredibly simple...he understands his emotional output and has steps in place to deal with his various reactions.

How many of us are guilty of getting into an emotional situation and flying off the handle? There's yelling, crying, frustration. There's blame on others and hurtful words. Information isn't processed and kneejerk reactions are made. A chain reaction results from us not being able to keep our emotions in check...wait though, that's not true...that's just what people what you to believe. That's the easy way to deal with things. Stifling emotions isn't the answer, properly managing your emotions is.

Back to Tiger. He just hit a horrid shot. What is his way of coping?

The first step is obvious to see, he slams his club down in disgust. This is a means to relieve the anger, stress and tension immediately and an outlet for any strong ephemeral emotions.

The second step, he talks angerly towards himself, almost berating himself for such a terrible shot. Through the course of this personal tirade he will also reassure himself (e.g. "come on, you're better than that"). This acts as a means to acknowledge a mistake has been made and it's no one else's but his own. The supposed "negative reaction" is turned positive when he assures himself he can do better.

The third step, he stares straight forward and has a discussion with his caddie Steve Williams. This is where he purges any lingering emotions and tries to find the reasons for what happened. It is the cool down and refocus phase. After this third step he will be ready to approach the next shot with a clean (mind-wise) slate.

(Conversely, similar steps are taken to cope with overwhelmingly positive emotions. Step 1 would be an outward gesture (fist pimp, yelling, etc). Step 2 would be an affirmation of the nice effort and a mild humbling of yourself (nothing negative, but maybe a statement such as "okay, I did well, but there's still a lot of work to do"). Step 3 would remain the same.)

The things Tiger does do to manage his emotions are as important as the things Tiger does not do.

Tiger does not continue to beat himself up over previous shots. He may acknowledge that they happened, but he will never let those shots creep into his psyche later on.

Tiger does not scoff or berate his playing partner and does not let his opponent's shot influence him. As a matter of fact, he really doesn't even pay much attention to his opponent's shot after his own mistake. This is very important because your opponent's shots/attitude should never have an influence on you. If you find yourself piquing with anger because of actions of your opponent then you have a long way to go. An opponent affecting you can quickly become a long and vicious cycle.

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Once you understand how to manage your emotions you will be able to focus your emotional energy into positive thought/feedback and excel even further than you ever imagined. The possibilities are endless. Focused emotional energy will give you great perspective of your abilities and incredible power over yourself. Your thoughts will be clearer and your actions more decisive. You will be decidedly more assured before AND after each endeavor.

Don't be ashamed of emotion. It serves a purpose. Don't shy away from it. Use it as a tool for your own personal improvement. Confront it face-to-face and take the time to analyze/understand it and in turn form the steps necessary to handle it.

Know It. Understand It. Handle It. Unlock your maximum potential.

--Pye

"Scared Money" -

Chips or money that a player does not wish to wager but that is still part of the player's bankroll; chips or money that a player is especially nervous about the prospect of losing.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: A player may have scared money either because that person is playing higher stakes than typical or because the player has been on a losing streak to the point of having only a small bankroll remaining.

EXAMPLE: "My opponent was playing with scared money."

(Courtesy of the Pokerzone.com Dictionary)

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So goes the quote...

"You can't win with scared money..."

We've all heard this quote before. As far back as I can remember, my pops (a degenerate gambler himself) has been telling this to me. We use to go to the horsetrack during my teenage years with "scared money" often and lose. His main excuse for losing was because we didn't have the freedom to throw money around comfortably. I made note of this as a life lesson and continued on my way...

Fast-forward several years later. I now bet the horses and play poker on my own bankroll. I am reasonably successful at both albeit they are still just a hobby to me. I have a decent job and solid credit so scared money isn't really an issue at all. I gamble a lil bit, get irritated-maybe get tilted and then play some more. All of which being a daily standard.

At the beginning of 2009 I went on a mild downswing. Nothing too serious, but I was starting to wonder what my issues were. Was I not seizing my opportunities when presented? Was I not willing to put up the money to play free and loose? I started to question my attitude and techniques. Did I simply not have the right demeanor when playing? At that point I set out to simply care less about the money. Care less about losing and care less about the reasons I lost. I figured it would even my keel and I would be a better player than before. This wasn't a good idea though. I would take this idea much too far and my thoughts of playing with "Un-Scared Money" would soon manifest itself into simply a disregard for money and a complacent attitude towards my horse betting and poker play.

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Lets not kid ourselves, human emotions are natural reactions to stimuli. We cannot control the fact we will have emotions...what we CAN control is how we react to these emotions, internally and externally. We should recognize these emotions and use them to better ourselves. Emotions are triggered for a reason and should be developed into a positive reaction no matter whether the original emotions are good or bad. Think of emotions as something that forces to think/digest/and react to various situation. It is imperative to the betterment of one's thought process and fundamental to that individual's development as a person. To ignore or quash emotion is to hinder your own pursuit of improving personal endeavors.

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So I decided when I gambled from then on, I would take emotion out of the equation and thus take the thoughts of "scared money" out of the equation. This would turn out to be a very bad decision though. I was losing $200-$300 a night betting the horses figuring thing would "come back around." I went to Atlantic City and lost $1800 (the most I had lost before in a single outing was $1000). I was playing -EV games and just getting my lunch handed to me. All the while, I was not letting it bother me one bit. This was a problem though. There was no net, no floor, no bottom. I was more than willing to plummet. I finally snapped out of this degenerative trance I was in when I dropped $5.5k in a weekend in Vegas. Although it was money I could certainly afford to lose, it was simply stupid to do so. The final straw came when I was sitting at the 3-Card Poker table with a $50 ante and $25 Pair+ bet and I hit a straight flush. This would normally we a ridiculously awesome exciting hit...but I wore no emotion from it. $1200 shipped my way in a single hand and I wasn't excited. My mood was melancholy. All I could think about was the fact I still was down $4k at the time. This wasn't fun anymore, this wasn't profitable. This was the absolute worst of the worst. I knew I had to correct this behavior.

I got home from Vegas and swore off gambling for a month. Just time to regroup and regain myself. A period to take control of things again. When I was ready to jump back on the ship again I had a renewed mindset. This time I would get frustrated, I would get annoyed and I would get pissed. I would have reactions to good things and bad things, but no matter what happened, I would pull positives things from these emotions--whether it was to focus more on a race, review a hand history or just analyze what had happened. My bankroll wouldn't be a variance-fest, but a well-tuned grind. I would be more determined and emerge again as a student of the game. I would understand things can get frustrating, but that isn't a reason to be upset...it just shows that I care, that I want to be the best I can be--that I can rise above it andI can get better.

For every player out there that gets frustrated, that gets angry, that flies off the handle a bit...don't despair. It simply means you care about what you're doing. Take that energy and flip it into a positive. Become more determined, more focused, more skilled. Don't feel as though less emotion and more apathy is the answer. Those emotions are there for a reason...let them do their job. In time the emotions will become less reactionary as your thinking becomes more positive. Don't force yourself to an even keel, let it happen over time.

As always, be the best you can be and good luck at the tables!!

--Pye

I was asked recently by a blog reader to go more in depth into the concept of #4 on my "MTT Troubles?..." blogpost...i.e. the idea concerning a winning attitude (or more directly, losing the "I'm Just Happy to be Here" mentality). This post touches base with understanding and developing a positive and confident attitude at the tables.

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The attitude of poker is something that has to be developed within. Just like how there are some people that are naturally gifted at things, there are others who have to hone their skills with practice and repetition. We all don't have naturally wonderful attitudes like a JohnnyBax, but over time we can come very close to being that cool.

First things first, EVERYONE gets upset and tilted...those who say they don't are simply lying. The ones who excel though are the guys that identify these feeling quickly and have the steps in place to combat them. You must be prepared at the table to see the grossest of the gross happen and forget it by the time the next hand is dealt. So what are these steps? Well, it can be unique to each person, but here is a general rundown of ideas to create a solid mindset/disposition.

1. You MUST be confident and almost cocky in your attitude about your game. Always remember, the others at the table are as defensive if not more defensive about how they go about things--take advantage of it, but be able to get away when danger arises. Put in those three-bets or open-raise with trash...always try to make sure you show down the goods though. You want it in their heads that you are a beast.

2. Play poker like you have allllll day to do it. Focus and think each decision through. Try to make sure you have a "plan" in place before you make an action. E.G. If you raise with AQo preflop, how are you going to react to a shove? Or 88 preflop? Try and have a course of action for each likely scenario and stick to it. This also makes it easier to swallow if a bad beat occurs because you thought out the move and stuck to it rather than making a decision based on split-second feeling/emotions.

2a. The easier the decisions, the less your stomach churns. In lower-limits you will often be flat-called when you make 2.5x raises; however, in higher limits you will usually take it down or be 3-bet. Be aware of this. If you want to "steal" then try and steal with garbage hands like 27o of 38o instead of popping up with A9 and having to grudgingly lay down on a reraise.

3. Play with power. Play to win, but most importantly, play towards your strong points. Be humble about your game later on when you are going back to look at how you can get better, not when you are at the table. Still though, don't be blind to your own mistakes. Also, be inclined to push late when everyone else is pulling it in a bit.

If you can instill these main concepts in yourself, then over time the attitude of winning should come along with it. Never underestimate the power of a lil bit of confidence.

In review, think of the P's when you are playing.

Proud, Pride - Almost to the point of being pompous about the quality of your game
Patience - Play poker like you have allllll day. Take your time.
Prepare - Make sure you are ready to play. Limit distractions, turn on the music, whatever gets you into playing mood
Plan - Have a course of action when you make a move. Be aware of the different possibilities and have a decision ready...but also feel free to review your decision...remember allllll day.
Purge - Review what happened in the hand and be able to rid yourself of strong emotions. Take deep breaths....take a drink....walk around for a minute....whatever gets you closer to an even keel.
Power, Push - Take the initiative late. Control the table. Be the one they have to get through to move on. Be willing to put yourself out there. It's no use trying to simply just back into a final table.

Hope some of this stuff helps out! Good luck at the tables!

--Pye