I am the sorest loser you will ever meet. When I was ten years old, I was ejected from a recreational baseball game for cursing at an umpire from the outfield. I remember sitting out for an entire season either because I was on suspension from the league, or my dad was too embarrassed to bring me back. As I’ve grown older, I’ve learned to cope with losing in other ways. Stress balls and pillow punching usually do the trick, but in poker you sometimes need a different approach.

As I noted in my previous blog, I got my rear-end delivered to me on a silver platter this past week. I decided I needed to reset my systems and take a break from poker for a while. This blog is my first toe in the proverbial “poker pool” since last Monday. I used my time off to focus on school and exercise; I wanted my mind to be fresh for my next assault of the virtual felt.

An extended break from poker is sometimes the remedy for a long run of bad cards and “donk-esque” play. It’s amazing how poor results can influence even the best players at times. During my break, I discovered an article by Wachovia(the player, not the bank) that changed my perspective on the mental game and tilting. Wachovia wrote that “You CAN NOT get the most out of your game thinking about the last tourney or the last bad beat.” After reading this quote, I realized that was exactly what I was doing. I was so focused on the previously horrendous hands that I couldn’t focus correctly on the hands to come.

I was letting the past affect the present, and in turn, letting the present affect the future. I was losing chips because of my attitude and I was losing equity because I was losing chips. In essence, I was losing equity because I had a crappy attitude. Then, if you take it one step further, my loss in equity is a gain in equity for everyone else in the tournament. I was making my opponents chips worth more to them because I was angry. Incredible.

After that thought crossed my mind, another gem popped right in. I know I’m not the only one upset; I’ve seen others fill the chat box with spews of hatred. My opponents had in fact given me equity before without me even knowing it! Why in the world, then, would I want to get upset and give it right on back? If I can wrap my head around this concept, I will become more profitable.

As Wachovia mention, focus begins well before the first card is dealt. Focus should begin before you open your poker program, before you sit down, before you wake up in the morning. Focus is a learned habit, developed over time with dedicated practice. These brief breaks from poker and periodic breathers during games will not only influencing my play in the present, but have a profound impact on my play in the future.

That, in essence, is the true game plan of a profitable poker player. Profitable players play for the future as well as the present. I know that if I make correct moves now, or force my opponents to make mistakes, there will be a long-term profit regardless of the outcome in the present. I know that if I make the correct shove with KK enough times, the idiot who calls with Ax will lose money in the long run. I just need to grasp the fact that I will give the equity right back to everyone else in the tournament by tilting and making incorrect moves.

The moral of the story is “embrace the donk”. Do not berate a player after he takes you out with a worse hand; this only serves to educate him. Instead, tell them good hand, and make them feel like they've done something right. The moves your opponents make now will only fatten your pockets in the long run.