I’ve been watching a lot of the NBA/NHL playoffs recently… the commentators talk a lot about momentum and the importance of winning the first game (the team that wins the first game will win the series over 80% of the time). A losing team with their heads down are much less likely to win than the team who are dominating and confident.
As a poker player it’s important not to allow this type of negative momentum to exist.
How negative momentum occurs
I’d argue that almost no-one is able to continue playing their A-game while on a downswing. As things continue to go badly we often make mistakes due to lack of focus or by making incorrect changes to our game based on negative results. As our winrate lessens due to these leaks it becomes more and more difficult to break out of a losing streak. Our confidence lessens and we start to expect to lose flips and expect to lose sessions. This is negative momentum in poker.
Taking steps to reduce negative momentum
In casinos you’ll notice guys who hang around the roulette tables writing down the previous numbers trying to formulate a trend. We know there is no trend; each time the wheel is spun and the ball is dropped it’s completely fresh, the past results have no bearing. It’s the same when we sit down to play a session. We shouldn’t be looking back to the past to create a trend, we should be focussing on what’s in front of us right now.
Every day is a fresh day and each session as a completely fresh session, our past results only affect us if we allow them to. My bankroll is not what it was at the start of the week/month/year… it is what it is right now. That one is really important so I’ll say that again… My bankroll is what it is right now. Accept it fully.
Creating resistance through a poor mindset
When I don’t accept my present situation I create resistance and become negative, this only serves to be destructive. When I think “I need to have a good session to get back even for the month”, “I would have $XXXX if that fucktard hadn’t 2 outered me”, “If only I hadn’t ran $Xk under EV this month, I’d be a lot happier”. These are all examples of ways I could create resistance through a poor mindset.
Instead it’s important to take responsibility for everything that’s happened. Accept your situation and act on it. That’s all there is.
5 Comments
An excellent post.
‘boywonder’ seems to have had a profound effect on your mindset.
We must focus on decisions rather than results. That is where we must take full responsibility.
Tommy Angelo talks about attachment to bankroll. If your bankroll is 5k and you drop to 4k. You will probably be upset that you no longer have a 5k bankroll. However, on the way up from 1k, 2k, 3k, and 4k. You were very happy at 4k.
It makes no difference what your bankroll is. Just focus on the present and keep playing your A game.
The only thing is, I wish I could follow that mindset. I struggle with it eveyday. I hope to reach that style of mindset soon. It is a daily struggle for me because I keep thinking about where my bankroll was the biggest and I want to get back there. It’s pointless but it’s just the way my mind works.
great post btw. Keep on blogging.
Thanks for the comments guys.
I remember listening to that Angelo episode when it came out, the money attachment bit one of my favourite things he’s ever written.
It’s often difficult to focus on the present and keep playing A game, so I like to play as many mental tricks with myself as possible to keep my mindset healthy…
I think that it matters a lot what your bankroll is. I used to do my accounting at the end of each month, so I never really updated my bankroll amount until the end of each month. Say I lost $4k within the first few days, I’d often feel like I need to dig myself out of a hole for the rest of the month, that I had to get even. I had an idea that I’d like to make $X each month and I was behind on that, need to dig myself out.
When things got really shitty (through negative momentum?
) I’d then get to the stage where I needed to financially re-assess things mid-month to be comfortable. Immediately after doing this I’d always feel great. I’d calculate my current bankroll and formulate a new plan from it. That was effectively returning myself to the present rather than thinking in terms on the past/future.
Being in a ‘feeling like winning back money’ mindset is a TERRIBLE place to play A-game poker from. So why create it for yourself? Recalculate your bankroll, lose attachment to what it was, create new goals to focus on. I guarantee that will decrease anxiety and increase focus.
I like the second hand boywonder stuff, FWIW I can count to 20 now!