Keeping Poker Emotions in Check

Hear’s a familiar story you may have heard:
“I’m online playing poker and holding (Kc, Ks), I hit a set on the flop and end up losing a massive chunk of my stack to a flush on the river with the other player holding absolute junk. So I’m steaming from this and I have virtually no chips left and I go all in the very next hand with (Qd, 5h) and lose it all”

Poker is often said to be more skill than luck. All good poker players will acknowledge this and accept (or not) the probability that you can lose a winning hand with your opponent hitting the turn or river card with very low percentages of this happening. It is frustrating for every poker player in the world when this happens.

The true test of character is how you overcome this in the coming hands or games. Players going on tilt can often happen, leading to players making moves bordering on madness in order to rebuild or bust quickly. This strategy is rarely successful in the long term, because whilst you may double up once, twice or even three times, you are making moves that you would not ordinarily make and are thus relying on elements of luck rather than your own poker skills. This strategy will likely bust you out of the game without achieving your own objective of making money. As this is what it’s all about.

Here are some suggestions. Stand-up for a minute, wash your face, have a glass of water or whatever takes your fancy to be cool, calm and collected.  Make your next decision based on poker rather than on the emotion of feeling of wanting to reach through to the other side of your computer screen to slap the player who has just hit the only one of a few cards on the river to bust your near unbeatable hand. It has happened to every player and in truth it will likely happen again. As a player, it is really how you cope with this mentally that will determine how your chip stack and ultimately your bankroll will be affected in the future.

Tip: Keep your emotions in check when you lose a high percentage hand. You will win more chips and more money when you keep your decisions based purely on playing good poker rather than basing decisions on anger or emotion. In the long term you will win more than you lose.

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