Lately on the poker tables I have not been taking enough time to think over a hand before I act. Normally this happens in raised flops and I hit my much awaited set. I am always quick to bet them on the flop before letting the timer go down at all , usually not taking time to consider other options , but whats worse is If I get a caller I will make a really fast stupid pot sized bet no matter what card comes off for the turn. This has me a bit worried.

The key to this is going to be in ALWAYs taking 5-30 seconds before acting. of course not when its a fast fold in a disinteresting hand, but the ones I feel a strong commitment too. Today I applied my new rule and it seems to be working for me. Even if river the stone cold nuts and my only options is to call someones all in raise, I need to take a little time for reasons of discipline. Later on this can help me to slow down rather than blasting away my entire stack with one bad bet

TY FISH

Like most poker players, one of the things I love to do, is talk about poker. Because I am isolated alone on a computer for at least 6 hours a day while I play, this need to talk about the game is amplified. I am sure this is the case for many online rounder’s.

Bad Beat Stories

A complete waste of time!! In fact, it’s unhealthy and counterproductive.  Negativity feeds on itself and breads in the people that allow it too. I always TRY and stay completely away from these conversations. Of course I still maintain a polite approach to people who bring up these boring stories, but I try and quickly change the topic and keep the conversation positive and productive.

It’s much more productive to talk about starting hand requirements, or bank roll management, etc. than to talk about something that we have no control over.  Losing/ Break even players tend to focus on bad hands rather than their play. At the end of the day they think things like; If only I my Aces had help up, or how can they call with crap like that, or once again I get f**cked. Positive players reassure themselves that they played well, and that the outcome is really non substantial.

So when we get together to talk about our beloved game, let’s try and help each other out ok??Sorry your Aces got cracked again but howz about we talk about how much of a “Rock” you are , or maybe how much poker tracker has increased your revenues for this month J

• Bad beats are nothing more than “Expected Losses”
• Losers make excuses; winners always find a way to win.
• Never focus on a problem, only the solution

Before I sit down and play some No Limit Texas Hold Em Online I follow this simple system before I play. This comes from years of experience in the poker rooms, and I hope I can help another card player with this online poker strategy.

Hungry

Angry

Lonely

Tired

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Hungry

Poker players get hungry for three things

1: FOOD

Sounds simple enough but poker players take this very seriously. I love my job like nothing else and believe me I can get up in the morning at like 6am and be logged in online and playing No Limit Poker before my eyes are barely open. My body and brain need fuel to be fully optimized and I always play poker like an ass when I am undernourished. Bluffing and making dumb calls because I cannot think clearly. The worst part is I might not even be aware of why I am playing like an ass, and the answer was there the whole time, I just refused to look at it or ignored the obvious.

2: MONEY

Please for the love of god disassociate your poker chips WITH money. Just play your game, and try and have some fun while you do it!! This is part of the reason EVERY serious poker player will always stress the importance of bankroll management. If you cannot afford to lose some buy ins fast then you should not be playing!!

3-BLOOD

Some asshole, fish , donkey , mofo or whatever you want to call him, caught a 3 outer on the river and just cleaned you out of 2 full buy ins IN ONE HAND !! ARRG ! Absolutely do not focus on that player, loll. IT WILL COST YOU!!! Focus on your game and maintaining your respect for the rules that you make for yourself when you play online poker. Sometimes we get a super fish on a table and its absolutely ok to loosen up our games to take chips from him, but we always need to make sure we are in the pot for a good reason and not just on a vendetta. Also resist the urge to try and outplay the good players. Most of the your poker income will come from the fish, not the other pros.

Angry

My life can come with a lot of stress. I need to ask myself if I am angry or in an overall good mood before I attempt to play online poker. This strategy can be the difference between a winning and a losing day. Why set myself up to fail before I even start to play poker?? If the wife and I just had a huge fight and she called me a miserable bastard, or a lazy poker playing prick, there is no way I can play poker shortly after. I have learned to get over the argument first , kiss and make up, RESET , and then play., play, play, lol.

Lonely

You had a big date planned for tonight, and now she cancelled!! You called ll your friends and absolutely everyone is busy. You find yourself at home and just do not feel like playing online poker. But what do you do ??Play poker anyway?? !! DO NOT PLAY POKER!! Entertainment time is soooo important when it comes to playing online poker. If you know you should not be playing and are just trying to fill in a few yours DON’T DO IT !!Get yourself a stockpile of things to do , so that you can plan ahead for these times. Buy some books, movies, get the abbmaster or whatever it takes.

Tired

I Do not play big poker sessions after a long day of activities, or after a crappy night’s sleep, or even while drunk, lol J My mind needs to be sharp and fully rested to play to my full potential . Even more important than this, I DO NOT play for more than 2 hours per session. I ALWAYS play for around 1.5 hours and then I break for at least 20 minutes before I play again. There are times of course when some idiot fish is dumping 2 buy ins per minute and in this case I will break my rule. However I still have a plan for this, I close down all tables accept for the fishy one, and I only play that table for at least 30 minutes while I stretch, grab myself drink ,etc