I need to cool down.

Only use money u dont care for.

yeah, give up

Hi Rtwice,

that's purely a mental issue, and I believe it is relatively common. I noticed myself that I tend to play worse right after I move up in stakes.

One advice I can give you is to think about your money in Big Blinds, not dollars. That should help you think about your chips more objectively. If you're constantly reminding yourself about how much money is at stake, and possibly what you could buy with it etc. you probably won't be able to play an effective game of poker. As long as you stick to solid bankroll management, you have nothing to be afraid of.

We actually have a short psychological article about the Attitude towards Money, which unfortunately is for bronze members, and a longer and more in-depth silver article about Scared Money. But maybe you can also find some helpful advice in the basic article How can you protect your money from tilt.

Keep your chin up, it's one big session.

Thanks for your advice.

Usually I try to think about my money in chips ($5.00 = 500 chips) but many times it's not enough.
I think that one of the reason why I am tense is that I've got a small bankroll, so I can't relax while I'm aware that I could loose everything in a short time.

I'll probably get a silver status in the next few days, so I can have a look at your articles/videos that might help me.

In the meantime, I'll play with Play Money, just to keep practicing on position and hand value.

if you have a small bankroll and is scared to lose, play freeroll tourneys a slow but good way to build a bankroll without loseing any money

Originally posted by Rtwice
I think that one of the reason why I am tense is that I've got a small bankroll, so I can't relax while I'm aware that I could loose everything in a short time.

Would you mind telling me your bankroll management guidelines? I believe you mentioned recently that you deposited 100 pounds, that should give you plenty of buy-ins for NL2.

I'm not sure if play money is a viable alternative, since people's playing styles there seem to differ a lot from real money games. But I suppose it could be useful to learn about some basic concepts.

Originally posted by Harrier88

Originally posted by Rtwice
I think that one of the reason why I am tense is that I've got a small bankroll, so I can't relax while I'm aware that I could loose everything in a short time.

Would you mind telling me your bankroll management guidelines? I believe you mentioned recently that you deposited 100 pounds, that should give you plenty of buy-ins for NL2.

I'm not sure if play money is a viable alternative, since people's playing styles there seem to differ a lot from real money games. But I suppose it could be useful to learn about some basic concepts.

Yes, I did deposit £100, which is a lot for NL2 indeed. But still, I don't feel totally comfortable, since I had bad experiences in the past couple of days (due to bad beats and tilt as consequence and, obviously, inexperience) and my financial situation won't probably permit me to deposit more money in the near future.

Play Money is actually helping me, as you said, with the basic concepts, and I'm quite enjoying it, since the majority of people is playing at those tables for my same reasons.

By the way, I haven't played much today, but I felt a little more confident. Still, I definitely need to work on my "game attitude", trying to be not tense and focused on the game.

Originally posted by Rtwice
also because all the other players were acting properly and not like dickheads.

you can't think like this! if a villain is playing strangely or incorrectly and you lose to them you can't blame them, it's their money they can play how they choose. it's your job to watch them, try to get in their heads and make the most profitable decisions you can based on the information you have.

when you lose to a bad player try to think more along the lines of 'did i make a mistake' and 'how can i exploit their mistakes in the future'. taking things personally will send you down the road to ruin.

Originally posted by badgerer

Originally posted by Rtwice
also because all the other players were acting properly and not like dickheads.

you can't think like this! if a villain is playing strangely or incorrectly and you lose to them you can't blame them, it's their money they can play how they choose. it's your job to watch them, try to get in their heads and make the most profitable decisions you can based on the information you have.

Well spoken badgerer!

In "The Mental Game of Poker", Jared Tendler teaches us to "inject logic" when we find ourselves tilting.

In this case, when a total goombah wins a pot by 3Bet shoving 54o and flopping a boat vs our AA what "logic" can offset the crushing loss?

This:
"He has just re-inforced his bad play. He will be encouraged to play like this, and I'll be able to make this back and more".

Maybe.

When reviewing a hand where you got sucked out on, ask yourself, "Would I make this move again and again and again in the same situation?"
If the answer is yes -- as it would be if it the proper play -- then tell yourself, nice hand, well played, too bad. And move on.

These mental tricks may be difficult to master, but they are essential.

The book mentioned is highly recommended.

I also suggest blogging.
In your blog you can discuss your hands with others, and keep a running record of how you play, how you handle the mental game.

Finally, be sure to post the difficult hands in the hand discussion and hand evaluation forums.

Best of luck,
--VS

I totally agree with you guys.

What I meant saying that was that people is not wasting time there, as I thought it would have been.
I've seen people playing with unreal money somewhere else many times and they were just chilling around, going all-in every hand and calling every single raise.

Now I'm reading some psychology articles here on Pokerstrategy, which are very interesting.

You can't play poker if you're not confidence in your A game as I see you're not try to improve your game and than u will better