steve7stud 0 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 About a month ago I noticed that one of my former students was on an emotional rollercoaster. After having a discussion with him I realized that his primary happiness and sadness stemmed from his poker results. This is one of the biggest problems with playing poker. Whether you are playing purely recreationally or you are a high stakes pro, nobody likes to lose. I've been "lucky" in a lot of ways to have David Oppenheim as one of my mentors. David is known for having a bit of a temper at the poker table. After watching him play for a ridiculous amount of hours, I came to two conclusions. Even when he is angry at the table he still plays well. And when he leaves the table, he leaves the results there as well. I talked with him about this concept a few years ago, because I was struggling with leaving my results in the casino. He didn't give me an elaborate answer. He simply explained that when he is done playing, he doesn't think about it anymore.Fortunately for Dave he is insanely talented, has a wonderful wife and three kids. Lives in a mansion and has just about anything a person could want. So it might be easier for him to not let his losses get him down. The only way that I know for a person to be able to have success in poker, is to have a stable life outside of poker. Most of us probably don't live in mansions. But having a home that you feel comfortable in, good friends, hobbies, etc. This is what will get you through the tough times. And this is what will also enable you to leave your results at the casino. Or for most of you......online. In my opnion, in a lot of ways this is even more difficult for online players. Your computer is in your house and you can hop back into a game at any point. And without discipline and a strong base of friends/activities........your life can be consumed by poker. Even worse, your happiness will be dictated by your results. I don't have a quick fix solution to this problem. I can tell you that if you find things that you enjoy besides poker and build lasting relationships with those around you, the results won't matter as much.In the end, don't ever let your results dictate your happiness. If you do, you will have a miserable life, regardless of how successful you are.Good Luck.Steve Link to post Share on other sites
kobe2odom8 14 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 i wanna be happy Link to post Share on other sites
Vtlaxer09 4 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 yeh.. but how much does it cost? Link to post Share on other sites
TheCinciKid 0 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Good post. I've struggled with this myself many times in my poker career and I don't even play professionally. I have a quick temper and I HATE to lose. It's very difficult not to let results effect the other parts of your life, but I think that if you can't find a way to do so, you have no business playing poker (especially not professionally). I know that I will be trying to cut back quite a bit the next several months because I don't like the person that I am when I lose at poker. Link to post Share on other sites
BeaverStyle 1 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 I agree with steve7stud. Link to post Share on other sites
WhatArunAA 0 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Very well put. Link to post Share on other sites
steve7stud 0 Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 Very well put.For the record......WhatArunAA=TJ is one of the people that I have been most impressed with. I've spent 11 years playing pro poker and I know that people create the rail threads, etc. But all I can say is wow! I hope that he is happy.......win, lose or draw. But the progress that he has made is something that is truly astounding. I tip my hat to you sir. Stay humble and have fun. Link to post Share on other sites
BigDMcGee 3,352 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Great post, Steve. IT's posts like that are the reason the Old time FCP'ers like you. Link to post Share on other sites
steve7stud 0 Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 Great post, Steve. IT's posts like that are the reason the Old time FCP'ers like you.Thanks. I realized that us old timers are a dying breed. People keep leaving. But I would like to contribute what I can. Link to post Share on other sites
StrippersNBlow 0 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Sometimes I feel almost guilty for not going on bigger emotional swings after a big win or a tough beat. Live I can always shake it off much faster, I guess because you have that extra few seconds for it to set in. Online, I haven't been able to resist typing "christ" into the chatbox after a tough one. After that, you just concentrate on your other tables, lol. If you've put in hundreds of thousands of hands, you should have a decent grip on how well or poorly you played to get the result you end with. I can feel angsty after a win or good after a loss, it just depends on how I thought I played. Link to post Share on other sites
Potomophobia 17 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Very good post. Link to post Share on other sites
gatortom64 1 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 More wisdom from another FCP Jedi. Great post Steve. Link to post Share on other sites
dna4ever 2 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 About a month ago I noticed that one of my former students was on an emotional rollercoaster. After having a discussion with him I realized that his primary happiness and sadness stemmed from his poker results. This is one of the biggest problems with playing poker. Whether you are playing purely recreationally or you are a high stakes pro, nobody likes to lose. I've been "lucky" in a lot of ways to have David Oppenheim as one of my mentors. David is known for having a bit of a temper at the poker table. After watching him play for a ridiculous amount of hours, I came to two conclusions. Even when he is angry at the table he still plays well. And when he leaves the table, he leaves the results there as well. I talked with him about this concept a few years ago, because I was struggling with leaving my results in the casino. He didn't give me an elaborate answer. He simply explained that when he is done playing, he doesn't think about it anymore.Fortunately for Dave he is insanely talented, has a wonderful wife and three kids. Lives in a mansion and has just about anything a person could want. So it might be easier for him to not let his losses get him down. The only way that I know for a person to be able to have success in poker, is to have a stable life outside of poker. Most of us probably don't live in mansions. But having a home that you feel comfortable in, good friends, hobbies, etc. This is what will get you through the tough times. And this is what will also enable you to leave your results at the casino. Or for most of you......online. In my opnion, in a lot of ways this is even more difficult for online players. Your computer is in your house and you can hop back into a game at any point. And without discipline and a strong base of friends/activities........your life can be consumed by poker. Even worse, your happiness will be dictated by your results. I don't have a quick fix solution to this problem. I can tell you that if you find things that you enjoy besides poker and build lasting relationships with those around you, the results won't matter as much.In the end, don't ever let your results dictate your happiness. If you do, you will have a miserable life, regardless of how successful you are.Good Luck.SteveMr. 7Stud, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.JK man, great post Link to post Share on other sites
msals11 0 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Definitely agree with all of this, especially your tidbit about it being harder for online players. Link to post Share on other sites
rcgs59 15 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 great post Steve Link to post Share on other sites
MaxStPolish 4 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 This is really good stuff. Link to post Share on other sites
mbreon 0 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Excellent post Steve. Link to post Share on other sites
BellaireDrew 2 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Excellent post Steve. Link to post Share on other sites
mtdesmoines 3 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Good post. You should run like some training sessions or a class or something. About a month ago I noticed that one of my former students was on an emotional rollercoaster. After having a discussion with him I realized that his primary happiness and sadness stemmed from his poker results. This is one of the biggest problems with playing poker. Whether you are playing purely recreationally or you are a high stakes pro, nobody likes to lose. I've been "lucky" in a lot of ways to have David Oppenheim as one of my mentors. David is known for having a bit of a temper at the poker table. After watching him play for a ridiculous amount of hours, I came to two conclusions. Even when he is angry at the table he still plays well. And when he leaves the table, he leaves the results there as well. I talked with him about this concept a few years ago, because I was struggling with leaving my results in the casino. He didn't give me an elaborate answer. He simply explained that when he is done playing, he doesn't think about it anymore.Fortunately for Dave he is insanely talented, has a wonderful wife and three kids. Lives in a mansion and has just about anything a person could want. So it might be easier for him to not let his losses get him down. The only way that I know for a person to be able to have success in poker, is to have a stable life outside of poker. Most of us probably don't live in mansions. But having a home that you feel comfortable in, good friends, hobbies, etc. This is what will get you through the tough times. And this is what will also enable you to leave your results at the casino. Or for most of you......online. In my opnion, in a lot of ways this is even more difficult for online players. Your computer is in your house and you can hop back into a game at any point. And without discipline and a strong base of friends/activities........your life can be consumed by poker. Even worse, your happiness will be dictated by your results. I don't have a quick fix solution to this problem. I can tell you that if you find things that you enjoy besides poker and build lasting relationships with those around you, the results won't matter as much.In the end, don't ever let your results dictate your happiness. If you do, you will have a miserable life, regardless of how successful you are.Good Luck.Steve Link to post Share on other sites
Balloon guy 158 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 One thing I've noticed is: Happiness = ResultsIt's much easier to get the results of success in life when your happiness levels are high.and if your happiness levels are dictated by random chance/variance, expect your success levels to reflect this lack of foundation. It's hard to be a success when you translate your happiness by your success. You are creating a catch 22 that makes it impossible to advance until you have advanced.so if you want happiness = success, then you are required to bring one to the table before you start Link to post Share on other sites
Oziumrules 0 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Words to live by.... Link to post Share on other sites
Snamuh 0 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 This was me right?Edit: I'm like 99% sure this is me. Worth saying that I've dropped 7.6k in my last 2 sessions and I'm strangely at peace with it. LOLrunningbad@5/10! Link to post Share on other sites
FCP Bob 1,312 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 The other side of the coin can be when things in your real life aren't at their best it will affect how you react to any of the swings in poker.Early last year I went though a tough time with the loss of my Step Father and how it affected my Mother and the last thing I wanted was to compound my feelings so I played very little poker and when I did play I made sure to play at the lower range of limits that I play since I knew in my mood that taking large losses would affect me more than they normally would. Link to post Share on other sites
govikes 0 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Thank you Steve. I needed that read! Link to post Share on other sites
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