We have all rued the day when we overstayed our welcome at those losing rounds of poker. In hindsight, it is easy to see that we should have walked away hours earlier. The problem is, if we did that, we would always be tormented by that jackpot that was just around the corner, awaiting a few more hands. But no, we stay and lose right down to that last grim deal. To make matters worse, since we have no idea why we put up with this torture in the first place, we go back and do it again and again.

One absolutely must use their powers of reasoning to logically analyze the situation to determine if they should hold or fold. You know when to go to the airport so you won’t miss the plane for that important business meeting. If you are hanging on in desperation waiting for that winning hand and miss your chance to get to the airport on time, you are going to get totally stressed. You won’t play well, you missed the plane and that important meeting. You are also harming yourself and your career.

If poker is supposed to be entertainment but you are not enjoying it - this is a good reason to leave early, before the game becomes a tangle nightmare of bad moves and worse moods. You often see player who take up poker as recreation, but when a game gets too much for them, they cannot leave, and yet they cannot play. They stay out of some sort of perverse compulsion to prolong their torment, not willing to walk out losers. They stay and become greater losers with every losing new hand, instead of accepting good-naturedly accepting the situation - which is merely pastime anyway - and leaving the table, remaining in a good mood, and perhaps trying another game later at another table.

To overcome such pitfalls, the source of the problem must be discovered, and that can be done by the realization that the problem has nothing to do with the game intrinsically. If you insist on performing a pointless activity of self-torture that you cannot possibly enjoy but neither can you get up and walk away from, you have a problem. If you are not staying at the table for the poker, then you are deluding yourself and avoiding what is really troubling you.

If this is you, I’m sure you will find that this psychology affects other parts of your life and activities as well. Try training your concentration on other aspects of your life when you find yourself pondering the stupidity of remaining in a losing situation at poker hand after hand. Envision yourself in other functions instead of half-assed playing in a doomed game. You may be able to identify the source of your idiotic obstinance and change your game and your life for the better.

The problem may lie in not facing the fact that you hate your job, or owning up to a real feeling of grief that you have suppressed for a long time. If you are able to make a connection, you may be able to stop kicking yourself and enjoy the reality of life and of poker.

The author of this article plays online poker and gets Rakeback at Absolute Poker where they offer the highest Absolute Rakeback.

categories: holdem,hold’em,poker,card games,games,gambling,recreation,sport

Tags: Poker

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