The Seven Emotions and shutting them out on the felt
Well last night I found my self with a broke bankroll and I was furious, I will be the first to admit I was on tilt and crawling in my head (A dangerous place when I'm not trying to make the best move but come up with reasons why I'm not running well right now) can I never hit a hand... why do my nut flush draws never come through... WHAT THE HELL!!!! After a nights rest and some driving and thinking I realized that A) I was tilting and B) I knew I was tilting and did nothing about it...Inn a poker game not fixing your tilt can only mean one thing, your going for broke. Today is a new day and I'm not tilting (I'm also taking a week or two off from poker due to my win/loss record... I gotta get my head straight and the money needs to flow in not out) so how can I address my tilt issue in a way that will help me. I'm not looking for a bandage to patch this up; I'm looking for a surgery to cure my tilt because if I keep this up I will be a suicide king in the poker game.
With that little rant I should address my blog title once and for all. The suicide king for those of you who don't know is the king of hearts nicknamed the suicide king because in standard deck of cards he is holding a knife pointed at his head; so why chose this as my name, its simple. I chose this name for everything that the card represents. First and foremost it's a King, a power card that demands respect, its fracking royalty! It's not the best in the deck but everyone knows that AA and KK (the two best starting hands in poker) don't win every time anyway. Second its a heart, and I like to think that heart is something I posses, not the mushy kind (although I can win over the ladies if need be:) ) but the kind that does not give up and has the will to win. To say this is needed would be an understatement, it is essential. Third the fing knife, now you can look at this in a couple of ways; the first is that this king is nuts and he is trying to kill himself, the second is that this king has balls, he is willing to put it all on the line. For what, I'm not sure but come on that is something you gotta have in this game, balls. So for me the knife represents the latter.
The real subject I would like to talk about is the title of this post; the seven emotions and shutting them out on the felt. My idea behind this came from reading Shogun (if you have not read this book check it out) in which Lord Toranaga one of the samurai fighting for power in Japan tells a man how he is able to hold on to everything and deal with every situation. He talks about patience and how you achieve patience by suppressing the seven emotions which are as follows: Joy, Anger, Anxiety, Adoration, Grief, Fear and Hate. If you let emotions get the best of you then watch your chips walk away.
Emotion #1 Joy:"Intense and especially ecstatic or exultant happiness"
So how can this be a bad thing? How about overplaying a pair, or feeling like your king of the world and you can buy any hand, when you get over joyfull you forget about watching other opponents and getting reads, calculating odds and onlyplay positionn, all things which can lead to danger.
Emotion #2 Anger:"A strong feeling of displeasure or hostility"
hmmmm can you say tilt! Anger also is a quick way to put down your table image, it will cause people to leave the table or even change their play if they are adaptable players. I know that if I see a player at the table who is running there mouth im the first to set a trap and pounce on them. Anger is always a good thing to suppress in life and on the felt the same rule applies.
Emotion #3 Anxiety: "A state of uneasiness and apprehension, as about future uncertainties"
In poker this is something that you don't need in your head, it will make you more easy to read and you overplay and underplay hands, you need to take things as they come and deal in the moment, its just another way to through your game off.
Emotion #4 Adoration: "The act of worship"
Simply put don't get to full of yourself, as poker players we should always be learning adapting to situations and assessing the goings on. When you start thinking about the money or our own skill level we seem to tune things out and with no limit your chips are always at risk at all times. You know what they say the bigger they are the harder they fall.
Emotion #5 Grief: "A source of deep mental anguish"
We can't crawl into our heads, you gotta keep sharp and in focus, its hard not to get caught up on a hand when someone back door flushes ormiraclel card on the river gote gotta keep the chin up and the mind sharp. Its another tilt emotion that needs to go.
Emotion #6 Fear: "A feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger"
Don't play in fear. I find that fear comes when playing over my head in a game where every blind hurts my bankroll. Playing in fear will cause you to miss bets that should be made, you will play weak and let people catch hands, you may lay down a calling hand because you can't afford it. Fear is dangerous in poker... how can you bluff a pot if your in fear, it just doesn't work and in a B&M game it will show even more.
Emotion #7 Hate: "Intense animosity or dislike; hatred"
Yet anosuppresspress, playing with hate can make you rather stupid, you might play back at people giving them action when you have nadda, you may call with terrible hands playing out of position and hate can also lead to some serious tilt. Yes poker is a constant battle but you wanna keep your head clear and in focus, anger is an easy way to blow off chips and get out of the game.
Remember poker is a battle of wits and skill not luck. I will try to keep my seven emotions in check and I hope other will to.
With that little rant I should address my blog title once and for all. The suicide king for those of you who don't know is the king of hearts nicknamed the suicide king because in standard deck of cards he is holding a knife pointed at his head; so why chose this as my name, its simple. I chose this name for everything that the card represents. First and foremost it's a King, a power card that demands respect, its fracking royalty! It's not the best in the deck but everyone knows that AA and KK (the two best starting hands in poker) don't win every time anyway. Second its a heart, and I like to think that heart is something I posses, not the mushy kind (although I can win over the ladies if need be:) ) but the kind that does not give up and has the will to win. To say this is needed would be an understatement, it is essential. Third the fing knife, now you can look at this in a couple of ways; the first is that this king is nuts and he is trying to kill himself, the second is that this king has balls, he is willing to put it all on the line. For what, I'm not sure but come on that is something you gotta have in this game, balls. So for me the knife represents the latter.
The real subject I would like to talk about is the title of this post; the seven emotions and shutting them out on the felt. My idea behind this came from reading Shogun (if you have not read this book check it out) in which Lord Toranaga one of the samurai fighting for power in Japan tells a man how he is able to hold on to everything and deal with every situation. He talks about patience and how you achieve patience by suppressing the seven emotions which are as follows: Joy, Anger, Anxiety, Adoration, Grief, Fear and Hate. If you let emotions get the best of you then watch your chips walk away.
Emotion #1 Joy:"Intense and especially ecstatic or exultant happiness"
So how can this be a bad thing? How about overplaying a pair, or feeling like your king of the world and you can buy any hand, when you get over joyfull you forget about watching other opponents and getting reads, calculating odds and onlyplay positionn, all things which can lead to danger.
Emotion #2 Anger:"A strong feeling of displeasure or hostility"
hmmmm can you say tilt! Anger also is a quick way to put down your table image, it will cause people to leave the table or even change their play if they are adaptable players. I know that if I see a player at the table who is running there mouth im the first to set a trap and pounce on them. Anger is always a good thing to suppress in life and on the felt the same rule applies.
Emotion #3 Anxiety: "A state of uneasiness and apprehension, as about future uncertainties"
In poker this is something that you don't need in your head, it will make you more easy to read and you overplay and underplay hands, you need to take things as they come and deal in the moment, its just another way to through your game off.
Emotion #4 Adoration: "The act of worship"
Simply put don't get to full of yourself, as poker players we should always be learning adapting to situations and assessing the goings on. When you start thinking about the money or our own skill level we seem to tune things out and with no limit your chips are always at risk at all times. You know what they say the bigger they are the harder they fall.
Emotion #5 Grief: "A source of deep mental anguish"
We can't crawl into our heads, you gotta keep sharp and in focus, its hard not to get caught up on a hand when someone back door flushes ormiraclel card on the river gote gotta keep the chin up and the mind sharp. Its another tilt emotion that needs to go.
Emotion #6 Fear: "A feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger"
Don't play in fear. I find that fear comes when playing over my head in a game where every blind hurts my bankroll. Playing in fear will cause you to miss bets that should be made, you will play weak and let people catch hands, you may lay down a calling hand because you can't afford it. Fear is dangerous in poker... how can you bluff a pot if your in fear, it just doesn't work and in a B&M game it will show even more.
Emotion #7 Hate: "Intense animosity or dislike; hatred"
Yet anosuppresspress, playing with hate can make you rather stupid, you might play back at people giving them action when you have nadda, you may call with terrible hands playing out of position and hate can also lead to some serious tilt. Yes poker is a constant battle but you wanna keep your head clear and in focus, anger is an easy way to blow off chips and get out of the game.
Remember poker is a battle of wits and skill not luck. I will try to keep my seven emotions in check and I hope other will to.
posted by Jacob Gill (高健) at 9:11 AM
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