Being consistently successful at the Poker Table is a common goal of most players and it can be very challenging to ride the ups and downs of pokers natural variance without it messing with your head. At times I suffer from Losers Tilt where I have a run of losses and lose confidence and the clarity of my edge and so my judgement goes bad. I also suffer from Winners Tilt when I have a good run because then I can get sloppy and lazy or just generally complacent. Either way, tilt causes me to make mistakes which are unhelpful and I don’t like repeating them so last year I came up with a simple Mantra to try and keep myself on track.
I actually need to update this because I am always learning and trying to improve, but this is the simple 3 phrase Mantra that I have been using to prepare before I play a tournament. Here they are (with explanations).
Stay Sharp – This is about being mentally switched on so that I can do the maths, calculate the probabilities and permutations quickly and make tough decisions on the fly during a game. Primarily it involves making sure I am well rested, have caffeinated appropriately and am free from distractions or worries that might drain my mental focus.
Stay Hungry – This is about my desire to win and being motivated to put in the work to be ready to play at my best. When I am having regular wins I often have a problem with complacency or laziness that sneaks into my game. Winning is fun and sometimes at poker I just have too much fun so I forget that I need to play my best to keep a winning run going. It can be even tougher to stay motivated when I’m down so I really have to push myself to put the effort in to prepare properly.
Stay Engaged – This is primarily about paying attention to the game even when I have folded my hand and other players are making the bets. There is a lot you can pick up on and learn while watching other players. I’ve found the best way for me to stay engaged is to get into some Banter. When I’m verbally joking and jostling with the other players its not just fun but it gets my competitive juices going and that helps me stay engaged even when I’m not in the hand.
This simple mantra of “Stay Sharp, Stay Hungry and Stay Engaged” has served me well over the last year and I’m reluctant to mess with it. Today I’ve just recovered from another losing run and have recorded a couple of fresh wins so I am making some extra notes to help me deal with the natural variance of poker and the tilt it can cause. I’m not sure if I will expand my mantra or whether I’ll come up with a different sort of guide to keep me on track and prevent leaks from sneaking into my game. It’s all a work in progress but as long as I’m improving I will persist with trying to get better.