Over the weekend I got impatient. I wasn't pleased that I was having to ride out long runs of dead cards. I wasn't pleased that I couldn't get off $60 in a 25-50 game for two hours. I'd be up a few bucks and down a few bucks, but always right around $60. I wasn't pleased that nothing seemed to be changing despite logging a nice long session during which I watched the Patriots-Jaguars game AND Scarface (for the first time, I know, I know, I'm 32 and this is the first time I've seen Scarface. But that's another blog for another time).
As a poker player, you always hear people talking about what it takes to be a great player. It's kind of like philosphers trying to figure out the meaning of life. Well, I don't claim to know the answer to either one of those questions, but I think patience has something to do with both. As a poker player, I'm at my best when I'm relaxed, involved in the game, but enjoying myself and just generally not feeling rushed in any way shape or form. When I'm in that state I can fold for hours waiting for the right cards in the right spots. When I'm not, I'm constantly trying to create the right spots with the wrong cards, or vice versa. It takes me a while to lose my patience, which is probably why it doesn't affect me in tournaments the same way. Usually the blinds go up fast enough to force me into action before I get impatient. But in cash games, I get impatient quite a bit and that causes me to lose.
One of the things you'll always hear about great players is that they are patient. They aren't the maniacs they appear to be on WPT broadcasts. They can log a 12 hour session (or 50+ hours if you are Ted Forrest) and be patient, waiting for good spots for hours on end.
Maybe for me its that I don't get to play as much as they do. Maybe its that I'm so excited to play that I get anxious. Maybe its that I know the night is going to end at 12:30 no matter what and I hate ending up stuck (even though I understand that it is one big long session). It's probably a combination of all of those things, but I need to work on it.
1 comment:
It amazes me that you just watched Scarface for the first time. I really don't know how one goes through life for 32 years without watching that movie. Come on...Scarface? Wow...
I think the key point with the patience is that you're articulating in in this blog and actively thinking about it.
We've BOTH got to get out of the mindset that every session has to be a win. I think we both know that, but mastering it is a whole other level of thought process.
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