12:10am. Well, it was a good run while it lasted. I took my GF out to dinner and a movie tonight, and as soon as I got home I strapped in for a late night session. I loaded up two matches, everything is going as planned: I have both opponents down to about 700 in chips to my 2300. I then put the first guy away to make it 18 straight, and I have the second guy down to 540 chips, and then this happens:

PokerStars Game #16327749093: Tournament #82676568, $50.00+$2.50 Hold’em No Limit - Match Round I, Level II (15/30) - 2008/03/29 - 00:58:41 (ET)

Table ‘82676568 1′ 2-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: trujm (2460 in chips)
Seat 2: bigmac64 (540 in chips)
bigmac64: posts small blind 15
trujm: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to trujm [Tc 7c]
bigmac64: calls 15
trujm: checks
*** FLOP *** [6c 9c 5d]
trujm: checks
bigmac64: bets 30
trujm: calls 30
*** TURN *** [6c 9c 5d] [Qc]
trujm: checks
bigmac64: bets 30
trujm: raises 90 to 120
bigmac64: raises 150 to 270
trujm: raises 2100 to 2370
bigmac64: calls 210 and is all-in
bigmac64: shows [3c Jc]
*** RIVER *** [6c 9c 5d Qc] [3h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
trujm: shows [Tc 7c] (a flush, Queen high)
bigmac64: shows [3c Jc] (a flush, Queen high - Jack higher)
bigmac64 collected 1080 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1080 | Rake 0
Board [6c 9c 5d Qc 3h]
Seat 1: trujm (big blind) showed [Tc 7c] and lost with a flush, Queen high
Seat 2: bigmac64 (button) (small blind) showed [3c Jc] and won (1080) with a flush, Queen high

From there, he was able to come back and take the match as my Ks8s didn’t hold up to his J10off, at 75/150 blinds all in for the match.

….and so it ends, thanks to everyone for the support, and I look forward to ATTEMPTING to give it a try again someday.

Now, on the rest of my session. Results tommorow…

*EDIT*, 2:03am: 7-4 so far on the day, and I’ve got no complaints. I’ll take 7-4 all day long, and then some.

*EDIT*, 3:52am: Ok, I can’t keep my eyes open anymore. It was a good session overall. I would have loved to keep the streak going and hit 20, but that’s not how it usually works, and you know it. Anyways, I finished the session 10-6. Good night guys, and will update tommorow..

Start a Clean Slate at a New Room, a New Sharkscope, and Keep HFL Free in the Process

3:52pm: Ok, now it’s just getting ridiculous. I’ve now won 17 heads up matches in a row. I’ve never really been a “streaky” player, either way. That’s because a normal 10 game span for me typically goes:

WWLWWLWLWW, or something to that effect.

Nothing really stands out to me about that, except for the fact that I’m incredibly consistent, so this run is somewhat new territory for me.

But, needless to say, I welcome this streak with open arms. The only thing that’s puzzling to me about it is that I’m not doing anything differently. I’m just playing “my game”. What is “my game”, exactly?

1. Pot Control (most important thing, IMO)
2. Not drawing to marginal hands
3. Making people pay to draw to theirs
4. Playing BOTH “the person” and “the cards”
5. Tight/aggressive early, and Loose Aggressive late

That’s really about it. Simple as that.

All personal accolades and records aside, I need to put in a heavy session later tonight, because I have personal monthly volume quotas that I hold myself to, and I need to average 12 games/day over the next 2 1/2 days to fulfill that.

More later…

Start a Clean Slate at a New Room, a New Sharkscope, and Keep HFL Free in the Process

2:26pm: This is a VERY helpful article originally written by Alan Schoonmaker. I originally read the article 4 years ago, and I wouldn’t be the player I am today without having done so. With that being said, I strongly recommend you set aside 15 minutes at some point to read this.

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If you hit a pinball machine too hard, a sign flashes “Tilt,” and the machine stops working. When a poker player gets hit by too much stress, the effects can be almost as visible and much more destructive. If you tilt a pinball machine, you lose a little pleasure. If you go on tilt in poker, you can blow your bankroll or, if it is too extreme or lasts too long, even lose your home or business. Because luck has such huge short-term effects, you can go on tilt without losing any money this time, and you might not even realize that you’re off balance. However, since the danger is so great, you must constantly watch out for it.

Most of us have experienced brief periods of tilt, and some players have lost control for weeks, even moving to larger games or switching to the craps tables, trying desperately to get even. Since tilt is so common and destructive, this four-part article will cover all the major issues:

I. Avoiding it

II. Creating it

III. Exploiting it

IV. Coping with it

This starts and ends by discussing ourselves, while the middle two parts focus on other people. Of course, we profit when other people go on tilt, but avoiding it or coping with our own emotions is much more important. We can gain a little from another person’s foolishness, but if we go on tilt and stay there, we can lose a great deal.

We all know what tilt classically means. However, for the sake of clarification, I’ll use a broader definition: “Tilt” means someone is making plays for emotional reasons that he would not normally make. Wild aggression is just its most visible form. Another form is to become so upset, frightened, or convinced you can’t win that you “play scared.” You might fold good draws with pot odds or not raise with pocket kings. Your play deteriorates so much that the “I can’t win” belief becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. This form of tilt is less dramatic and noticeable than wild aggression, but it can be equally destructive. Perhaps you won’t have such dramatic short-term losses, but because it is harder to recognize, this form of tilt can last much longer, slowly destroying your bankroll.

1. Avoiding is Much Better Than Coping.Of course, you must learn how to cope with tilt, but avoiding it is much better. Good professionals emphasize preventing problems more than solving them. Good dentists tell us to brush and floss. Good doctors recommend diet and exercise. Good lawyers try to keep us out of court. Exactly the same principle applies here: If you wait until you’re on tilt before taking corrective action, some of the damage will have already been done, and your problems will be MUCH harder to solve. So, stop tilt before it starts.
2. Knowledge is Your First Line of Defense.The first step is to acquire two types of knowledge. First, you need to understand poker thoroughly. Mason Malmuth once wrote: “Emotional control is … aided by a thorough understanding of how the game should be played.” Without that understanding, you may overreact to events that would not severely upset a more informed player. For example, I’ve read many threads on P5s forums stating that someone went on tilt because he played well but was beaten by bad luck and stupidity. Yet, the poster’s own words clearly reveal that he played badly and deserved to lose.Or, take bad-beat stories. Many of them show that the storyteller doesn’t understand the most basic element of poker, the odds. You probably have seen people bitterly complain that they raised with A-Q suited and were called and beaten by an “idiot” with K-2 off suit. They seem to believe that their hand should never lose, but it’s really only about a 2-to-1 favorite, meaning it will lose about one-third of the time. In many situations, the “idiot” would have been absolutely right to call.The second kind of knowledge can come only from detailed, accurate records of your own results. If you’re a long-term winner, these records will show that the bad beat you just took or tonight’s “huge” loss is trivial, a tiny fraction of your total profits. Even if you’re a long-term loser, good records will show that tonight’s loss isn’t that important. That’s why so many experts recommend treating tonight as just part of one continuous poker game. When you put a bad beat or tonight’s loss into a larger context, you’re much less likely to overreact.
3. Identify Your “Triggers.”Although a solid foundation of knowledge is essential, it is not enough. By definition, tilt is an emotional overreaction, and emotions obey their own, partly irrational rules. We all have done stupid things for emotional reasons, and we should understand the factors that trigger emotional reactions.The three most common triggers are alcohol, bad beats, and losing too much money tonight. Alcohol is particularly dangerous because people often think they can “handle it,” even when its effects are obvious to others. The same illogical thinking that makes so many drunk people drive makes them believe, “I can play better drunk than they can play sober.” Other triggers include playing for larger stakes than usual, being “card dead” for hours, obnoxious people, being hungry and/or tired, inept dealers, software problems and bad connections (for online players), and even loud noise or sitting next to an inconsiderate smoker - anything that upsets you. By themselves, none of them may have much effect, but several of them combined can destroy your balance.Triggers are individualistic, and yours may be quite different from mine. You might not even notice things that really bother me, and vice versa. You should therefore remember what caused past tilts, and then avoid as many triggers as possible. Of course, you can’t avoid bad beats, inept dealers, and some other triggers, but you can avoid alcohol, large losses, and many others.For example, nearly all of us have a “psychological bankroll,” the amount we can lose without getting severely upset. It is almost always much smaller than our financial bankroll. You might have a $5,000 bankroll, but get very upset by a $300 loss. If you don’t recognize and stay well within your psychological limits, one bad beat can put you on tilt. You might decide to buy more chips than your usual limit because you’ve “got to get even.” Once you start thinking that way, you can lose control, keep buying more chips, go to the ATM, perhaps blow your entire bankroll, and then borrow money. It has happened countless times.
4. Think About Triggers Before You Start Playing.Some triggers have nothing to do with poker. Problems at home or work, backaches, financial pressures, or anything that troubles you will increase your vulnerability. For example, if you had a bad day at work, argued with your spouse, and have a headache, don’t play poker “to relax.” Instead of relaxing, you could easily become even more tense and play badly; once you do that, it’s just a small step to going on tilt and losing lots of money.
5. Monitor Yourself.You should constantly monitor both your play and your emotional state. Ask yourself again and again: “How well am I playing?” “Why did I make that last play?” “Am I angry, confused, sleepy, eager for revenge?” “Am I feeling the effects of alcohol?” Many people have taken huge losses because they did not realize how much their drinking or other factors had affected them.There are lots of similar questions, but most people don’t ask or answer them. The poker culture is extremely anti-introspective. We’d rather focus on how other people think, feel, and act than seriously analyze ourselves. In fact, your opponents will often see that you are on tilt or approaching it long before you do.
6. When in Doubt, Quit.A later column will focus on what to do when you are clearly on tilt, but don’t wait until you are sure you’re on it. If you see signs that your play is deteriorating, and/or you’re getting upset, go home. I cannot count the number of times that people - including me - have ignored that advice. We may recognize the signs but stay because we won’t admit that we’re not playing our “A-game.” Or, we may think, “Perhaps I’m not playing my best, but this game is too good to leave.” Sometimes we may say it even when the game is too tough for us. We’re so off balance that we can’t assess ourselves or the competition.You may think I’m being too conservative, but we’ve all seen players who are on tilt lose serious money in wonderful, average, and terrible games. There will always be another poker game, but if you go on tilt and blow your bankroll, you won’t be playing in it.