More Thoughts From The Weekend

“Those who can’t, teach.” – George  Bernard Shaw

I’ll try to answer some of the comments from the previous post.  Basically, how did I get unstuck?

I don’t want to ascribe any watershed moment to last weekend’s turnaround, because the data size is really too small.  It could be coincidence, it could be a true change in my mentality; but most likely, it’s a little bit of both.

Some bits and pieces that contributed….

MrsBlood has been playing the $5 SNG’s on Stars.  She’s actually doing decently, having made the $50 transfer I sent her on March 1st last longer than any other seed-cash that I’ve given to her.  During a bad stretch however, when her flopped sets got out drawn by runner-runner straights, I saw a bit of myself in her reactions.

I gave her the tried and true lecture of “getting your money in with the best of it” and “it’s all about decisions, not results.”  When you see it happen to someone else so close to you, it really hits home that those phrases are really universal truisms in poker.  It’s difficult to see that when it’s you getting outdrawn.  I just have trouble detaching myself from the occasion.  But when it happens to someone with whom you’ve shared just about every other emotion, it’s just easier to realize the truth of the matter for whatever reason.  It’s hard to explain, but it’s like seeing something you thought was true actually become true right before your eyes.

Another part of the turnaround was simply experiencing the higher limits and not noticing any drastic changes in game play.  The sessions at $200NL were just like the sessions at $100NL.  The same plays, the same cards, the same outcomes.  My first foray into the higher limits was met with familiarity rather than apprehension due to a different play style.  So there was some inner confidence that I could call upon to get me through.

Contributing still to my detachment was the fact that my poker bankrolls are truly separated from my other family-based money.  Keeping that separate has been the best idea for me.  Like I mentioned previously, the losses in an absolute sense were larger than what I’d experienced in recent years, but they were most definitely within the guidelines of proper bankroll management.

I guess when you add all that up, the loss was met with more of a shrug than some back peddling.  Also, having experienced a major downswing before (*cough* Vegas *cough*) and subsequently recovering, it gave me more confidence that I could do it again.  And that’s important, because I will experience these losses again and I will recover from them.  Again.

In reading the 2+2 forums in the last few months, I’ve seen this word posted whenever someone complains about some bad beat or downswing or any other negative poker experience.

Standard.

My weekend experience?  Standard.