Positive Energy... Does it really #$%@ing work?!?

Mentality is crazy huge. I wouldnt say it can change the outcome of the cards but psycologicly it is pretty huge to go into a match expecting to lose and having your prediction come true. It just cements the idea that you are the most unlucky player ever etc and I think that affects every pokerplayers game to some extent.

I remember Taylor Caby saying that he always goes into a poker game expecting good things to happen to him and that is what I try to do. Lord knows its pretty fucking hard sometimes.

Anyways, good luck with recovering, getting through this will make stronger not only as a poker player but as a person aswell. God speed.

I haven't been playing poker enough to find evidence in my own game, however, being a college baseball player and playing baseball for 17 years, and pitching for 12 of those 17 years, i can say that yes, your mindset that you take into the game does effect the results of your performance. Last year i was a closer in the bullpen, if you're not familiar with baseball, the closer is the pitcher that comes in when the game is on the line in the last inning. I am put into a position where you could be facing their best hitters in the last inning, with your team winning, and it's my job to stop them from scoring. This is the most stressful position on a baseball team. My mindset when i go into any situation is "I am better then them, no one can hit me, I am going to win. I don't know how to lose, i must win".

There have been many episodes in my baseball career where this is evident. I pitched in a national showcase championship, defeating the only team to beat us in the round robin pool play on 3 hours of sleep...(crazy story lol...if u want to hear it tell me and i'll type it out)...I've pitched in city championships and regional championship games...and one i am most proud of is in High School, i beat the #5 team in the state 10-1, i pitched a complete game, 6 innings, with 10 strikeouts...

I LOVE situations where i am not supposed to win, we're the underdog, and i get real firedup for rivalries and championship games.

Basically what i am getting at is as the great Yogi Berra once said..."90% of baseball is half mental"...in other words, baseball (and all sports) take mental focus. If you think you're going to lose, you've already lost. Maybe not so much crazy beliefs...but i believe in rituals, superstitions, and that YOU control most of the winning you do. If you come into a game thinking that you can win, you'll have a lot better chance of winning. Negative thinking will bring down your mentality...

Now, to bring this into a poker kinda deal...
I can't go into a session saying "i'm going to shut these guys down and no one will score runs"...it's kinda hard since i'm playing 5 other people. What i try to do is avoid the players i know are salty, and get into more hands w/ fish. However, i will admit, if i am at a table w/ someone who has an LP avatar, it's automatic get it in quick. Not that LP is bad, i think they are rather good, but i have noticed that anyone with an LP avatar is exactly the same as everyone else. They all play the same game, and i know how to play against them.
My mentality is "i'm the best, i'm going to win, i'm going to make smart decision, i'm going to ignore 'pot commitment' (i am a firm believer that it gets you into more trouble then good for the most part, obv some exceptions), and i'm going to dominant the tables and make 2-4BI's minimum"...There are much more factors that go into poker than baseball, so setting positive goals is better than having a positive attitude, because you're not in control of the cards. Thats where luck/chance/random come into play.

***EDIT***
god give me a freaking green star for that one.
OWNED.

***edit2***
when i said that i like playing ppl w/ LP avatar, i meant lower stakes. their style of play are exact cookie cutter examples of each other...ez lyfe.

I was thinking about this today as well. Like yourself, if anyone asked, I'd say I'm the last person in the world to believe in anything supernatural. Like Saki, I've always acknowledged "energy"-related successes to be superstition and the placebo effect. If anyone relates a few stories about successes from positive energy, I usually congratulate them but can't help myself thinking "yes, but you probably have these same superstitions consciously or unconsciously ALL THE TIME, and any time one comes true, you chalk it up to energy and forget the rest. over time, you've accumulated enough successes to think that your superstitions work, but in the end it's just that you win one in a hundred and forgotten the other ninety-nine. "

But, I've seen some stuff over the last year, and experienced it myself. It's made me wonder.

If you don't mind, I'd like to hear how this goes for you. Send a PM or I'll try to catch your blog

On October 14 2008 18:02 eightfourO wrote: i'm going to ignore 'pot commitment' (i am a firm believer that it gets you into more trouble then good for the most part, obv some exceptions) god give me a freaking green star for that one. OWNED.

Does not compute

lol

On October 14 2008 18:30 SakiSaki wrote: Show nested quote + On October 14 2008 18:02 eightfourO wrote: i'm going to ignore 'pot commitment' (i am a firm believer that it gets you into more trouble then good for the most part, obv some exceptions) god give me a freaking green star for that one. OWNED. Does not compute lol

so u got top set and theres a str8 possibilty and you know he's got a str8 b/c of your reads but you're "pot committed"...so you have to call? no. fold. save you're money. if you know you're beat then you're beat. Pot commitment is just a stupid reason to justify giving up a chunk of money when you know you're about to make a bad call. "well i have a great hand, i am 95% sure i'm beat, but i'm pot commited so i'm just going to forfeit more money"... see what i am getting at??

No I dont see what you are getting at. You have completely missunderstood the term pot commited.

The mind creates what it has been conditioned to create -.-

Ok just to make sure we're on the same page... here's an example of what i'm talking about. I'm not going to lie, going into poker termonology i'm not the most knowlegable...
You have KK in the hole.
Flop
Ah Kd 2s
Opponet does same thing he always does everytime he has suited connectors, and he does that here...lets say he 3 bets, + he's a calling station on turn.
Turn brings
7c
you bet into it 1/2 pot b/c u want him to bait b/c u know he has a draw. he calls
River
Td
So now you've put a big chunk of money into your set and he bets like 3/4 pot...you are about 95% sure he has a str8 and you're beat but you call anyway because of pot commitment? you've already invested a lot into it, and you had the best hand pf, on flop, and on turn...so you justify a call on riv when you think you're beat w/ pot commitment??
am i wrong?

Since this discussion really doesnt belong it this blog I will reply via pm.

back to original discussion of pos/neg energy...
I don't believe that it exist's in poker, i.e. you can't truely believe you're going to hit runner runner and it will happen everytime you do.
but i do believe that if you think you'll play better than the competition that will lead to you making better decisions. Also if you realize that you can only control so much, and not go on tilt b/c of things you can't control, you'll be better.

I highly recommend Mind Gyn by Gary Mack.
Use it as a tool to help you w/ poker.

From my experience playing with you, you can be a huge spewtard...I would look into that before turning to voodoo.

Yea yea. Definitely can be a spewtard. Also can be a huge nit. Also can suxor major.

Results Day 1: 2/2 in cash game sessions. Broke even on tourney session. So far so good.