Many online poker players find themselves riding an emotional roller coaster during a poker session, experiencing euphoria with every win and disappointment with every loss. However, to truly excel in the game of poker, it’s essential to shift your focus from emotional reactions to strategic thinking. In the world of online poker, having the right mindset is one of the keys to long-term success.
Positive Emotions After Winning
It’s a common phenomenon for poker players to experience positive emotions after winning a hand. The joy of winning can be intoxicating, driving high dopamine levels through one’s brain and boosting one’s ego through the roof. Yet, the key to a successful poker mindset lies in detaching oneself from these emotional swings and focusing on the quality of the plays.
For example, is it strategically sound to stack off with that hand class (one pair?) for that many big blinds? Should I raise all of that hand class(top pair?) or protect my calling range with the worst ones at this stack depth? Success in poker is not just about the outcome of a single hand but about consistently making optimal decisions over time.
Negative Emotions After Losing
On the flip side, losing a significant hand often leads to negative emotions such as frustration, anger, or even disbelief. While it’s natural to feel disappointed about losing, the focus should shift from the outcome to the process.
Did you make the right play based on the information available at the time? If so, then losing is simply a part of the game, and recognizing that fact is vital for maintaining a healthy poker mindset.
Just because a decision leads to a loss does not necessarily mean it was a bad decision, and vice versa, and therefore, it certainly shouldn’t steer you towards negative emotions. As long as you make a strategically sound decision, you should be happy with the hand, regardless of the outcome.
Separating Emotions from Results
Instead of letting wins or losses dictate your emotional state, concentrate on the quality of your decisions. Keep your focus aimed toward things that will maximize your expected value. For example, instead of thinking ‘’this game is rigged’’ or ‘’why do they always get there’’, figure out which one of your opponents has range construction issues or which one of them likes to call a lot.
The outcome of a single hand should never dictate your emotions when playing online poker. Instead, the focus should be on the strategic decisions that are in front of you. You need to evaluate your play based on strategy and execution rather than short-term results.
Learning from Mistakes
Making mistakes is inevitable, especially when playing online poker, but these mistakes are also invaluable learning opportunities. Instead of dwelling on losses, use them as a chance to analyze your decisions critically and improve your strategy. Review your hands and try to improve one thing every day in your strategy.
Poker is not a game of chance but a game of skill. The best players in the world, like Jonathan Little and Justin Saliba, consistently make correct decisions, regardless of short-term outcomes.
Understanding that variance is a natural part of the game is crucial. Instead of dwelling on the emotional highs and lows of individual hands, shift your focus from being emotionally reactive to becoming strategically proactive: Get a study plan, mark your hands and review them before you play again. Whether you win or lose a hand does not matter, focus on the quality of your decisions and the execution of your strategy.
