DEALING WITH BAD RUNS

Let me take a moment and cover a condition all poker players are going to face at one time or another - one that will happen more often the more they play.

Just imagine for a moment that you're sitting down at the poker table, whether it be in the brick-and-mortar setting or online, and it appears the poker gods are dead set against you. You're notice that you'refolding way too many times, any maneuvers you think are real smart somehow get detected right away by theother players, and even when you stay in the hand you don't find anything you can use in the flop.. Kingsover jacks? You get beat by trip aces. Nothing works. Everyone's hitting on some luck, and you feel likethe guy who didn't get an invite to the party. You're starting to give the dealer a dirty look (or thatrandom number generator, if you're online). You just can't seem to figure out why you're getting the shaft.Any explanations?

Please eliminate a bad dealer or crooked program from your possibilities, if you want any sanity out of this life.More likely it's....
1) Bad cards 2) Bad luck, or 3) Bad decisions

Now we're at the point where it's either "look in the mirror" or not. A lot of players would like to discount #3 if at all possible. That's because poker players, at least the ones who aspire to be good, areegotistical by nature, and they don't want to admit that it's a possibility. If you're like this, it's YOUR problem, and it's something that simply must be overcome.The least helpful thing possible is to blame other players or the dealer for your lack of fortune at thetable, or to claim other players just got plain lucky. First of all, you're not going to improve that way,because you'll never be in a position to decipher the genesis of your problem. Under those circumstances,you wouldn't customarily go to work to correct your mistakes. And in both the short and long runs, that'sno psychological help either.

Please admit it - ego can get the best of you during a session, especially if you figure that as long as you throw enough money out there, you have  to win sooner or later.But chasing your lost money can be fatal if you're frustrated or in an otherwise negative psychologicalstate. This might develop as a result of a "bad beat," which anyone can certainly understand. It can alsobe the result of some kind of misjudgment you may have made during the game - one you really wish you couldget a "mulligan" on but somehow slipped away from you. It is critical to develop the will power  to walk awayfrom the table. Everyone who's ever played any casino game, whether it be poker, blackjack, slots, craps orroulette knows this is much easier said than done, but the fact of the matter is, it HAS to be done. Clear your head. Go get a sandwich. Go to the bar. On second thought, don't go to the bar. Try to avoid otherplayers who may have suffered a bad beat. That might bring negative energy in, which will have the effectof making you feel even worse. And don't get together with players who may have been the beneficiaries ofvery good luck. That might make you feel resentful.

Look at it like a football team does. Or better yet, a baseball team, since it plays every day. They suffer a tough loss one day, then they have to shake it off and get right back out there. There is no usefulnessin sulking over a defeat, because the lack of focus will run the team over like a freight train.When you have a bad hand or a bad session, you too have got to shake it off and get ready for the next go-around.

When you get back to the table, keep in mind that a session where you quit winners, no matter how small the win might be - may go a long way toward re-establishing a positive psychological state of mind. Let's goback to another baseball analogy, look at it like a batter who is in a prolonged slump, and may bunt for abase hit just to "get one on the board." The way he may look at it, a hit is a hit.And you know what? He's right. So how can you accomplish this? Well, you may want to tighten up a bit in terms of your play. Don't playwith bad cards, or get coerced into a pot when your hand is weak. Trying to bluff with a bad hand can becrushing when it doesn't work. But be aggressive when you feel you have a percentage edge. The challenge,of course, is doing all this without telegraphing your play.

That's why poker's such a tough game.

Did anybody say it was going to be easy?