Leave your Emotions at the Door

One of the most important tips anyone will give you regarding poker is to do your very best to play without emotions. Following this simple tip will help you not lose as much money when you are done, and help you keep your bankroll when you are up. Why is it important to play without emotion? Because when you play emotionally you are are making decisions on how you are feeling and not on the cards you hold, or the way your opponents are playing. This makes it easy for your opponents to agitate you into playing a hand you shouldn’t or folding a hand that could have won.

Now it is very easy to say “Play without emotion”, but to actually put it into practice is a little harder. It hurts when you lose a big hand, and it feels so good when you win that all-in, but to be able to continue playing well after both those situations is what makes people good poker players. It is often hard to tell whether you are playing your game or your emotions as you are usually too caught up in the moment to think about it. One simple thing you can do is to ask yourself “am I playing the cards or playing my emotions”, whenever there is a big bet on the table or you are thinking of placing a big bet. This will help out in most situations, yet not all.

I know from experience how it feels after losing a big hand. The ones that sting the most are the ones in which you thought you had the best hand, you thought you were controlling the other player, luring him in to call your big bets, but in the end you find out he was the one holding your nuts. Usually after a hand like that you will feel a lot of things, stupidity and angry being the two most common. After losing a big hand it is very easy for you to play a recklessly as you want to win back the money you have lost. This is a mistake, if you play recklessly you are bound to get beat over and over again as the people you play against are going to be playing their cards, and more importantly you, which gives them a step up on you. What you need to do in this situation is to calm yourself down. If that means simply sitting out or folding a few hand, do it, most players will understand.

The other mistake people often do after losing a big hand is to get angry at the person who beat them, and to start gunning for that person. This also is a big mistake and is caused by emotions. When you start gunning for a person you are more likely to play hands you shouldn’t against that person and you will end up losing even more money to the person who already beat you. If you play your cards and your opponents you will most likely (depending on the cards and the opponents) win back some of that money you lost. Does it matter if you didn’t win it from the person who beat you earlier? Not really.

So far I have talked mostly about the emotions you feel after losing big hands, but the emotions you feel after winning a big hand is equally if not more so dangerous. After winning a big hand your adrenaline is pumping, you feel you are the best, like your the king of the world. This can cause you to again play hands you shouldn’t and get lured into making dumb plays. Another interesting thing that often happens when a person is winning is that they become more liberal with their chips. They will start paying to see flops when they have garbage hands, because in their minds they think it isn’t costing them anything. While is can produce further result when you are able to catch a flop it is also quite dangerous as you could get sucked into playing a hand. For example if you were playing under cards and paid to see the flop, then you hit your top pair, which isn’t much but best pair on the board. You are now likely to play your hand, and put some more money into it. Now what happens when the turn or river comes up an over card and your opponent makes a big bet? Since you are already on high emotions from winning in the past, and you have already put a substantial amount into the pot you are probably more than likely going to call your opponent, and you will lose if he had the over card.

To be a good poker player you need to learn to leave your emotions at the door, or at the very least know how to identify when your playing on emotions and take a break from a hand or two till your ready to get back into playing the way you should, that is playing your cards and more importantly your opponents.