We have all rued the day when we overstayed our welcome at those losing rounds of poker. In hindsight, it is easy to see that we should have walked away hours earlier. The problem is, if we did that, we would always be tormented by that jackpot that was just around the corner, awaiting a few more hands. But no, we stay and lose right down to that last grim deal. To make matters worse, since we have no idea why we put up with this torture in the first place, we go back and do it again and again.

One absolutely must use their powers of reasoning to logically analyze the situation to determine if they should hold or fold. You know when to go to the airport so you won’t miss the plane for that important business meeting. If you are hanging on in desperation waiting for that winning hand and miss your chance to get to the airport on time, you are going to get totally stressed. You won’t play well, you missed the plane and that important meeting. You are also harming yourself and your career.

Poker should be undertaken for amusement, not self-flagellation. If you are not having fun, leave the game, before your play and your psyche both suffer. Some players begin by taking up poker for R & R, only to find themselves overwhelmed by the game, yet are glued to their chair for some unknown reason. They are overcome by some obsession to stay the course, unwilling to leave as a loser, but continue to lose and suffer. The well-balanced player will chalk the loss up to experience, maintain their good humor and leave the game, knowing that it isn’t always like this.

The first step in understanding this type of behavior is to realize that the problem does not lie in the game of poker itself. It lies in you and your persistence in continuing to play and to lose at an “amusement” that is pointless and unproductive and at which you are not having fun. This is avoidance and self-delusion at its finest, having no connection with poker.

In this case, whatever it is that you are avoiding, it is likely that it manifests itself in other activities as well. Shifting your focus may help to realize the source of the original problem. Rather than stupidly pondering why you have again stayed that fatal extra hour half-playing a doomed game, try to observe yourself in your other activities. You may discover that things which seemed completely unrelated to your poker plight have surprising connections to your inability to leave the game in time.

The problem may lie in not facing the fact that you hate your job, or owning up to a real feeling of grief that you have suppressed for a long time. If you are able to make a connection, you may be able to stop kicking yourself and enjoy the reality of life and of poker.

The author of this article plays online poker and gets Rakeback at PKR Poker where they offer the highest PKR Rakeback.

categories: holdem,hold’em,poker,card games,games,gambling,recreation,sport