Lesson #8

Time to come clean... Over the last four months or so I've had a terrible time at the poker tables losing more sessions than I care to mention. As a result I've nearly lost the entire profit that I acquired in 2011. That's a four-figure sum and for this here recreational player that's a fairly sizable chunk of my bankroll. Thinking back, yes, I've been dealt lousy cards but if I were really honest I have to say that a change of attitude has probably meant that I've lost more than I should.

Lesson #8 - Think like a casual player = Play like a casual player = Expect the results of a casual player.
As we all know, having the right attitude is crucial if you want to be a long-term winning poker player. But at times, this game can be so cruel that you can undergo a shift in attitude that can tip the balance - and the edge - against yourself. As my bankroll headed on the donward spiral earlier this year I told myself, as all logical-minded players do when things aren't going great, that it was just a blip and that results would soon turn around. The problem is, they didn't - and they haven't. They didn't after one month, two months or three months - and they haven't after four months!! My bankroll is still heading down that hill!

One of the changes that happened, I believe, was a change in an attitude towards money which went from not minding too much about losing to not really minding at all; to the point where a casual, couldn't-care-less attitude about losing totally took over me. Then, as the money kept going south and I kept believing I would win it back soon enough, I actually started to get a bit cocky and believed that no matter what I did, I'd win it back - that's when playing too many hands and way too loose came in to my play. I'd also have sessions where I'd turn up with the idea that I'd just play safe and simply bet big when I had a big hand, having a total disregard for the dynamics at the table.

When I start The Experiment in 2013, thinking like a casual player will be right out. I know I may not play as much as I could nowadays but it will all be about reading the situation much more carefully and not turning up feeling that I have a right to just piss about cos it will all come good in the end. I now know that if I keep this cavalier attitude up it certainly won't come good, and the end will amount to yours truly paying a high price. Three words for The Experiment in 2013: Concentration, concentration, concentration.