Playing Well on Bad Days

The hardest part of poker is not learning ranges.
Not math. Not strategy.
It’s accepting that you can play well
and still have a bad session.
No mistakes. No tilt.
Just bad outcomes.
Poker quietly checks one thing every day:
Can you keep playing well when nothing goes your way?

I think the hardest things about poker is doing and being good at the following things: bankroll management, mental toughness/tilt control, patience, discipline and game selection. Cause if you can't do them things well one will never be a winning player.

I mean anyone can learn charts, learn poker strategy, study ICM and read poker books. Poker isn't rocket science and poker math isn't even that hard. What's hard and what the majority of people are terrible at are the 5-6 things I listed in my first sentence. Do those things well and a simple TAG strategy will get you pretty dam far in poker.

Cheers!!!

When such thing happens (bad outcome no matter what) I just quite for that day. And I would recomend doing so to every player. On the other hand, there are days when everything seems to go extremly well -then just stick to playing as long as you can.

Yes, one has to fatalistic when it comes to poker indeed. One day you get the breaks, the other you can play well and lose almost all your hands. It is what it is.

Sometimes its better to recognize that you're done for the day instead of trying to force it and chasing losses, there's no harm in taking a break and coming back fresh tomorrow with a clear head.

When the game is bad, I simply keep playing, because we never know when it will return to normal.

babyrosejr said:

The hardest part of poker is not learning ranges.
Not math. Not strategy.
It’s accepting that you can play well
and still have a bad session.
No mistakes. No tilt.
Just bad outcomes.
Poker quietly checks one thing every day:
Can you keep playing well when nothing goes your way?

Click to expand...

I agree. Difficult days can significantly affect a player's motivation. But I do something very simple: I focus my attention on long-term goals, and this focus allows me to easily cope with temporary difficulties and challenging periods.