Taking a break from poker

Taking a Break From Poker

Forbid the idea of ​​taking a break from poker, but it is inevitable. It happens to everyone. For professionals and amateurs. The day will come when you will finally admit to yourself that you are late for a break.

When your mind gets confused, when your balance starts to fall, when nothing goes right, when everything you’ve tried has failed and when you’ve blamed everyone but yourself, it’s time to take a break. Simply put: you have been working hard. Your mental circuits are tired. Your mind and body need some time to recover.

Think of a break as nothing more than a well-deserved vacation. And, we all need a vacation, no matter how much we love our work. Whenever you take a vacation, do you remember how you came back with that feeling of being able to conquer the world? It’s the same when you take a break from poker. I’m on a two-week break now. My mind was all mixed up. After a good and long winning streak, I suddenly started to retreat. The more I tried to stop the fall, the worse it got. Finally, I threw in the towel and put myself on the injured list.

Today, much of the poker fatigue is a consequence of online gambling Online. There are great risks of playing too much and too often. And to take declining performance for granted. Some faulty reasoning circuit tends to ignore the obvious in favor of hope. Especially when hope is presumably just a click away. When you add many other problems, such as neglect of the family, neglect of exercise and eye strain, it must be easy to assess the outcome: mental breakdown of poker.

I am sure that this was my condition when I started my vacation. But, it is difficult to know for sure, because our tricky minds can play many dirty tricks. For example, when we are losing badly, our minds persuade us to continue playing because we must or must already start winning. Or, convince us that a weak hand is really strong, since we haven’t had a decent hand in hours. And, of course, if you are not thinking clearly, how can you know that you are not thinking clearly? That must be the ultimate puzzle of poker.

So, what am I going to do with all that extra time? On the one hand, I started reading a new poker book. And that is already proving to be my next best recent poker decision. (My best recent poker decision was to take a break.) Not only was I cleared up about several of my game mistakes, but I also learned some new ways to think about my game. Any good poker book would probably serve that purpose. I suppose it is just the change in perspective that helps most.

Of course, I didn’t realize I was making mistakes at the time. Or maybe so, but not consciously. Anyway, retrospective is 20-20, and that is what really matters. The process of becoming mentally able to classify everything is what is important. It is a form of healing. And the deeper the wounds, the longer the healing process takes.

The good news is that one day he will recover. I’m sure of that, because over the years this is not my first opportunity. There have been many before, and some have lasted for months. So don’t hesitate or feel remorse about taking a break from poker. You won’t forget how to play, and the games are sure to still be there when you get back. In fact, I can promise that you will return with more energy and a clearer, sharper mind. More importantly, you will return as a mentally and physically stronger player than before you left.

As a test, ask yourself the following: am I playing right now because I feel compelled to play or simply because I like and want to play? If your answer is the first, it’s time to take a break too.