How many times has it happened that you fold the better hand, the guy shows you the bluff and you piss off a good chunk of your remaining chips (if not all of them) over the next couple of hands, because you don't ever wanna get bluffed again...
or worse, the guy actually wasn't even trying to bluff but you just got scared of the straight or the flush and decided to fold anyway to a bet... and the night was just one misery after another, after that moment... i know i have had many of those nights...
But here's the thing... if there is one thing you need in poker (besides the ability to read people and being able to pull the trigger when you sense weakness), it is Mental Toughness...
mental toughness is the ability to move on from a bad beat, a bluff, a bad call, a busted straight flush draw.... and playing the next hand as if nothing happened...
it is perhaps one of the most complex qualities to master... in fact i don't personally know of anyone who doesn't get affected a little bit by all of the things i mentioned above... the best of them though accept it... take a break and lay low for a little... and then bounce back... !
Poker as i mentioned before, is not about one hand or a few isolated hands... it's a process of survival and elimination... if you survive, you live to play another hand...
of course in no limit, you can get busted on any one hand, but that's what you try to avoid... never go all-in unless you have the nuts or close to that, or you are bluffing... there is no point in making marginal calls at the risk of losing all your chips... i absolutely hate going all-in unless i have almost the nuts on the river or i am pretty sure that my opponent can't take the pressure and will fold his middle pair...
but back to mental toughness, the point is that bad beats and getting bluffed is part of the game and you have to be ready for them... most of all, don't let them affect your game for the rest of the session... no one can make a 100% correct calls... so it's OK if you fold the better hand once in a while... and please don't try to get back your money from the same person next time the same situation arises... he won the hand, you lost, move on... wait for a better situation, hopefully you'll get a chance to get back at him/her at some point... but even if you don't, it doesn't matter... as long as you keep playing your game and accumulating chips...
Hellmuth (he's my favorite player by the way) says, and i totally agree with him, if you can't occasionally fold the best hand, you'll never become a good or great poker player... there have been times when legendary pros folded cowboys pre-flop in three-way pots cuz they didn't want to risk jeopardizing their chip lead...
So here's an exercise that I suggest... i have done it many times myself... it's gonna sound insane, but just play along, you'll expand your mind in a whole different dimension...
next time you play, try this...
1- wait for a good hand e.g. pocket pair or AK, AQ etc.
2- raise to three times the big blind pre-flop
3- if the flop comes in your favor i.e. you get top pair or better, check... or FOLD if someone bets
4- on the turn check if no one bets... or FOLD if someone bets
5- on the river, check if no one bets... or FOLD if someone bets
after the hand, take a break and go outside to walk around for about 10-15 minutes or so... you'll feel a whole set of emotions... anger, frustration, self-doubt...
experience them in this controlled environment and bring yourself back to normal...
you'll see that the world does not come to end and you just took an immaterial hit, three big blinds... or even if you consider the opportunity cost, you could have won may be 10-15 big blinds... that's it... the night is still young, and now you have control over your emotions... perfect scenario to make some money....
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