Psychological Strength
I have been keeping track of my profits by week, and for the first time in a month I'm not profiting from STT SNGs. Week 21 is -$151. But that should have been -$350 if it had not been for today's sessions.
I have just bought Dusty Schmidt's (Leatherass) Book "Treat Your Poker Like A Business" and I'm loving it.
There are many reasons why I like that book, but the first is being that I can use my iPhone to read it! Its my first "ebook" and its great. Not that I don't like the whole physicality of having a book, but sometimes lying in bed its just more convenient, especially if the book is massive.
Leatherass really is a legend. But his legendary status comes from hard work and discipline, and I think he's truly a great icon to look up to. Treating Poker seriously is the theme, not just in playing, but also money, preparation, and mindset. He certainly admits to not being the best Poker player, but explains that its his work ethic that has won him so much money. A steady, reliable grind, which is about earning your money over time rather then one big win.
His psychological strength is amazing. But that, just like playing at the felt, improves through training.
Today I tried playing without looking at the cashier. I know my game is pretty solid and so if I'm a winning player it shouldn't matter how much I'm winning in the short run. Dusty doesn't look at his cashier for the whole month!
It really is a weird thing not looking, not knowing how well your doing. My first set today didn't go well but because I didn't know how badly I carried on. I actually didn't mind not knowing, but it did feel weird. The next sets turned out great and I finished the day +$200.
Now after losing $300 yesterday, I'm sure I would have been really pissed off losing the first set. The negativity of "Oh, What a surprise" that I lost my first set of the day would have set the tone for the rest of the day. Just like when you watch the showdowns of your all ins, it really is unnecessary because you know you've done the right +EV move.
If your a winning player, then knowing how much you win every set isn't gonna matter in the long run. Dusty talks about how some months he actually lost like $30k in the beginning, but ended the month winning! Its a really tough thing to do, and very oxymoronic to be playing for money and not "caring" about it. I'd really suggest you guys try it, coz its kinda liberating. I'm gonna try and not look at my cashier til the end of my day, and then maybe week/month later on once I get used to it.
I'm about 400 $6.50s away from Platinum Star for June, which is great coz I have about 40k FPPs and I'm close to being able to buy the $650 package. Looking forward to the grind tomorrow, with the mindset of trying to be tilt free!
