Avoiding Anti-Tilt

I enjoyed the great weather today by taking in a day game down at Petco. Jake Peavy cruised in a win over the Dodgers in his return from the DL. Unfortunately I also had to watch the scoreboard as the Mets blew yet another late-inning lead. I think we're pretty much at the nut low for the Mets this season right now. Wagner has been terrible recently, but he's not the reason the team is 3 games under .500 for the season. Only the Nationals have scored fewer runs than the Mets in the NL East this year. Part of that is because Shea is a pitcher's park, but the Mets have given 50+ ABs already this year to players like Fernando Tatis, Endy Chavez, Marlon Anderson, Angel Pagan, Raul Casanova, and Damion Easley. And at power positions, like LF and 1B. That's inexcusable for a team with such deep pockets. You can blame injuries, but with a roster full of oft-injured players, how could you not see them coming and be ready? I've said it before, and I'll say it again: SIGN HIM.

One of the things I'm really trying to work on this summer is staying on even keel over the course of a session, and even several sessions. Obviously that means not tilting when I've lost a couple big hands or keep getting re-raised, but that also means not getting overconfident when I've won a few hands.

I've noticed recently that when I've made a couple of nice bluffs or value bets, sometimes I will get too confident in my postflop ability and start calling raises and re-raises pre-flop with some pretty crappy hands because I think I can outplay my opponents post-flop. Certainly sometimes this is the case, and I think there's a time and place for calling those bets pre-flop with speculative hands, especially in position, but it is to be used sparingly. In addition, if I've been outplaying somebody a few hands in a row, they will start to get very suspicious and be less likely to fold.

Poker, like baseball, is a humbling game. No matter how good you are, you are headed for a downswing at some point. All that "play the man, not the cards" crap seems to imply that the great players have the power to just make their opponent fold at will in a big pot, which is obviously not the case. Sometimes the cards will cooler you, or your opponent will make a play you don't expect. If you get cocky and think you're going to win every pot, the downswing will tilt you that much more. The games have been very good to me recently, but I've got a long way to go with my game, and it's good to keep that in mind even through the fieriest of heaters.

-BRUECHIPS