SCOOP: PLAYING WELL BUT NOT GETTING RESULTS
We are already closing the first week of SCOOP and depending on how the results and performance of each player have been, we can find ourselves in any of these three situations:
Players with more negative than positive results
Break-even players
Players with more positive than negative results
In this blog, we will talk about what to do if we are having a good performance but the negative results outweigh the positive ones.
First, I think it is necessary to make a big differentiation to understand where we stand: Results and Performance.
During the last few years, the common factor among all the players I have worked with was that everyone defined their Downswing in different ways. Although they all said it because they perceived that they were losing more than they were winning, I have had cases of players who, when we looked at their statistics, we found that they had actually won more than they thought.
What do I mean by this? It is important not to rely solely on our sensations and emotions, as they can often disorient us.
Therefore, if during this series you find yourself with the idea that you are on a negative streak, it is important to stop and analyze what is happening.
Poker is a game where, as you know better than me, variance can play a bad trick on you. Many times your performance is very good but you cannot see it reflected in victories, which can make you feel very frustrated for not seeing your excellent performance in results.
That is why the first analysis we must do before taking any action in this “bad streak” is to understand and answer the following question:
Am I performing poorly or is it the variance of the game?
Perhaps this question is easy to answer, or perhaps not. The important thing is to use it as a trigger to make decisions since continuing to play with that negative feeling is not going to help us much in building our performance.
My performance is good
Excellent, you did the homework, stopped and analyzed your numbers and your game, or even talked to your poker coach. What did you find? Have you been playing very well but variance is not on your side? What should we do? Do we keep going like this?
This is where I want to share with you a little about two functionalities that our brain loves to use: First, it is tremendously associative. Second, it loves to predict based on past experiences.
Not understanding how our brain uses these functionalities can lead us to incur very bad habits: Regarding association, poor results can make us fall back on habits or behaviors that are not at all positive for our performance:
“I slept well yesterday, but still lost today.”
“I can’t win on this site.”
“I studied a lot before SCOOP and still have no good results.”
“No matter how well I play, I can’t get good results.”
Frustration at not achieving results changes our perception and the way we view the game, and can generate associations that have nothing to do with what is happening: experiencing negative variance.
On the other hand, our brain loves to predict based on past experiences. It’s its survival mechanism. If we’ve been winning a lot, our brains will expect victories. Conversely, if we’ve been losing a lot, our brain will expect defeats. This can generate thoughts like:
“The opponent is luckier than me”
“I’m going to lose this hand too”
“This series is going to be very bad”
“No matter what I do, I’m going to lose the next hand”
These types of thoughts and internal dialogue can trigger doubts about our abilities and our game, leading to a decline in our performance.
In conclusion, poor results can generate changes in our way of seeing the game and affect our levels of confidence. This is largely because we are having a results-oriented mindset.
What should we do in this case? Start building a performance mindset. A performance mindset is characterized by focusing on what you can control while also accepting what you cannot control. Some steps to follow to nurture a performance mindset include:
Healthy performance routines: Take care of your sleep and recovery. Every morning, take the time to go for a walk and expose yourself to sunlight for 20–30 minutes. Take care of your diet, eat fruits, and stay hydrated. If you do any physical activity before playing, make sure it’s not high-intensity.
Focus your game on your strengths: Take the time to analyze your game and understand what your strengths are. Analyze some hands in which you played very well and recognize your strengths. Let your strengths be your support during your game.
Adjust your game a little if necessary: During major competitions, I do not recommend making major changes, but it is possible to make some adjustments where we see that we are making mistakes. Small adjustments in the game can be of great help as long as they do not involve major changes in the way you play.
Engage in assertive self-dialogue: The way you talk to yourself will help you a lot in dealing with the frustration of negative variance. It is not necessary to be positive, it is important to be assertive and know how to recognize what is happening in your internal dialogue. Some examples:
“My game is good, but variance is not helping me. I am going to keep focusing on what I can control.”
“I know my strengths, and I’m going to keep focusing on executing each hand to the best of my ability.”
“If I keep focusing on the negative, my game will get worse. I recognize that I can play well if I keep focusing on what I can control.”
“If I maintain my consistent performance, I know I will get results over time.”
“Losing this hand caused me a lot of frustration. I am going to mark it to learn and improve my game.”
“Although I am losing, sleep is a pillar of my recovery, and I’m going to keep taking care of it.”
“This series is not going to be very bad just because I started losing. I’m going to keep focusing on what I control: My performance.”
“If what I do matters, I’m going to keep looking to make quality decisions even when I feel frustrated by my results.”
5. Modify your table count or stakes if necessary: While you may be playing at your ideal table count and appropriate stakes, if you feel that negative results are affecting your game too much, it’s not wrong to lower your table count a bit to focus more on each table. It’s also not wrong to reduce your stakes a bit to regain confidence.
SCOOP is a long series, so let’s not let results in the first few weeks affect the entire series. Everyone is in control of their performance and can take action to improve it.
Don’t wait for your performance to appear; Build it. Build your performance.
I hope this helps. In the next blog, I’ll be writing about what to do if your performance isn’t good and the results aren’t there either.
Regards!