I'm posting this because I just had a big realization that I wanted to try and air out. I will often act super fast and against my better judgment in big bet/big pot situations (think river bet raises & river check raises), basically overcalling. My realization is that I have a much bigger fear of being wrong about being bluffed (lying to me) than I do being wrong about the other person betting for value (telling me the truth). Either that or the opposite, I have too much ego and want to punish somebody for trying to bluff me.

My best guess is that it's a combination of both, and I'm hoping that airing this out will take this conversation out of my head during these spots and allow me to focus on the spot itself, on ranges, textures, opponent tendencies, and so on.

I think what I do is this: I'll just cut off my thought process and say to myself, "stop thinking and just call or you won't get any sleep tonight. If you don't call you'll never know for sure if you are right or wrong." I'm sure I'm not the only one who's doing this but I feel like the general population overfolds in these spots. I'd love to hear feedback from either camp and hopefully we can find a way to all play more optimal poker (but at different tables of course).