Moving Up Mental Game and Confidence Level
Posted by sauloCosta10
Posted by
sauloCosta10
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Mental Game
Moving Up Mental Game and Confidence Level
I've moved up stakes 4 times until now (from nl2 to nl25) and every time I did it (or took shots) I faced the same problem in the first few sessions: spewing because of fear of getting exploited by the new regs. Its like my mind sets a trap for myself, and it tells me that if I dont do anything differently than what I was doing in the previous stake I will get crushed. And thats obviously not true, and I'm able to understand that later, but in game I always end up making stupid hero calls and calldowns in spots where I shouldnt because I feel like regs are being more aggressive and exploiting me more (does anyone feel like that as well??). Then, because of that, I make bad decisions and I lose confidence and the process of moving up takes more more time and hands because of this mental problem. My point is: how to avoid losing confidence when moving up? Seems obvious to me that if you are a solid winner at a given limit, you are very likely capable of beating the next one, so you shouldnt be making strategy adjustments until you prove to yourself that you can't beat it...isnt that right? And for those who have already climbed many stakes, was there ever a move up where you had to make big strategy adjusments to beat the next level? Thanks in advance
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It sounds like you have some form of fear when moving up. Just acknowledging it by saying to yourself I feel fear can be helpful. Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of being fooled (outplayed, ridiculed) to name a few things that can happen. I think taking small steps is a good idea. First you can imagine playing 50NL when you play 25NL. Then you can add one table of 50NL while playing 25NL on your other tables.
I definitely have fear of failure and being outplayed. Sounds stupid, I know lol Thank you for the advice! Ill definitely try going with small steps
I don't think there's any way to not lose some confidence when you move up at stakes. That's fine tho. After all, you step into a whole new environment with better players that you aren't familiar with. My first advice would be to realize this and accept the fact that you're not as confident as you were and you should not be!
I don't know the exact details of what you're dealing with mentally, but I think it would help you to let go of the thought that you should be as confident as at lower stakes when you take a shot.
Yeah I agree that we should not be as confident as at a lower level, but losing confidence just because of a new environment seems a like a metan leak, dont you think?
It depends on what you mean by saying "confidence". If you lose all confidence, that could be fixed by just realizing that if you are a solid winner at your current stake and you go in and take a shot with a good mindset of trying to learn and improve and being okey with the fact that it's a bit scary at first (because the environment is unknown compared to lower games you've played for some time), you should be fine.
If that doesn't fix the problem over time and your fear is still overwhelming, I would suggest not to take a shot yet and take some time to reset your mind in a way that you can be more free from your own expectations and be very realistic about your own situation. I think that is really important.
If you're fully aware of your current skill and situation with poker, and you always try to improve and play your best, what can go wrong? Take your time and fully accept your current skill and mentality. Fully. You need to let go of your expectations. All you can do is your best at any given moment. If you have unrealistic expectations, it's very hard to celebrate small victories. Be very humble.
Excelent post! Thank you very much
To answer your original question better I'm gonna add that losing your confidence in your ability to always do your best and in your potential as a player can be considered as a mental leak, but not being as confident when taking a shot to a bit tougher games compared to your regular stakes is not.
Imagine you hitting on a fat chick compared to hitting on Blake Lively. If your just as confident in both scenarios, you're most likely arrogant. However, the base confidence you have in yourself can remain the same.
This post is going to be all over the place, but here goes.
Losing your condidence in this case is definitely a mental leak, since you lose your a-game (spewing, light calldowns). You said it yourself, you have the FEAR of getting exploited. This is one form of the fear of failure.
Games tend to get more aggressive as you move up in stakes and you are trying to fight the new aggressive environment. Do you know HOW to adjust correctly? Are you over-adjusting?
It might be that you have too much respect for the regs of the new limit. It might also be that you are so afraid of facing the aggression that all you see is everyone exploiting you in every spot and lose your confidence.
How to avoid losing confidence when moving up?
You have to have a lot of patience when moving up. You likely don't have a lot of hands of the regs. Give yourself time and play as well as you can. View it as a learning opportunity. -> Mark hands where you think you are getting exploited. Do you see a pattern? Post them on the forums and ask what other players think. Play dirrefent stakes: If 25nl is your main game. Play it 50% of the time, then 10nl for 25% and 50nl 25%. How are the games different? What are the spots you are facing difficulties? -> How to change your game plan accordingly.
If you know the right adjustments and it's only the overwhelming feeling of fear of getting exploited, try to say to yourself out loud:
Before taking the shot; "I know I will face agression, but I am not getting exploited."
When facing aggression; "I will stay calm and not deviate from my a-game"
When facing aggression and have to make tough fold; "I made/can make the correct fold." , "I don't have to spew."
GL on your shots.
I think u can just play the same strategy as usual. At first , do not adjust your game plan at all, until you find something from the hm2 database or something, according to which , u are sure u can make a +ev move , then u adjust.
I think there are a lot of good comments above. Having some fear is normal and healthy, posting difficult spots on forums is smart, recognize you will face more aggression as you move up is right,, as well as playing on the level you have been on a portion of your time and new level a portion is smart. But I have two additions. One is make sure you are spending time studying, as well as playing, so you are always in the learning mode. And maybe as importantly, this is a great time to learn " bank management". If I have at least 40 buy ins for the new level, and maybe you need more, at the new level, I've found I can give myself comfort in knowing I have enough strength in dollars to not be bullied. When I am playing at the new the buy-in and there are two regs with more the 2x the buy in at that table, if I don't remember I have a big bank behind me, I can be intimidated. But when i remember, I have a lot more in my stack than the two of them can see, I have less fear, knowing I can simply add to my stack if I lose a hand.
Would be great if one could display BB instead of real money value. I think that would allow to be more emotionally distant to what on stake and therefor think more productivly about the decisions.
You can, but you need 3rd party software though. I don't think poker sites can offer it because it can cause problems with gambling regulations (you should always know how much money you wager).
You are right, I have been using Stars Helper and the translation to BBs helps to avoid thinking about money and focus on your decision
Not an affiliate btw lol
Your Tracker/DB HUD gives you this if configured for it.
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