What are your Mental weaknesses in the game of poker??

Is it focus, emotional control, bank roll management or lack of control in your decision making?
Fill us in with your weaknesses and lets see if we can all help each other overcome these issues

all of the above. seriously, i am the worst head case around.

i think my biggest weakness is focus. i tend to check out sometimes and click the mouse without really thinking through decisions.

BR management. Becoming better at it though.

Also, after 20 sng non-cashes in a row, I'm most likely on tilt and have to stop playing. But that's normal, no?

that's pretty standard, yes

my main problem is not being able to motivate myself enough to get some volume in... haven't played any poker since a week and a half or so.

Rockbottom87 wrote:

my main problem is not being able to motivate myself enough to get some volume in... haven't played any poker since a week and a half or so.

I think I'd go through withdrawals if I went a week and a half.

My biggest problem is stopping myself from playing when I am tired! If I could stop this, I would have a winning session almost everytime.

Me too, I like to play so much I have problem quit when I'm tired.

The problem is my partners know it.

Debi,
I always tell myself "what would I do if this was the world series or some other big tournament". That is my justification for playing through it. Sometimes it does work out and I think I have been better at managing it, but most of the time, my game just falls off!

I am definitely a morning person, but poker is predominatly a night game.

ive found a temporary solution for one of my problems. instead of using the mouse to set a generic bet size and making the process fast, i have began using my left hand to enter an exact number for my bet size. often making 97 instead of 100 for example. this slows my process down and has served to make me go through the correct mental process and often select more precise bets for my purpose.

not sure if this will last as i have only done if over the last few sessions but if nothing else it may start a better mental habit.

haha...the other advantage is that a stack for 97 looks bigger than a stack for 100 which might make people fold quicker! LOL

actually, ive made he mistake of not looking at the actual numbers and folded thinking a guy shoved. so it is possible.

Viticus, I love the left handed option. Anything that slows your decisions down and makes you go through decisions on a conscious level, will help build them to become unconscious behaviours of the positive kind.
Also, knowing your limits in regards to quitting sessions is crucial to bank roll stability. Having a break and then coming back to play will have more positive results than playing through, and the difference between the world series and online is, at the WSOP or any live event, you get a better opportunity to switch off and rest.
Online, we dont get that priveldge, especially if we are multi tabling.

Jamie,
Here is a question for you. I am sure there are some people you work with who are unsuccesful. Why do you think these people don't make it?

ohhh, grrreat question.

Patience. I always end up in the top 5% after a few hands but being impatient and impulse decisions are rough on me. Another thing is HUGE LOSSES. Gets in my head and I start to think my next hand can only be better and I push too hard losing more

I often HAVE TO CHECK is my opponent bluffing or not. It cost me a lot of money

mrdick2u, awesome question. There are numerous reasons why people dont make it and the most consistant reason that keeps popping up is disempowering belief systems. People just havent learnt to program an empowering belief system, which is consistantly getting in the way of their results.
Another aspect that coincides with a negative belief system, is what we call self sabotage. This is where people unconsciously sabotage their results so that they stay within their comfort zones. As most people have fairly limiting comfort zones, anytime they are performing above those comfort zones, they will unconsciously find a way to bring themself back into their limiting world.
A very very interesting area to work on with clients and there generally always is a reason for the limiting belief systems and comfort zones, but once worked through, can have some massive impacts on peoples worlds.

great response.

i am having trouble setting up a mental script for myself. i tend to auto-respond when i am playing online and my reactions seem to be sub-optimal about 50% of the time. Do you have any advice on how to force myself to slow down and take all the factors into account before my finger clicks the mouse?

In the Dare2Dream Video Program,we discuss the topic of building routines so that with time, your auto-respond actions will be of a positive kind.
I will be releasing a promo code here on PokerNews within the next few days for the program, so keep an eye out.

I need to quit sessions over 12 hours and sometimes i lose my focus in sessions with duration over 2 hours without breaks. Don't have alot of time to take breaks though in tournaments cause i play that many at the same time to win more money.