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(2 votes) 
July 3, 2013
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It’s not every tournament, but probably 1 in 8 deep runs, I’ll play a hand or two (or 3 ) where I just stop thinking… like literally just stop thinking about the hands, and 6-bet shove K, 10 in a really bad spot (like i did last night in the big 109) or bluff every street when I’m obviously getting called etc. I’m a winning player overall, but i’ve spewed so many deep runs – I dread to think what I couldve made without spewing.
Its not tilt, it doesn’t happen after bad beats or anything.
I have a feeling it’s the thought of the big prize pool that gets to my head, all i can think about is vegas and the ****in mirage (sorry) but seriously – its like that, all I can think about is what i’d spend 1st place on, and I go into some weird auto-pilot “must win every pot” mode, I stop being a thinking player and become a spewy fish. Any ideas to combat this would be greatly appreciated.
May 6, 2013
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Before every action, take a second or two and just pause, think what the best action is.
February 14, 2013
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You should check out Jared Tendler's books the mental game of poker (something to that effect) parts 1&2, covers a lot of stuff such as this.
TPE Pro
August 3, 2011
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Experience, Volume, and focus. This comes with time. Your subconcious poker mind also makes much better decisions down the road. I think most players have this problem in the beginning.
March 21, 2013
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Also use the breaks to refresh yourself, get a light bite, take a very quick shower or make a short walk around your house, refreshes your mind and you'll be ready for another hour+ of grinding and staying focused when you get deep.
April 16, 2013
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I find that eating some fruit like an apple or something and washing my face on the breaks helps wake me up and refresh me. Sometimes doing some stretches helps me too as sitting down for hours at a time can become very similar to lying in bed if you don't have a walk about on the breaks.
April 16, 2013
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On a longer term perspective, Tommy Angelo describes Mindfullness (which I don't study myself but have read about the benefits) which from what I see is essentially “living in the moment” and practicing meditation/breathing exercises to be more focused on the present than the past/future. I think “betudontbet” videos on this site, he talks about the importance of not tilting and I think he compares looking at the tournament leaderboards as looking at the golf leaderboards on day 1. They are practically meaningless to the outcome of the tournament but can have negative effects on emotion.
Even when your chip leader, focus on thinking “how can I win this” (the same attitude that got you to chip leader) instead of the more pesmistic natural response of “how can I lose this”.
June 4, 2013
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I had this problem for a long time as well. I tend to use this phrase as a llimtus test when I'm in the money, esp just when I have min cashed. Do I have ample time for better spots? Where am I in chip stacks in relation to the villain? Also, we sometimes look at thin value and get really spewy without really considering how much of a difference the chips at stake will affect your position in the tournament. Unless your 15BB or less, you have time for better spots.
October 6, 2010
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i am a pretty typical unfit late 20s guy, but i find doing some dumbell curls or 20 pushups in the break works really well at just getting the blood pumping a bit, which helps a lot with concentration
July 7, 2012
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bennymacca said:
i am a pretty typical unfit late 20s guy, but i find doing some dumbell curls or 20 pushups in the break works really well at just getting the blood pumping a bit, which helps a lot with concentration
I'm an untypical just about to turn 40 guy who puts the kettel on, lights another smoke, takes a lash….then dam the 5mins are up and no chance for exercise 
On serious note though, all of the above response are good stuff, just find something that works for you. I used to have motivation post its up around the screen things like “Refuse to lose”, “STOP AND THINK”, “Whats my edge?” etc etc…but you do have to make yourself stop and look at these when your in a spot. Controlling your breathing for a short spell when you feel yourself getting tense or inbetween hands to prepare for next decision. I also love my punch bag for releasing the neg engergy in a break (although a little messy with a smoke in one hand and a cuppa in the other lol).
Most importantly though is you have recognised this as an issue/leak so now you can find the way that helps you counter it.
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