Managing Anger In Online Poker
- Filed under: Poker
- Date: May 1,2010
One of the advantages of online poker is that you don’t have to contain your emotions. There is no one to react to your hysterics or to read your nervous ticks. You don’t have to hide or be ashamed to express your feelings. You can swear, pray to God, laugh like a madman or cry like a girl, and there are plenty of things you can break or try to break without having to pay a fine (that is, if you are playing online at your own place).
The only thing you want to leave alone is the computer. People and pets sharing the apartment with you will have probably learned by now that they better stay away from the serious poker player. Anyone who hasn’t learned yet is fair game.
While it is clearly an advantage, it may turn on you and effect your mental health. It is widely believed that containing your emotions is not good for a person or as a player. The belief is that the more you depress the expression of emotion, the greater the likelihood that the pent up frustration will effect your decision making and possibly lead to a decline in your mental health.
Recalling their negative feelings of “flashes of anger”, “blind rage” or even going “totally berserk” many players admit guilt. They like to point to the Japanese experience where rubber dolls are given – representing management- and employees use these to alleviate their feelings of frustration.
However, it needs to be observed that the Japanese culture is vastly different from ours, with the possibility that their psychological make up is drastically different from ours. Also of note, while the Japanese subscribe to the rubber dolls theory, and even have a very liberal view towards porn and simulated violence, the country has some of the most shocking suicide statistics in the world, especially in the marketing sector of the middle class.
So, when viewed through this lens, the soundness relieving our pent up frustration on inanimate objects can be called into question. Indeed, many trials lean to the conclusion that the violent expression of frustration is not a stress reliever, but the exact opposite.
Viewed from a rational position one concludes that the real cause of our frustration is not alleviated, and indeed may be further advanced by the repeated pounding of a rubber bag — the pounding encouraging anger rather than easing the stresses. Further, when the relief is not evident as a result of implementing the method imposed by his superiors, even greater frustration is likely to be felt.
Applying this to the poker player, it is safe to say that a player who is using such a method of outward expression of frustration is greatly distracted from the game, probably even more so than if they chose to quietly fume. All emotion that reaches excess negatively impacts intellectual capacity, especially in those areas that are responsible for the outbursts in the first place. Fear can thwart purpose and creativity can be stunted by excessive joy.
Containing anger created during a game, as opposed to those life frustrations such as lack of appreciation or a rocky love life, should be looked upon generally as a positive. Treat it as way to make a player better, teaching poise and general discipline. Controlling the anger may take some practice at first but with time it should become easier and result in improvement to your health and career. If it is not working, take a break, quit that one disastrous game, or in the extreme, even stop playing on line poker for a time.
The author is a full time online poker player and makes the majority of his income from his online play and rakeback at Players Only. To sign up for a Rakeback account of your own visit Rakeback Solution.
categories: poker,card games,games,gambling,casino,online poker,online gambling,online casino,fun,entertainment,recreation,sports,leasure
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