POCKET ACES

N Apostrophe T

Last week we were having a small argument at work. Well, let’s backtrack. Some little incident that started as a small argument evolved into a day of nearly total chaos with everyone disagreeing with everyone about everything. It was as if the planet stopped spinning for four hours and threw us out into the vacuum of the universe where we became totally out of control. This escalated when in an attempt to quell the growing storm we ordered a delivered lunch which took just under an hour and a half to arrive.

So maybe it wasn’t really that bad, but at the time, it felt like a total disaster, and at the end of the day, the entire crew agreed it was happy to see it end.

This disjointed day started with a negative response to a negative response, which went unresolved when a third party became involved. As I observed (and, sadly, participated) in the day of doom, in hindsight it suddenly occurred to me that all this could have been avoided and possibly even turned around if it were for the use of what I call N Apostrophe T. That’s the use of contractions for words that end in not.

See this all started when someone said, “That won’t work. We tried something like that a long time ago.”

That evening, I started to analyze what happened at the store so I might find a way to stop it in its tracks should it occur (or try to occur) again. I don’t know if I found an answer but I did uncover what I thought was an important clue, one that probably points the way to an undesired sea change in everyday life and, therefore, in your poker game.

How many times does your game turned sour because of N Apostrophe T? Think about the times you’ve said things like, “I shouldn’t have, I didn’t, I wasn’t, I couldn’t, you couldn’t have, you didn’t ....”

These words can bring on a ton of tilt.

“I can’t believe you called two raises,” often becomes a vendetta against the player who found a miracle on the river. In your heart of hearts, you know players are going to pull this kind of stunt, so why let it get to you. Sure, you’ve lost the pot but it’s not the only pot in the world. There will be more. And the next time this same fellow follows you to the river, you’ll have the winning hand.

So a better response might be something like, “You certainly played that hand from a brave position. Congratulations on your guts. I wish I could do that.” Now what you’ve done is you’ve given the player permission to keep playing like an idiot and you never used the N apostrophe T.

Look at a similar scenario that’s more personal.

“I can’t seem to get a break. Why do I always seem to have the second-best hand?” This kind of self abasement often forces us to play more hands than we should, therefore increasing the chances that we will have more second-best hands. You’ve created a situation that eventually has you tilting at your own windmills which, as everyone knows, is fighting a futile battle.

Every poker player knows about good and bad streaks. What keeps each and most coming back to the game is, in part, the memory of the good streaks, the thought that another rush is just around the corner. That’s where your mind has to go when you are temporarily down on your luck. Instead of iterating the fact that you can’t get a break, turn it around. “I remember when those two cards won a huge pot for me; or, “This is just one of those off days. Maybe I’ll go get a cup of coffee and sit out a few hands.”

I wish I could say taking negativity out of your daily routine is going to be easy. We know the truth about that. But solid poker players have the resilience to overcome downswings in their earnings and futile battles that seem to never end. Playing at a limit you know you can beat, playing only when fresh and fed, playing without distractions will all help.

Also, if you are the kind of person who understands self discipline, check out http://www.complaintfreeworld.biz/. I’m not sure Will Bowen meant his site and philosophy to be part of a poker plan, but I don’t think he will care. Bowen’s outfit is a non-profit, non-religious group that helps people become more positive, specifically by tracking and setting a goal for complaint free days. The group’s purple bracelets are a hoot but they are helpful in dispelling the N apostrophe T from your poker vocabulary.

Trust me on this one.