Most commercials for on-line poker sites show attractive looking people doing courageous things and being rewarded with mountains of chips. Bucking the trend is one commercial where the frustrated faces of losers are shown, with the tag-line "We play because the nights we lose are the nights we learn the most." This is brilliant commercial, because it is saying to people "So, you are losing money playing poker? Well, just think about how much you are learning! Don't give up! You are just a few losing sessions away from being a poker genius!" Still, there is a grain of truth to the commercial. Usually when you lose it is because of some mistake you made, and if you are truthful with yourself you can identify your error and make yourself less likely to repeat it.
Yesterday I took $100 to the casino, built it up to $300 in two hours, then lost it in a single hand. I won't bore you with the details, but it was a bad beat that took me out. I lost to a guy I don't like very much (he's kind of a know-it-all) and that wounded my pride a bit, but I also feel good in the knowledge that I had all my chips in when I was a favourite to double up. I read the situation well, correctly put my opponent on the hand he was holding, set a trap and sprung it on him. He had to get lucky to beat me.
So while I lost I feel I have learned a great deal. The trick is being honest with yourself. It is hard to admit when you made a mistake, and if you can't do that then you are dooming yourself to repeating your mistakes.
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