Over the past few years I have been an active member on numerous poker forums and I'm amazed

at how often I see posts from people asking for help because they've lost their bankrolls. They cite all kinds of reasons and many don't have the necessary poker skills, but most of these players simply lack self-control at the tables. Lack of self-control can mean tilting, playing in an unfocused state of mind, playing outside of your bankroll or just being apathetic at the tables. I myself used to tilt in a very odd way. I wouldn't get mad or angry, but I would become somewhat numb and not care about the money. Sometimes it would be brought on by boredom, other times by bad beats or simply a bad day in general. Early in my poker years I went bust a number of times before realizing that I needed to do something about it. I had read every book, watched every video and played numerous hours of winning poker. I knew that I COULD play well, but I didn't all of the time. The problem was that the profits I would make in ten hours of solid play could easily be lost in ten minutes of poor play. I began reviewing my records and discovered that most of my big loosing sessions weren't brought on by a bad beat that led to tilt. Instead, I would usually experience a slow decline in my focus as I played a session which would eventually result in poor decisions that started out small, but became more and more costly as time went by. There were many reasons for losing focus during sessions. I would watch television, talk on the phone, chat on instant messenger, surf the web, eat, and any number of other things all while multi-tabling at my chosen poker site. All these diversions kept me from getting bored, while I grinded away at the tables and I didn't think it affected my game. After all, I won 90% of the time. The problem was that eventually all of these distractions led to poor decisions and those few losing sessions that would wreck havoc on my bankroll. To help regain self-control at the tables I drew up a list of rules and rituals for myself and promised to follow them for one month. At the end of the month, I was amazed at how well they had prevented me from losing focus and having those tilty sessions. As an added bonus, they also helped me to improve my BB/100 over the long term. So what did I do? I created a binder. Before each and every session I would open the binder and read the first page that had a series of 10 questions for me to answer before playing. These 10 questions were key to increasing my profitable sessions at the tables. The questions are: 1. Are you rested? Playing tired is an easy way to lose focus and make poor decisions at the table. Never play tired. 2. Have you set a session length? I would often sit at the computer and just play for hours on end, eventually leading to a lack of focus. By setting a predetermined session length I forced myself to take a break after a period of time. Eventually I found that for me

sessions of thirty to forty minutes worked best. What if I'm in a juicy game when my session is up? STOP. I'ld rather stop while in control than take a chance at jeopardizing a chunk of my bankroll. Besides, after a ten or fifteen minute break the table will probably still be going and I can rejoin with a renewed focus. 3. Will you be free from distraction? This is a big one. Turn off the television, instant messenger, phone, etc. I even ask my wife to not interrupt during my poker sessions. The key for me to play my A game is to have no distractions whatsoever. But what if you get bored? Well, then you shouldn't be playing. Get interested in the game. Study opponents, make reads even when you're not in a hand, find leaks in your game. All of this focus will pay off in dividends. And remember, with shorter session lengths you won't become bored as easily. 4. Are you prepared to keep records? I log every session, the date, length, buy-in, game type, miscellaneous session notes, starting balance and ending balance. When you get to see your long-term results on paper you can identify trends. For example, I noticed that over time sessions of 30 to 45 minutes were the most profitable for me. Now I plan all of my sessions for no longer than 45 minutes without a break. 5. Are you prepared to record key hands and review your session? This was key to improving my game. Prior to each session I open up Notepad or Word and as key winning and loosing hands come up I save them. Following the session I review the hands to identify leaks in my game. 6. Do you have your charts handy? When I play I like to have a default strategy - a style of play and hand ranges that work well for me against unknown players. To help keep me in line with that 'ideal' range I created a chart for pre-flop hand selection that I keep in my binder. I have it handy when I play to help keep me from loosening up too much. If I know my opponents I will sometimes deviate from my chart, but only when it is a conscious choice and not out of boredom. I also like to keep odds charts and other info in my binder. I may not refer to it often, but when I need it I have it right at my fingertips. 7. Do you have Poker Tracker and PAHUD set to run? If you truly want to maximize your time at the tables you should be using both of

these programs. Take the time to get them up and running, even if you are just sitting down for a quick ten minute session. They may help you make decisions that could result in considerable money won or saved. 8. Do you promise to play within your bankroll? Playing outside of your bankroll is a sure way to go broke. It may not happen today, tomorrow, this month or this year, but if you do not practice proper bankroll management you will eventually go broke. 9. Have you determined a stop loss? Some people feel that if you are in a good game where you are a better player than your opponents you should keep playing even if you're losing. Their rationale is that in the long run you'll outplay them and profit. However, you have to realize that if you're losing, you will not be able to play your A game. Even Phil Ivey agrees with me on this one. He has said that no player, regardless of how good they are, will ever play as good when they're losing as when they're winning. Set a predetermined number of buy-ins that you're prepared to lose and if you lose them, STOP. Do not try to recoup your losses. Take a break and wait for another session. 10. Do you promise to play your A game? Have you ever felt like you were playing okay, but not your best? If so, why play? Promise to always play your A game or not at all and if you find yourself slipping be sure to stop. Not in 5 minutes or when the blinds come around to you, but immediately. Whether it is because you're tilting, you're hungry, the kids won't stop yelling, or any other reason that you're not playing your A game STOP. Are these questions/rules too restrictive? Sure, they can be, however if you are the kind of player who lacks self-control at the tables they are exactly what you need. I have read these rules over thousands of times and continue to do so prior to each session. They remind me of important things to do at the table and put me into a good frame of mind. I know that there are sessions where I could have won more by sticking around longer, but I'm okay with that. I also know that I have given up on money from time to time when playing my B game would have been okay because my opponents were playing their C game, but I'm still happy I left the table. My point is that while I may have given up smaller profits here and there, I have maximized the time I do spend at the tables and most importantly, I have not gone broke or lost a significant amount of my bankroll since incorporating this pre-game ritual into my sessions. In addition to these questions/rules I also set up a list of rules for myself when at the tables (see my article "Playing By The Rules"). Some of them are very general, some

very specific, but all serve a purpose. They are in my binder and I review them on a regular basis to remind me of things I think are key rules to follow at the table. I think of my binder as my Poker Bible. If I come across important information, key hand histories or even inspirational quotes, I add them to the binder. It is a resource for improving my game and keeping my focus in check. I realize that this structured approach to playing poker isn't for everyone, but if you?re a player who lacks self-control at the tables you should give it a shot. Just make that first promise to follow these rules for a month and then evaluate the results. My hope is that you'll find them as successful as I did and you'll never have to make another forum post about going broke. Good luck at the tables. Jason Billows a.k.a. CasaJJ "No guts, no glory" No brains, no bankroll!!