Posted Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:06 am GMT by jimmer
At some time or other most of us have been “in the zone”.
Most of the world’s top competitors (at any discipline or sport), at one time or another, produced an amazing performance. They were literally unstoppable. Having said that, very few manage to consistently be “in the zone” for their whole career.
Last night I was “in the zone”. I was playing a 10 seater $1-$2 cash table. I got dealt pocket Aces in middle position and raise to $10. I get two callers. The flop is 246 rainbow. I bet $20, the guy in late raises $40. I’m unsure why, but I fold. The guy shows pocket 6’s giving him trips. Ten minutes later I’m in the BB and get dealt T3 offsuit. I get 5 limpers. The flop is KT6. I check, a guy in early bets $4, everyone folds to me, I call. The turn is a 5. I check, he bets $4, I call. The river is a J. I check, he bets $20, I call. He shows A6 suited. Once again. I’m unsure why I played the hand. All I know is I was very focused all night. I wake up this morning and look through the way I played. Even now, I’m unsure why I made the decisions I did. I was obviously “in the zone”.
But what does it really mean to you?
How often do you guys play “in the zone”?
When/why do you play “in the zone”?
When/ why are you NOT in the zone?
What things do you do differently when you’re in the zone to when you’re not?
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Posted Fri Mar 02, 2007 7:32 pm GMT by MasterMike
Ive been in the zone a few times, mostly in tournaments because i play the small entry ones where people simply donk off a lot of money and i play very tight.
In cash games, its much less, probably because the money is directly there, so it feels a little more urgent. I remember a couple times when i won like 8-12 straight hands or like 13 of 15. Then as a whole i calculated that in about 200 hands i won 70% of them. These were at lower levels, but it felt nice anyway.
Probably the time i was in the biggest zone was my 2nd or 3rd 10,000 player freeroll on pokerstars. It was only my 2nd or 3rd time playing online when some real money was at stake. If i wasnt up until 4am, i probably would have went further, but i finished 34th. After that i havent gotten that close, probably because that set quite a high bar for me and i tried to do too much. Of course, besides things going your way while you are in "the zone", probably more importantly is having things not go against you, such as bad beats.
When you are off your game is typically because of a bad beat or out of frustration because you are losing patience.... i may have had that happen... a few too many times.
EDIT: there are some players im in the zone against, especially in live games. I love this one guy who thinks that every time i bet i bluff, until i pushed all in, then he called me to see that i had quad tens. After that, he tries to win it back all at once donking off a lot of his stack with bluffs on the flop, then i reraise and he folds.
Also, my two proudest hands was against a guy who put himself on tilt. He hated raising before the flop, and he just said the hand before he was on tilt (why? i dunno). So i raise with AK, he calls, flop is 9 10 9 or somethin. I bet, he raises, i call. Turn X, i bet, he raises i call (should have pushed here or earlier but whatever). River is a blank and i push. He calls with A J and lost most of his stack to my AK. This hand felt different from most, its not like i "thought'' he had nothing, i simply knew for a fact he had crap compared to me, and felt in the zone, and i wanted his money, and the fact that he was so flustered was great... he hasnt come back since which is a bummer.
i have great grammar
Crap, i forgot the 2nd hand
Posted Fri Mar 02, 2007 11:58 pm GMT by exit music
| jimmer wrote: |
But what does it really mean to you?
What things do you do differently when you’re in the zone to when you’re not? |
You win races, your opponents play their hands obviously so you can either make big laydown or crazy calls. I've called all-in bets with K-high before knowing my hand was good. In the zone? Nah I don't really believe in that. Being in the zone = getting lucky and/or running good. Your opponents dont bluff you when they should, and they fold when they shouldn't. The more I play, the more I am starting to believe that poker is about 95% luck and 5% skill. The very good MTT players might have a 6-7% skill edge.
Posted Sat Mar 03, 2007 1:11 pm GMT by LeafsFan1122
| exit music wrote: | | jimmer wrote: |
But what does it really mean to you?
What things do you do differently when you’re in the zone to when you’re not? |
The more I play, the more I am starting to believe that poker is about 95% luck and 5% skill. The very good MTT players might have a 6-7% skill edge. |
Seriously? I'd have to disagree.
Posted Sat Mar 03, 2007 2:06 pm GMT by snoogins47
I'd have to disagree too, only because I have no clue what the percentage even means. But yeah, of course it's mostly luck.
Anyway I can't recall a time I felt totally 'in the zone' in poker. The times I seemed to play supernaturally well were, if I'm honest with myself, the times that everything happened to go my way. I don't know that my Q-high is good on the river when I call, I don't know that my opponent is going to fold when I check-raise with air. The times that both happen to be right really are barely different from the times that I hit a flush draw or win a coinflip.
I'm not really sure the concept of being 'in the zone' at least in my understanding/usage of it can even apply to poker. To me, the fact that there's so much downtime, and you have such little direct control over the outcome/get basically no accurate feedback... I dunno, just seems like the concept is a bit odd when applied to poker. I've had those sessions where everything goes my way, and I feel unstoppable, but so little of that actually has to do with my increased focus or being in a pseudo-trance or playing better than normal or anything.
Posted Sat Mar 03, 2007 3:43 pm GMT by tame_deuces
Yeah basically your perception and thinking will fool you good in any game that relies heavily on chance. The guys at the slot machines knew the jackpot was coming, the ones that lost their house never saw it coming.
Anyone that wants to become an expert at poker must be able to see beyond their own initial bias and perceptions and focus on what really just happened. This is true for experts in any game, a group that psychology studies quite abit (experts are generally fascinating people from a psych viewpoint). I'll not go into boring detail but experts learn to 'cut through' a game and see it for what it really is, and their entire perceptive process and memory for the game will be radicually different than that of of non-experts.
The simplest tip I can give is to reflect on how much chance is at play in poker and take 2 extra seconds to really think about what went on it that hand and what could have happened, basically reflective thinking about the chance element can 'adjust' yourself in the right direction. It's important when you lose and when you win. It will be rather useless without a sound understanding of the simple probabilities that is at play in a card shuffle though. And for reflecting on long term results one needs some kind of understanding of the statistical logic behind gambling.
Posted Sat Mar 03, 2007 3:56 pm GMT by supafrey
| Quote: | | I'll not go into boring detail but experts learn to 'cut through' a game and see it for what it really is, |
For an interesting experiment... reread pretty much any of the threads in the beginner's section. Even the ones that aren't based around strict rule questions seem soooooooo irrelevant to winning the game after a few months of play. Ignore the fluff and simplify.
Posted Sun Mar 04, 2007 5:39 pm GMT by General Sal
I love being "in the zone." It's kind of like those last moments just before I release a load.
Posted Sun Mar 04, 2007 6:13 pm GMT by jeffonline
In the zone or in poker terms on a Rush, we all experience these rushes from time to time, the trick is to go with them. I tend to play a bit looser see a lot more flops and draw to more marginal hands.
Posted Mon Mar 05, 2007 6:23 am GMT by jimmer
I've had a good think about being "in the zone".
I believe "in the zone" involves showing maturity throughout the whole session. It's about not having a rush of blood to the head and making a hasty decision. It's about taking a step back from the specific situation and evaluating all the circumstances.
It's like following a really slow car. At any given time you could try to overtake. However most of the time there are cars coming the otherway, so trying this maneuver is high risk. A young driver would wait until the road is clear and then push their luck. However a mature driver would realise that there's actually a set of traffic lights just ahead, so overtaking now is pointless. They might aswell wait for the car to turn off the road or until the road becomes two lanes and overtaking is alot safer.
Of course, the young driver who took a risk a few miles back, might get to his destination quicker, but he might end up in a car crash and losing everything.
I've sat at a table for 4 hours and been dealt junk the whole time. I'm guessing when i'm "in the zone" i can fold these hands. I can wait patiently knowing my time will come. I don't try to force the play. I don't push my luck or edge my chances. I don't try to overtake the car in front.
When i'm not "in the zone", i get inpatient. I make moves that I wouldn't usually make, I play weaker hands and try bigger bluffs. Yeah, sometimes it works. But sometimes it doesn't.
So from now on, I'm gonna try to be the old guy in his beaten up porsche. I know I could try to overtake, afterall I've got the power. But i won't. I'll sit there until the time is right.
I'm sure there are other factors, I'll keep thinking.
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