After making my bankroll goal of $250, I moved up to $10NL as planned. I made steady progress to $270, and then quickly dropped to $247. Quickly being the key word- all in one session. Tilt was partly to blame, but really what did it was I wasn’t thinking about why I was making plays. I became robotic, making snap plays all the time, and not just snap calls and raises cost me money, some snap folds cost me money too. I usually don’t play like that, I’m usually patient and deliberate.
At the start of my next session, I took the time to monitor each table, making mental notes (and sometimes notes in the software) on hands, whether I was involved in them or not. I made it a point to take time on every play, regardless of how easy the decision seemed. This increased my focus and ultimately my ability to make better reads. I haven’t had a losing session since. Most are small wins, but a win is a win and the bankroll is at $265. Sure this is pretty standard stuff, but online poker can be very repetitious and before you know it you’re making the same bad play over and over. A little focus and patience gives you just one advantage over many of the players at micro-stakes that just don’t seem to care that much.
That’s a great tip to keep your patience and focus yet its probably one of the first things we let slide when we’re playing. It makes a huge difference.