Impulse Control: Strategies To Improve Discipline at the Poker Table

Pete Kaminski : July 29th, 2009

For most poker players, the feeling is all too familiar: you’re in a hand, the pot has grown a bit, you have a marginal hand and there’s significant action in front of you. You’re set to fold, you’ve gone through all the reasons in your head why it’s correct to fold, you’re telling yourself to hit the fold button and then, suddenly, none of those things happen. In fact, the exact opposite happens – against all of your better judgment, your hand, as if guided by a will of its own, grabs the mouse, whips the bet slider to the far right and snap-clicks the raise button.

So what went wrong? It’s really not much of a mystery. In these situations, there’s some emotional need we have – whether it be curiosity, entitlement, frustration, or some other irrational desire – that manages to wrestle away control, however momentarily, from the cool, commonsensical character we’d prefer be in the cognitive driver’s seat. The real mystery for many players isn’t why this happens. Rather, it’s how to prevent it from happening. In this article we’re going to outline some strategies, some simple and some surprising, for mitigating the ability of irrational needs to overwhelm your better judgment when the pressure’s on.

Take More Time
I used to play 40/80 limit at the Venetian with this guy who talked non-stop. Before he made any decision, he would always chat a bit first. He was one of those guys who was funny if you were in a good mood and really annoying if you weren’t. Anyhow, one of the things he used to say incessantly when it was his action before making a decision was “Coach always said you should sit on your hands.” Annoying or no, it’s good advice. Impulsive decisions rely on you temporarily suspending your better judgment for a moment, so logically if you can prolong the amount of time you take to make a decision as a matter of habit, you run a better chance of regaining your sense before you can do any real damage.

Some players build a little system of checks into their action routine – maybe a simple set of questions that you answer before every action (Why am i doing this? What am i hoping to accomplish?) will give you enough time for the impulse to pass and perhaps improve your rational decision-making to boot.

Reward Yourself
In simple terms, impulsive decisions are generally just manifestations of some irrational need. Maybe you feel like you ‘deserve’ to win a pot so you decide to play a hand you shouldn’t. Maybe you’re jealous of the guy scooping all of the big pots so you get involved in bad spots. Whatever the irrational need, it’s possible that you can satisfy it in some other way. When you find yourself in a spot where you feel an impulsive decision coming on, give yourself some kind of reward instead in an attempt to placate those needs.

It doesn’t have to be much – a bite of candy, a couple bucks thrown in a jar that you eventually spend on a video game you’ve been wanting, a glance at some porn (hey, we’re not here to judge. Whatever works for you) – the theory is that emotional needs are pretty blunt and just want some kind of satisfaction, and they’re not picky about where it comes from.

Punish Yourself
It’s not pretty and its not pleasant, but negative reinforcement works. You would think that the negative reinforcement that comes from losing the pot (as you generally do when you make an impulsive decision) would do the trick, but it’s generally after the fact and there’s usually just enough times that you win to muddy the waters. Some people I know stop their session as soon as they make a decision like that. Others have elaborate systems where they deprive themselves of some reward whenever they make an impulsive play.

Whatever it is, remember – if you were a lab rat, you’d be getting a shock each time you pushed this level. Shocking yourself is probably a bit over the edge (although it would probably work pretty well), but the core principal is solid – if you associate negative consequences consistently and immediately with a behavior, chances are you’ll cut down on or eliminate that behavior.

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