Friday, February 8, 2008

Loser

I hate to lose. Everyone hates to lose. If you dont, you're most likely a loser. Even though losing sucks, I have learned alot from it. Ironically, losing has probably benefitted me long term me more than winning has. When I was wrestling, a loss would really affect me. I would become withdrawn, depressed, and unpleasant in general. By the same token, it was the losses which helped me improve. If I was beat, I obviously had a particular weakness that was exploited by my opponent. Since we are only as good as our biggest weakness, it is essential to improve not what we are already good at, but rather what we are bad at.

My experiences with wrestling have taught me alot. I am now much better at handling losses. I do not fear defeat, I desire victory. My latest downswing has posed an interesting situation. I think that after this downswing, how I rebound will be a true test of character. Do I sit down at the 3-6 tables feeling sorry for myself, or do I sit with the conviction to strive for excellence with each and every hand? Losing sucks, but its kind of cool because it allows you to show what you are truly made of.

4 comments:

Noel said...

this is from the back cover of Tommy Angelos book and something I think we all need to ponder.

"All of my good streaks and all of my bad streaks of every length and depth have had one thing in common. they did not exist in your mind. They only existed in my mind. And this is true for everyone's winning and losing streaks. None of them actually exist. they are all mental fabrication, like past and future. everything that ever happens happens in the present tense. But how can you have a "streak" in the present tense? You cant. And therfore, if you are in the present tense, which, in fact, at this time, you are, then at this moment there is no streak in your life. There is no inherent existence to streaks. The streak is there when you think about it, and when you stop thinking about it, it goes away. It blossoms and withers, all in your mind. And when your mind invents a streak, you believe it exists, because you believe what your mind tells you. But the truth is there is only the hand you are playing."

Hope I got it all spelled right and shit.

Unknown said...

I have much confidence in the fact that you will go back and do well at 3/6. Yes, fact. You are a good player, this is not luck, you will bounce back. Keep your head up!

Noel: Great comment. Comments like these give good advice and help to create a positive mentality that is needed when playing poker.

LuckySOB said...

Your attitude is where you excellence comes from.

Malfaire said...

Agreed with the above: while people are impressed with your results in general, I think most of the people who read this blog keep coming back because of your diligence and attitude. If you keep those two attributes strong, you'll be killing 5/10 and beyond in the near future.