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Cease Complaining: It’s Destroying Your Poker Game

• 30.06.2025 12:03 pm
• headhunter
• 0 Comments

This is basically a 12 stepper. I'm writing it in the context of the 12 steps an alcoholic takes on the path to recovery.

The first step as with any recovery program is confession.

I'll be the first to admit I was a chronic complainer and I'm well on my way to recovery.

I would throw a tantrum like you've never seen about all the wrong that was done to ma at the table.

In fact, once someone asked me whether I would love some cheese to go with my whine. Granted I wasn't impressed.

I'd sit for2 straight feeling the calluses form on my ass and then I'd commence flashing my J-2 and 8-3 to the chap beside me trying to garner some sympathy.

After two more hours, I'd be complaining about any hand that I lost.

Leak? Me?

About 3 or 4 years ago things started changing.

A pal of mine one day pulled me aside and said "You know, prof, you got a huge leak in your game. “What?” I mattered, “Leak? Me? Moi?”

Trying not to say anything provocative, I put my head down for a few seconds, then humbly I asked what it was.

"It's Bitching" he retorted. "You need to stop complaining so much". "It is killing your poker game. "

Since I was generally a good player and I knew there was no coming back from the thrashing I'd received, I took my friend down to the local pub for some beers. I listened to him carefully and accepted the bare knuckled truth; I was a whiner.

This Is What He Had To Say about Whining Poker Players;

1. By Complaining Your Focus Is Shifted Away From The Game

It’s distracting and you pay less attention to the elements of the game that need it.

If you are busy showing that 503^rd muckable hand you hold to the chap seated on your right, you can hardly notice the chap two seats to your left making those oversized pre-flop raises. This is a key factor in making out exactly what kind of hand you require and how you are going to play it once you do get it.

2. Bitching Aloud About Poker Is a Public Display

While public displays are common place in the game, whining is one of the most financially debilitating.

Once the other players notice this, you immediately become a soft target.

The pros at the table will immediately start taking advantage of your current state. The aggression towards you will increase game wise.

The everything sucks mode that you've put yourself into will lead you into believing that they've hit their draws any time they choose to bet on these hands. Hence, you will most likely dump the winner.

They'll tend to play a bit more tentative hands like Q-4s or 7-5s in the knowledge that if they get lucky, it will impact more on you than the other players.

The value expected from their marginal hands increases when they play against you. Therefore, your opponents make more moves against you.

3. When You Focus Most Of Your Energy on The Bad Hands You've Been Dealt, You Won't Recognize The Value In Some Of Them

When playing mid-stakes No-Limit Hold’em  you maust sometimes play hands such as 9-7 in late position or else open a pot with a raise in an early position with 5-5.

Investing all your energy bitching, you'll definitely miss out on precious situations with a long-term positive EV.

4. You Destroy Your Poker Table Image

Whining makes you look like an amateur as your weaknesses are magnified. Other players will treat you with disdain and won't respect any of your moves. Any time you act like you have the goods everybody will fold. You hence become a "weak-tight" player. This is the worst kind of player.

5. Complaining Constantly About Your Bad Luck in Poker Causes You To Act Like "Helpless"

Learned helplessness is a well-known condition among psychologists.

This comes about when someone comes to the end of their tether in a situation and hence start believing that there's nothing they can do to help themselves. It's a bottomless pit once you fall into it.

Constantly focusing on the painful, bad things that have occurred makes it even harder.

6. You Won't Make Poker Friends And You'll Not Have

The fact is, most players are not in it for the money. We are there to enjoy ourselves and play a little poker with friends.

It's impossible to enjoy yourself when you're constantly bitching.

That's the message I got from my pal. Though he didn't have any formal training in psychology,  he understood it perfectly well. I'll be forever grateful to him for setting me on the path to recovery.

I only have 5 or 6 steps to go before I fully recover.