To dust or not to dust

What makes players tough?

1. They’re pretty good with the technical side of the game.
2. They’re willing to lose everything in front of them at any point, and continue playing well if they do.

That’s pretty much it.

#1 is the entry point to even having a shot in the game.

Without #2, you can still be a winning player, but never a crusher.

Against most guys?

You can just fold when their money goes in.

But against the guys who have #2?

You never really feel completely comfortable in a hand. You always know that on the river you might be facing a decision for everything in front of you, and you won’t have any idea what to do.

Why can’t most guys do it?

It always comes back to the internal.

When you lose everything in front of you, that also tends to come with a pretty big experience. Lots of thoughts. Lots of emotions.

The guys with #2 are completely alright with everything going on inside themselves.

Some of them stuff it down, so it doesn’t cause any problems while they play.

(They just end up paying for it in other areas of life).

Other guys learn to accept all the thoughts and emotions as they happen, without any need for them to go away. It just passes through them, and they don’t have to pay for it later.

And sometimes it comes and goes.

Sometimes we’re totally ready to battle it out at the start of the session, but as the day goes on, and stacks get deeper, the thoughts about locking up the win start to creep in. The willingness to dust it all seems to fade out. We’re no longer willing to bear the pain of reaching for a reload.

That’s generally when the big wins stop too.

You’re far from your best.

The true excitement is gone.

From there, it’s just a countdown until you finally leave your seat.

What can you do in that spot?

Learn to get willing again. And again. And again.

Every time you notice you’re no longer willing to feel the pain of losing, you can get willing again.

If this sounds all too familiar, and you’re tired of it, hit me up here: