Poker Blueprint Breakthrough

As part of my poker plan I signed up for Nick Wealthalls winning poker blueprint program which has helped me refocus on my game in quite a few different ways. For example I have a warm up routine now before I play and a mental process for dealing with key hand decisions.   The main thing I have been working on though is changing my mindset from winning being more important than playing well. Last weekend I played a few sessions that demonstrated I have made something of a breakthrough in this area. On Friday night I played seven games ($42 staked) and won $95 (three wins and two thirds). I played well but had a lot of luck when needed most during the final phase of these games. So yes I was elated with such a good winning session but I was also mindful that I had run good and this was not sustainable. An inconsequential break even session followed on Saturday.   On the Sunday night I played six games ($36) and won only $10 but it was in this session that the main breakthrough was made. As I was playing I was focused on making good decisions and as things gradually unravelled in an unfortunate manner I was content with my play which seemed important in a new way. I followed the session with a quick analysis of my play in the key hands of each game, perhaps reviewing ten hands in total. The outcome made me feel very satisfied in that in all six games I made no significant errors. All key hands apart from one came later in games when blinds had become significant and confrontation was inevitable. In these I was able to use ICM/Nash calculator tools to assess my play. All my shoves and calls were mathematically correct. All my play was logical and thought out. The other game saw my aces cracked early on by ace-king in a pre-flop battle which saw two kings hit the flop With average luck I would have had a profitable session. So importantly I was more satisfied than normal with a losing session. Sure I was happier on Friday night when I was luckier and won but it definitely felt like a breakthrough. I am not saying I played perfect poker but in key hands I made no mistakes. That's all I can do. The bottom line is that I am becoming much more focused on what I can control. Making good poker decisions, being relaxed about luck and being more realistic about my overall win rate is the way forward. On the Monday night I had no negative emotions relating to the previous session which really helps with avoiding tilt or a potential down swing. As a result in March this new improved thinking is impacting positively on my results. Play well.