Picture yourself driving along on the interstate/highway in a 60mph/100kmph zone but going 10-15mph/15-25kmph over the speed limit. You’ve got the cruise control set, your tunes cranked and you’re really enjoying the drive. You have been keeping this pace for some time now. In the distance ahead of you there appears to be a flashing work zone sign informing you of the road work taking place 2 miles/3 kilometers down the road and you prepare to slow the vehicle down.
As you approach the work zone you are now traveling around 35mph/55kmph. According to the signs, the speed limit is 30mph/50kmph. However, after traveling for such a long period of time at such a higher rate of speed you almost feel like you are walking. For me, it feels like I’m going backwards. I get frustrated and impatient and start driving a little out of character when this happens. When this occurs, you are suffering from VELOCITIZATION as a result of rapid speed change to the body. Now, I’m not sure if this is a medical diagnosis because I am far from a doctor but this speed thing was explained to me as 12th grade physics student.
So where is TTWIST going with this you may ask yourself? Well let me relate this to poker and give you one of the biggest leaks in my game. When I put together an extremely deep run/final table either live or online I find myself suffering from velocitization and struggle with playing early level poker at the next event. After final tabling the previous event where the blinds are 25000/50000, I’m now expected to sit down and play 25/50.
The situation is very reminiscent to the work zone analogy. I find myself being very impatient and easily frustrated and playing generally looser and a little out of character. I find myself in this state that can only be described as velocitized. It is a vulnerable state and I get the feeling that I am wasting money. I find this condition worse in a live setting with the 25 hands per hour hand rate and only a single table option. It’s like sticking needles in my eyeballs. So, I just avoid this situation entirely by not playing.
This situation came up in early December when I final tabled event#2 at the Atlantic City Harrahs WSOPC stop. It was a 2 day tournament, and I eventually finished 3rd. When I busted the blinds were 20000/40000 and I opted out of playing event #3 due to suffering from velocitization. When i was walking the tourney floor scoping out fellow TPE members they all asked why i wasn’t playing and as I explained they all seemed to be able to relate.
To compare this to online tourneys the best way for me to explain is to take a typical high stakes Sunday and run deep in the Sunday Warmup on stars and or the Sunday Brawl on tilt, you play for 6-7 hours busting 48th and now you have 3-4 tourneys going and they are all early level play. You have to fight yourself to stay disciplined for the next couple of levels to slow it back down and adjust to the pace of play
Now you have been diagnosed, you probably want to know how to fix it. First, understand that velocitization in poker can be closely related to being on tilt. Do what you do to break being on tilt. You have to say to yourself let’s slow it down and play abc poker for a level. Lets watch my flatting out of position. Lets play premiums only and just get accustomed to the speed of the game and draw positives from the previous tourneys. Don’t dwell on the negatives and the what could-have-beens. Just continue to make +ev decisions and do your best to get it in ahead. In a live setting, like my situation at the wsopc, the best option is to just opt out of playing if the next tournament if it isn’t a major event or must play.
xtremeungar
Pretty clever..I guess we all need to cope with this… thanks ttwist
lespaulgman
Sick brag 🙂 Great article Ttwist. Interesting insights!
xxsosickxx
interesting, Thanks!!
Eske
This is my absolutely biggest leak. I usually play small tour fields, and if I run deep in one of the first tours in my session. I stop regging the rest of the tourneys for that session, because it will only be spewing. And I think I am loosing a lot of value. So I will try using your advice in the future.
Great article
Sorry for my spelling, I am danish.
Eske
kasspav
When a pro states such leak, imaging us amatures how true it is…
kuroshi
I find myself doing this, after I final table something I keep thinking about how I played all the next day and when I get back online I find myself trying to play loose/aggro in the early stages of my next few mtt’s. Then after a few losing I am having to calm back down. Almost feels like a waste of money. What do you do to deal with this Ttwist, I mean they say the biggest thing between most pro’s and amatuer’s that could be very good is the “tilt” thing. I’ve even read where tilt is the biggest reason why people often lose money online. If sitting out isn’t an option what do you consider?
andinista
tx ttwist,
u just saved me 100 if not 1000 buyins. How is this the first time I’m seen anyone talk about this?
P-aire 146
What everyone else said. Great article Ttwist
Nockx
An eyeopener.
TY
bennymacca
i have thought about this for a while, but i coined my own term for it, winners tilt.
used to happen all the time, have a big tourney score, and then in the next couple of tourneys, just try and run over everyone.
happened in cash games as well, win a 400bb pot and then i used to just start 3betting and triple barelling like a maniac.
great article, thanks
GaffneyJR
This is a common cycle for me.. I make deep runs and big cashes then inevitably dump my chips in the next couple tournys i play. As twist said the best way to avoid this is to just take a break and not play for a little while after you make a deep run so you can give your mind a chance to refresh itself so to speak.
Polarized
It sounds like this is common for all of us. I think it is a great article because it brings awareness to the problem and now we can go off and chew on it for a while. Awareness is always the first step in any problem 🙂
Bytie_nl
Great article sir! For me it is also valuable comparing this to the situations where I decided to lower my buyins after a bad run and battling the impatience to struggle through a much too sloooow rebuild of my bankroll. In that aspect its probably comparable with ’tilty’ tendancies I think.. Readjusting and hitting the brakes are due. What helps me lately is the focus on solely making as many good decisions in every situation as I can and trying to forget the money aspect for a while…. and having fun paying poker for the heck of it 🙂
Bytie_nl
paying should be playing of course.. funny typing err!!
martyfm
it happens to me when playing and chip leader, like i am drunk and dont relize it, till i am busted out,its hard to control!!
cliffvettej
Great post on a topic that is never talked about!
BanTheRiver
I’m conflicted as to the comments posted thus far. Some of them suggest that this has not been talked about before, that this is somehow new information. It is not. The term “velocitization” is new and useful, but overall this is just ongoing tilt over busting very deep in a tourney. Those who take poker seriously know that tilt kills and controlling it after missing out on first place or the final table is part of the “standard” tool bag. Like I said, I like the term he uses but this is just old-fashioned tilt over not going deeper and not some groundbreaking new insight as some comments suggest.
xxskujaxx
I disagree BanTheRiver, because I think that velocitization can apply even when you won the whole tournament.
JupiterRocks
Very nice article! In between Tournaments I I’ll sit tell myself how great it is that I just won….Then ask myself If I want my ego or id to take over and lose the next tournament I play because I turn into a spawning sockeye salmon(spewing in one place but getting everywhere)!
I found the best remedy fir my infliction was before the next tournament I go someplace semi-private and quickly pace back and forth, talking aloud saying “slow down, keep and even pace so you don’t tire out”, “your at the beginning…you have to finish….slow down”. I slowly bring my pace down to a normal walk (about 3 to 5 minutes) and begin to tell myself “play nice”,”play tight”, “play nice”
After my pacing I’ll meditate till my heart rate slows
This has worked for me a few times, try it out!
If you’ve never meditated before a 1/2 min. of meditation will seem like an hour, don’t stop till your heart rate has returned to normal…play like your heart is in it.