Reflection on donkey challenge weekend

Now that I have finished immersing myself in online poker this weekend I realise I have achieved nearly all of things I wanted to and beaten some fears along the way. The old bankroll has dropped by ten buy ins which is no worse than a bad run of playing it safe anyway, so I am glad that I have taken some shots and had a punt. I have spent the weekend largely tilt-free which is good progress in mental terms, by reflecting on bad luck situations as the product of quite a lot of bad play on my part. I have a great tendency to 'blow up' and make impatient, usually over betting or over calling decisions when I get excited towards the end of tournaments so this needs work. I still bet two barrels into tight calling stations on boards where 'they can't be repping much' when in fact they have the stone cold nuts, but I am starting to learn how to control this instinct. I find it helps to keep my hand away from the mouse for at least 5 secs before doing anything and to announce to myself 'why should I bet here?' and see what the reasons are and if it makes sense. If I can remain aware of other players' ranges and tendencies whilst doing this I can improve all the time. I sometimes forget that donkeys literally bet the strength of their hand and if you encounter serious resistance than chances are you are beaten unless you find an over bettor/donator on your table. I can also count on one hand the number of big pot hero calls I have made that went in my favour and would do well to remember this. I have also discovered that I do not like pot limit omaha since it is a game of big swings only suitable for adrenaline junkies with bigger bankrolls than I have! If I want to get my gamble on I can just wait to grind up my roll a bit again and have another punt on the odd NLHE MTT if I get time. I am going back to playing sit and gos recreationally again so I can get on with normal life stuff which is way more rewarding than playing a game all day. Time for a spot of guitar practise I think...