The other day, I had a five hour start to my session that you run into once in a while, where pretty much everything you do goes wrong - coolers, bluffs gone bad, etc.  I was down 5.4K (over 14 buy-ins) at one point.  But I felt like I was in a good mental state to continue playing.  I came back a little, only to have a fish rape me for two massive pots.  I stopped playing because the tables were thinning out and I had already played like 11 hours.  Today I want to talk about what you should do when you have a horrific start to your session:

Step 1:  Identify if you are in a proper mental state to play good poker after the beating you just took.  Over time, you should strive to eventually develop a mental fortitude to get over the bad beats/circumstances and still be able to play good poker.  That's what being a "pro" is all about.

Step 1A: If you have the emotional control of John McEnroe, then you need to stop playing.  You may even need to set a stop-loss for your own protection.  A stop-loss is where you say, "If I lose X buy-ins, I stop playing no matter what."  You should also stop playing if you are not in the right mind set that day (like I was yesterday) - being emotionally self-aware is one of the keys to being a successful poker player.  We're all human and have such days from time to time.  Don't worry about chasing losses right away - the tables will still be there tomorrow.

Step 2: Assuming you are a winning player (if not, then go to Step 1A), remind yourself that it's not a question of *if* you'll get the money back, but *when*.  Keep doing the things that make you a winning player.  As a winning player, the longer you play, the more money you'll make.

Step3: Set intermediate goals for yourself.  It's not dissimilar from sports.  Since I'm a die-hard Yankee fan, I'll throw my Sox readers a bone...  take for example the 2004 ALCS where the Red Sox were were down 0-3 in a seven game series.  The best approach is not to say, "Holy sh*t!  We're doomed!," but to just take it one step at a time.  Focus on winning the next "game" only.  Similarly, set a target of 1/4 of the deficit for the rest of your session.  The journey of 1000 miles begins with one step.

Step 4: Once you reach 1/4 of the deficit, go for another 1/4, and another, and another.  If you have a relapse, go back to Step 1.

Step 5: Once you get back to even, bask in the glory of your mediocrity and Rakeback Pro-ness and post a graph on 2+2 for your fellow players to admire.  Don't forget to post a picture of an attractive woman, lest you be mocked for wasting the thread's time.

PS.  For the PTA mom readers out there, I'm really not a pig.  Really!  (well at least not in public)