I’ve been in a dead end after attempting to write two different articles in which I couldn’t express my point as I wanted. The first one, which was about balancing real life and poker, I will try to write it again in the future, since I believe it is an extremely important issue.

Anyway, after reading steely’s article, I received a private message this morning, asking my advice on how to stop making crying calls. At first I laughed and said, “well I do make crying calls,” but after thinking about it a little, I remembered numerous occasions in the recent past where I made very strong laydowns. However, I also remembered numerous occasions where I made crying plays, no matter how sure I was they were losing plays. So how can one player stop making “Crying Plays?”

I define crying plays as plays that we make when we know that we have minimal chance of success, i.e. a crying call when we know that our aces are cracked, or a crying push on the river on a missed draw, when we are certain that our opponent will call but we use the excuse that there was so much money in the pot that we had to push.

In the following paragraphs, I will attempt to explain my own recipe of the cake that helps you stop making crying plays. I`ll warn you in advance that you`ll need a lot of C’s to stop making crying plays?

Ingredient #1: Comfort

You have to be comfortable when playing. And by comfortable, I mean comfortable in every possible way! You have to feel extremely comfortable on your chair, you have to feel comfortable with the lighting in the room, you have to be at a comfortable temperature (this is my biggest problem, since I am sweating or freezing whenever I am playing live or online….arrrgh). In addition, you have to feel comfortable in all poker related aspects. You have to feel comfortable with the buy in of the tournament, you have to feel comfortable playing against the opponents you are playing, and you have to be comfortable with the software or the poker room on which you are playing.

Feeling comfortable while playing is an extremely important ingredient for making world class plays (the opposite of making crying plays), especially because it allows you to concentrate…

Ingredient #2: Concentration

Well, it has been written a million times…when playing you must concentrate, concentrate, concentrate. First off, relax and forget all distractions. It’s best to take some time before sitting at the table to relax and forget about the argument you had with your girlfriend or the prick at work who ruined the whole project. If you want to play good poker, forget about them! Otherwise, you can be sure that you will not concentrate, so get ready for a probable tilt session.

Also, eliminate distractions. If the TV distracts you, switch it off. If some music help you relax, then go for it. Now you are ready to concentrate. Oh wait, I forgot the most important distraction: switch off MSN or any other messenger; that’s the biggest distraction in my opinion (even though I never manage to switch it off).

Once the game starts, concentrate on whats going on. Watch hands and try to learn about the players. Think about the right play every hand and smile when your opponents make crying plays! Wasn’t it obvious that his aces were cracked, and yet he had to lose his entire stack with them? Maintain your concentration throughout the game, and think only about what’s going on at the table.

OK, now a few stories in order to show how comfort and concentration affect you.

Good play: At the World Series, I raised pre flop with AA and got called by the SB. Flop K53, he bet, I raised strongly, he called. Turn K, check, check. River blank, he bet half the pot, and I fold in ten seconds face up. I was concentrating and playing my best. I put my opponent on a king, and when the second king came up, I was not losing a single chip with it, even though I was rather shortstacked!!!!!

Bad play: Last night at the bubble of the 100R. Background info: I have a strong headache, I’m half asleep, and I don’t feel like playing! I’m also talking on messenger, watching high stakes poker, etc….everything is wrong. So we’re on the bubble, and I’ve been doing a lot of raising. Sometimes people are playing back. I have an above avg. stack 6-handed.

I raise UTG with 99, and I get reppoped by the player in 2nd position, who has the same stack as me. My time bank has run out because of connection problems, so I have to make a decision quickly. So what is my first reaction????? Analyze the hand? No… Put my opponent on a range? No… I go, “kflsfjsakjfsajlkfsajlkfsalkjjfsalkkjlf” to BeL0W on MSN, who is watching me play, and tell him I have nines. Jkfkjslkjfalkjsfsaljk. A few moments later, I re-push, only to be against TT. Nice Play ^o).

Good Play: I`m playing a $320 on Party (fast structure), and it’s early on. I have QQ, and there is a raise and a reraise to me. I have been watching every move in the last 30 minutes, and I know the players from the past. I fold QQ instantly, since I know I am beat and I don’t care that my hand is so strong.

Bad Play: Party Million in mid levels. I have a big stack, as does thunderkeller on my table. I am playing at my parents’ home on a dial up connection, which disconnects me every ten minutes, so I am mad and definitely not concentrating. I limp UTG with AA, no action, and I am HU with ThunderKeller in the BB. Flop 853, he leads out, and I flat call since I can smell the rat. Good play up to here. Turn blank, he bets strong, and now I am sure that he has two pair. I think a bit, and I flat call. River 5, and he insta pushes. If I fold, I have an above average stack, but I instacall, since he probably has 83, and I have a higher two pair. Hmmm….I am playing against thunderkeller… If I was comfortable and concentrating, I would know that he wouldn’t make such a move. He read me perfectly, and I played like the perfect fish.

I could go on with a lot of stories, but I think you get the point of being comfortable and staying concentrated.

Ingredient #3: Develop your instincts and gain experience.

How can you do that? Well, stop playing poker like a robot. Even if you don’t want to play outside the book, start thinking while playing. On every hand you observe or play, try to put your opponent on a hand. Try to put yourself in your opponents’ shoes, and understand every move he is making. If you don’t feel comfortable altering your game, move down a level or two and just try to play the situations instead of your cards. There is really no substitute for experience.

And finally, the most important ingredient…

The first three ingredients will help you identify when you have the best hand. I think a lot of players have very good instincts and can feel where they are at in a hand. However, few are able to make world class plays on a regular basis….why ?

Ingredient #4: Confidence

If there is a common trait for all top poker players in the world, it is the great confidence they have. If you want to stop making crying plays, you have to find the Phil Hellmuth inside you (not the brat part pleaaase) and feel as strongly as he does that you are the best in the world every single time you are playing. Believe in yourself, trust your instincts, and don’t criticize yourself too hard over mistakes. If you strongly believe that your opponent is on a stone bluff (I said strongly believe, not wish), then push your chips in the middle and don’t feel embarrassed when once in a while you have to turn over 42o. Don’t fall in love with hands. Remember that you are so good that you can probably find a better spot to put your money in. I am in no way suggesting to play weak; I am just suggesting that you are too good to put all your money in because you have a nice looking hand when in fact you feel you are beat.

The last ingredient I believe is the most important one, en route to becoming a world class player. In the last year, I had several wins which reflect the hard effort I had put into poker over the previous three years. These wins have helped my confidence reach the maximum, and that by itself has taken my game to its top level.

So my advice to everyone who is trying to reach world class level (including myself) is…

In order to stop make crying plays, you have to learn to read situations correctly and develop a strong feel for the game. To do that, you have to be comfortable and concentrated and gain a lot of experience.

Finally, if you want to become a world class player…

…you have to believe you can become one.