Have you ever been guilty of road rage?
Be honest. You are driving on a freeway, someone gets in front of you and won't move, or a vehicle cuts you off in traffic. How do you handle it?
I must confess that I have been guilty of committing road rage in the past. Once I chased another car for miles down Highway One toward Miami, FL. after the driver had recklessly cut me off. I shouldn't have done it, but I did. The devil made me do it.
Road rage is something I did in the past. I am sure it was because of immaturity. When I did it, it made me feel good. I wanted to punish the other motorist because of his indiscretions. All I accomplished was to endanger myself and others in my vehicle and to risk getting a ticket for speeding or reckless driving and lane changes, all of which I was guilty of doing.
I have a sneaking suspicion that people who commit road rage also get involved from time to time in poker rage.
All of us can be a bully. It's part of our nature and a big part of being human. Sometimes another player will cut us off like a driver on an interstate highway. The person will raise us one time too many. This causes us to see red. We put on our blinders, grit our teeth and whisper dire threats against the person who offended us.
Then we will lay back in the bushes to get even.
Here is my warning, firm and directly to the point: don't do it. Poker rage can only hurt you and your bankroll.
When you focus your wrath on another player, you ignore the players you should be worrying about. While you are punishing the person who offended you, another player is ready to step in with some real cards and beat both of you like a drum.
Believe me when I say I know what I am talking about. I have lost more money because of poker rage than any other rule I violated.
The longer you sit at a poker table, the more you open yourself to being abused by someone with chips. It's the nature of the game. It cannot be helped. It's poker.
The next time somebody outdraws you or costs you the pot, hold back your feelings of anger. Instead of making a snappish or sarcastic remark, stifle it. Smile and compliment the person on making a brilliant play even if you feel it was one of the dumbest things they could have done. Hey, it won the pot, didn't it, so it couldn't have been too dumb.
Keep telling yourself, 'I am going to play this hand like I won the last pot.' Make yourself believe that. It's the only way to set yourself up to have some momentum. You can't win a series of pots without momentum. It has to start somewhere.
After a while, you will be the person the other players want to target. That is when the rushes begin. Let them aim at you and just react to their attacks by outplaying them and by counter-attacking.
A mellow person plays much more effectively than an angry one. If you don't believe me, try it and watch your chips accumulate.
As for road rage, do the way the Caribbean people do. When you blink your headlights or blow your horn, do it with a smile and because you are wishing the other drivers a good day. Happy driving and good poker playing. Let the games begin.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
