Playing Texas Hold’em can be a highly emotional business, so to play in a bad mood can only heighten your sensitivity to certain situations.

A negative emotional state can really affect your game and your judgement. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been there, done that. If you start a game in a stinking bad mood, the moment you play a nice starting hand, bet correctly, lead all the way to the river and your opponent gets a one-out outrageously lucky card to make their hand you can feel like the entire world is against you and you want personal retribution against that lucky sh*t that beat you on the river. Of course, the correct reaction is to shrug, be safe in the knowledge that you played the hand correctly and that statistically you should win more than you lose in that situation given the loose play of your opponent.

Ultimately luck does play a part and bad beats will happen. Once emotion takes hold of your poker you start to lose objectivity and you can begin to form online vendettas where you are hell-bent on knocking out particular players rather than focusing on building up your own bankroll.

If you feel yourself in this type of mood whilst playing it is best to allow your blinds to be posted automatically and take 5 minutes away from the game to calm down and reflect on your real aims for the game. Hopefully, you are able to refocus and get your game back on a controlled, calm and confident footing. To succeed at Texas Hold’em you need to be able to control your emotions and remain disciplined, waiting for that monster hand to appear.