There are a lot of emotions that race through a player at the table. There’s adrenaline pumping through the body that makes the jokes funnier when we’re running well. The anticipation of further action is usually more arousing than the actions themselves. There’s a lot of excitement in the game.

One form of excitement is the emotional response of anger. Anger fueled by disappointment, fear, and distaste. That anger is directed toward our opponents. When it isn’t, it’s misdirected toward others and ourselves. No matter where this anger is directed, nothing is ever achieved from anger at the table.

Why get angry at people? They’re not playing as they “should,” and it cost you money, you say? We’ve all heard the true cliche anecdote that “You want your opponents to play badly.”

Easier said than done.

People will have methods with which to calm your nerves. At times, you just need to walk away. That’s beautiful, but we’re talking about thinking during a high level of arousal and anyone without innocence knows the difficulty and damn near impossibility of such deep thought.

I’m not a religious person, but I had a cup of coffee with a man in my neighborhood, who happens to be a rabbi. I was opening up to him about how a long time friend (and recent ex-girlfriend) and I had been tense as of late. I feel that she does and always has expected me to read her mind and she feels that I am not as perceptive of her as someone who honestly cares should. The Rabbi said something that stuck in my head. He said:

“The most rewarding parts of our lives are results of work. Those rewards aren’t easy to attain. Anger is easy. Forgiveness isn’t, son.”

I recently heard something similar on a TV program from a priest while I was playing cards on the internet and the application to the game was not clear, but a necessity. The fact of the matter is that the discipline required to control one’s emotions leads to the patience necessary to make decisions with an honest and sound mind. Anger is absent of discipline. Anger is easy. Discipline isn’t.

Being disciplined at the table begins knowing what hands are playable, betting strategies, and so forth. Discipline is the wall between applying that knowledge as opposed to the things that you know are not profitable. Anger breaks down that wall along with our stacks, wallet, and that’s what leads to you the player.

Learning discipline at the table is impossible with a lack of discipline away from the table. You can thwart this argument with the stories of a quantity of fast living lifers that have bracelets, weekly columns, books, or whatever. The percentage of those individuals relative to the rest of the chaotic lives that encounter a poker table at the casino or in the e-world is undeniably minute.

I’m in the habit of listening to The David Stein Show, the overnight show on Sporting News Radio while I play online. One rule of the show is that every caller must share something good about their life. I thought it was a corny radio personality gimmick, but I played along at home. While listening to the great stories of overcoming addiction, survivals of terminal diseases, living with disorders, making amends with friends and family members, or just the proud father of his son winning his Little League game, the positivity inside of me was abundantly heightened at the time. That positivity would aid a good night’s sleep and an excitement to get out of bed the next morning and live another day of my life looking forward to the nest good thing going on in my life. That lead me to no choice but to right the wrongs to make the inevitable negative events positive victories.

All is not solved by simply saying in the moment of anger, “I have a great wife and kids. Who cares if that bastard cracked my Aces with Nines?” But a positive attitude toward life leads toward a positive attitude toward yourself and allows to forgive those you feel have wronged you allowing you to continue onward with the tools to succeed.