Why use a routine between hands?
A routine turns a vague intention, like "stay focused", into a fixed set of steps. It gives the next decision the same starting point every time, so that the hand after a loss and the hand after a win begin the same way. You do not need to decide whether to run it. You run it.
What are the parts of the routine?
ResetA breath, a look away or a sip of water, whatever is quick and fits the room. It is a pause, not a technique.
LogOne note for a hand to review later, only if it matters.
CheckPosition, stack and the price of the next likely decision.
How short should it be?
Under ten seconds, so it fits live and online play. Fewer steps are easier to keep than more, and a routine you drop after a week is worth less than a small one you keep. If a game is too fast for three steps, keep one and run the full version at a scheduled break.
What should I add after a trigger?
One extra step: a longer break or a fixed question. A trigger is a bad beat, a mistake, a swing in the stack or a long session, and the tilt guides list them in detail. The extra step is also written in advance, so it is a rule you follow and not a choice you make.
How do I test whether it works?
Run it for five sessions and check your notes. Count the unsure hands in each session and look at when they happen. If the number or the timing changed, keep the routine. If not, adjust one step at a time so that you can see which change did what.
How does the routine differ live and online?
Live play gives you time between hands, so the full three steps fit: reset, log and check while the cards are shuffled. Online play can deal the next hand in seconds, and several tables at once leave almost no gap. For online play, shrink the routine to the check alone, and run the other two steps at a scheduled break every so many hands, set in advance.
Either way, the routine is the same in kind: a fixed set of steps, decided before the session, that starts the next decision from the same place.
What are the common mistakes with a routine?
- Making it too long, so it is skipped when the game speeds up.
- Adding steps that need a decision, like "decide whether I am tilting".
- Running it only after bad hands, which makes it a signal and not a habit.
- Changing three steps at once, which hides which change helped.
Steps that need no decision are the strongest ones. "Look at the price" is a step. "Decide how calm I am" is a judgment, and judgments are what the routine is there to avoid.
What should I write down first?
Write a three-step routine: reset, log, check.
Write the one extra step you add after a trigger.
Run it for five sessions and count unsure hands in each.
Questions
- How long should the routine take?
- Under ten seconds, so it fits any game. Shorter is better than a long routine you skip.
- What if the game is too fast online?
- Shorten it to one step, the check, and run the full version at a scheduled break.
- Does the routine change how I feel?
- It is a set of steps for your decisions: it keeps each call tied to the price and the plan, whatever your mood.