Selective Memory

1. Remembering only the poker hands that one wants to remember, often to forward an agenda or support a belief. Not always done on purpose.

People Who Have Selective Memory

* Rigtards - they only seem to remember the unusual online poker hands, the ones where someone hit a one-outer to beat them or a straight flush beat a full house, not the millions of other hands where nothing out of the ordinary happened. They then use these specific hands to claim that online poker is rigged.
* Unluckiest Players in the World - these people point to all the times they got sucked out on to claim that they are exponentially unluckier than everyone else, ignoring all the times they were they won hands, either as the favorite or underdog.

Mike Matusow

While he has gained perspective recently, Mike "The Mouth" Matusow is famous for having a selective memory. He has been known to truly believe he is one of the best hold'em players in the world (which he probably is), yet also truly believe that he will consistently be the victim of suckouts. His unofficial fan blog even includes the following on its "Famous Mike Matusow Quotes" page: "No one is as unlucky as me, why does this keep happening to ME?"

Selective Memory Effects at the Table

In addition to making you look out of touch with reality, selective memory can adversely affect your poker play. For example, if you believe that you get sucked out on every time you have the best hand, you might overbet too frequently in order to try to scare players away. This could not only prevent you from winning more money, but it can also cause you to unnecessarily lose big pots if an opponent has a better hand.