Right Frame Of Mind?

Basically, I've taken a week off from poker. I'm not sure how much I'm going to play this month.

I do know that tomorrow I've been entered in a series of value added NLHE tourneys. A marathon of freerolls, if you will.

I feel good right now. Ready to play. I'm loose because I have absolutely no expectation of winning. And I struggle with the concept of expectation.

All of the poker studies condition us to game selection, EV, etc. For example, I feel like when I sit down at an O8 table/tourney that I have an edge. I know for certain there are weaker players than myself. I expect a positive result to occur from that session more often than not.

Now we all know variance is a bad mutha and poor results can occur (for a variety of reasons). I am left scratching my head after poor results follow great expectation. I ask myself, "What can I do to improve my game, so poor results happen less often?"

Every poker discipline I've tried has had some major swings (both ways). Perhaps I'm just not emotionally equipped to handle the swings. Deep down I think about this often.

Back to the upcoming tourneys... I think I may perform well due to my lack of expectation. I've scored some decent cashes in the past with a similar scenario - general donkfest, some nice cash prizes, no worries.

I've always cashed well with a relaxed, "Meh, whatever" attitude as opposed to a hyped, "I'm ready to take it down" approach. Maybe the "No worries" in me makes me play a LAG-gier style.