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Transcript of Poker Psychology By Tyler Coates. Sports Psychology Sports Psychology: the study of the...
Poker
PsychologyBy Tyler Coates
Sport
s Ps
ycholo
gy
Sports Psychology: the
study of the psychological and mental factors that influence and are influenced by participation and performance in sport,
exercise, and physical
activity.
Poke
r Ps
ycholo
gy
Poker Psychology: The
study of the psychological and mental factors that influence and are influenced by participation and performance in mind
sports that contain a
monetary wager.
Min
d S
port
Mind Sport: a sport or a
game of skill, where the
mental component is
much more significant
then the physical.
Wagers The act of wagering
ones money on a sport
or game of skill amplifies
the psychological factors
that influence performance.
Sport
s vs
. Po
ker
Psyc
holo
gy
Sports Psychology focuses on the mental
aspect of physical sports.
While Poker Psychology
takes these studies and
applies them to mind
sports that involve wagers.
The M
illio
n D
olla
r Q
uest
ion
“Why is there a disconnect between ones skill and level, and
how they perform?” Why
are we unable to consistently compete at
the top of our abilities,
and how does one train
themselves to perform
better?
Menta
l Coach
ing
-The role of a mental coach is to
help students play as good as
they already know how. Everyone
performs at a level much lower
then their skill. -A winning player posses the
ability to beat, at least, two limits
higher then they are currently
playing. -The most efficient way to move
up is to improve your ability to
perform at the higher level. You
already have all the necessary
poker skills. -U.S. Open
Win
rate
s
Win rate does not portray ones skill level,
instead it represents
average performance.Using the grading scale
A: Exceptional B: Above AverageC: Average D: Below AverageF: Full Blown Tilt
How
Good A
re
You R
eally
?
If someone’s win rate is
3BB/100, then what does
this really mean?A game: wins at a much
higher rate ~10BB/100+B game: wins at a slightly
higher rate ~4BB-10BB/100
C game: wins at 3BB/100
D game: ranges from break-
even to 2BB/100F game: Anything worst than
break even
Perf
orm
ance
vs.
Vari
ance
Performance always trumps variance. When
you perform above expectation, then your
winning at a bigger rate.
Higher win rates equal
less varianceVice-Versa
Legendary
Pe
rform
ers
My
Gra
phs
From
2010
Out
of
Contr
ol
It’s important to understand that how
well you perform on any
given day is completely
out of your control. If
this was under your control, then wouldn’t
you choose to play A+
game all the time?
Proce
ss
What is under your control are the choices
that you make right now.
Decisions made in the
present, affect your ability to perform in the
near future. There is no
way to guarantee a good
performance, but there
are ways to increase/decrease the
likelihood.
Choic
es
That
Aff
ect
Futu
re P
erf
orm
ance
-Playing too much/not
enough-Balancing poker and life
-Being well rested, nourished, and hydrated
-Having too much to drink
-Reaction to losses, either by
learning or self-pity. -meditating/yoga-Bankroll/Money
Management
Com
mit
ment
Having one good dinner
here and there, or meditating a few times a
month will have little to no
affect on performance. This
process should be treated
like exercise for the brain,
all pieces of the puzzle are
required to see results.
Exercise means nothing if
it’s not regular, and regular
exercise means little
without proper diet.
Confidence
Levels of confidence is
what most drastically
affects ones ability to
perform. Ask yourself how
confident you feel about
your game, and get a
really good idea of how
you’re going to perform. If
you can be honest enough
with yourself, then you can
learn to greatly minimize
downswings, and maximize
on upswings.
Sig
ns
of
Low
Self
Confidence
-Low energy levels/motivation-Doubting your reads-Feelings of self doubt/pity-Unconstructively
focusing on the past-Feeling like everything
is out of your control
Managin
g L
ow
C
onfidence
Le
vels
-focus on what’s under your
control-Drop down in stakes
-Cut back on number of tables
-Review your play-Recognize common mistakes
and causes-Admit feeling guilty-Focus on learning instead of
winning-Get into the beginners state of
mind-Take a break
Sig
ns
of
Hig
h
Confidence
Le
vels
-Easily accessing empowering emotions
-feeling passionate, invigorated, enthused and
energetic-feeling completely in
control -having full trust in your
reads-trusting your abilities to
cope with the everyday
stresses of poker.
Managin
g H
igh
Confidence
Le
vels
-Challenge yourself, and get
out of your comfort zone
-Take aggressive shots when
games are good-Add on a table or two-Get in as many hands as
possible-Watch out for feelings out
arrogance/overconfidence
-Remember that poker isn’t
always this fun and exciting
Vir
tuous
and
Vic
ious
Cyc
les
Virtuous and vicious
cycles are economic
terms that refer to an
event that reinforces
itself through a feedback
loop. Most commonly referred
to as the snowball effect.
Confidence works in this
type of cycle.
Vir
tuous
Cyc
le
When you feel confident
about your game and
motivated to play, then
you will perform at high
levels. Good performances
lead to good results,
which increase levels of
confidence. More confidence leads to even
better performances, and
so on.
The V
icio
us
Cyc
le
The vicious cycle occurs
when low levels of performance lead to
losing. Losing leads to self
doubt and feeling contempt. Thus motivation
levels drop, and less time
is spend playing/practicing. The
more intense vicious
cycles can put even the
biggest bankrolls in danger.
Insa
ne S
kill
Leve
l Lo
w P
erf
orm
ance
abili
ty
Whic
h w
ay
is
your
ball
movi
ng?
Variance is what gets
the ball moving in either
direction. Virtuous and
vicious cycles add momentum, which we
can never fully control.
However, we can increase performance
exponentially by learning how to better
manage these cycles.
Change is
Li
fest
yle
Doing so requires a change in
lifestyle.This is not easy, if it was
everyone would be crushing.
Learning advanced poker
strategy has recently become
relatively easy.And guess what? Relatively,
everyone is doing it, however
they aren’t all winning!Learning how to perform
requires complete dedication
and commitment.
Concl
usi
on
The ability to perform, is
much more valuable then
level of skill. Sophisticated
strategy is useless without
execution. Beating lower
limits simply requires the
ability to execute fundamentals. Properly
implementing the advanced concepts that
you already know is all
that it takes to win at
higher limits.