The Mental Game of Poker

My guest on The Mental Game Podcast is perhaps the one person in the world who has spent more time than me talking tilted poker players off a ledge. Matt Savage is without doubt the most accomplished Tournament Director in the industry and his opinion on rulings is second to none. If you follow him on Twitter you’ll know he kindly devotes a great deal of his personal time giving his advice on contentious live poker decisions. Matt is the ...

In recent years I have developed a much bigger client list from the world of finance, trading and investment. This is in no small part because the mental game skills needed to do well in poker are directly transferable to trading, and vice versa. My guest today on the Mental Game Podcast shows precisely this overlap. Matt Bodnar is a partner at a venture capital firm and is also a dedicated student of psychology and what makes top performers thrive. ...

With the Olympics now over I have a very fitting guest on The Mental Game Podcast, not just because he is Brazilian but also because he is arguably one of the few professional poker players whose experience of the game mirrors that of elite athletes. Andre Akkari is a Team PokerStars Pro and WSOP Bracelet winner. He is also a megastar in his homeland of Brazil. While he is not as well known as, say, Daniel Negreanu outside of Brazil ...

The World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) and Mini WCOOP starts soon and the online version of the WSOP can be just as mentally and physically demanding. In recent years I have been coaching my clients on how to prepare for the demands of an online series like this. In this Q&A in answer these questions: *How do I deal with the tilt/frustration of busting after going deep? *How do I deal with pressure of bigger buy-in events? *How do ...

My guest today on The Mental Game Podcast is a much needed voice for anyone who is struggling to find meaning and purpose in their life. Mark Manson is a a very successful author, blogger, self-development coach and dating expert. On the surface it appears he has his shit together, but as he says he starts everything he does as a form of 'public therapy' with himself, but with the reader in mind. His new book The Subtle Art of ...

My guest today on the Mental Game Podcast Dr. Jonathan Fader is a clinical sport psychologist who works with top athletes, business people and most notably the New York Mets. He's also the author of the new book, "Life as Sport: What top athletes can teach you about how to win in life". Like me, he has taken a more traditional approach to performance psychology by first getting a degree in clinical psychology and applying it to the world of ...

My guest today on the Mental Game Podcast is the author of a book that I've recommended and referenced a lot in my career. Daniel Coyle is the author of The Talent Code, a truly fantastic book that deconstructs the idea of talent and proves that while natural talent does exist, the thing that really separates the winners and the losers is the level of deep practice they are prepared to put in. We often seek to avoid failure, but ...

My guest today on the Mental Game Podcast is a long-time client who has been phenomenal to work with because, besides being an all-around great guy, he is deeply committed to the process of mastering his craft. Niels Feijen is a professional pool player from the Netherlands. He is one of the top players in the world and his accolades include the 2008 World Straight Pool Championship, the 2014 World Nine Ball Championship and the four-time MVP for the Mosconi ...

I got a great response to my last Q&A podcast on Goal Setting, so I have done another one all about Tilt. If you want to be featured on a future Q&A podcast, just contact me with your question. Today Barry and I discuss a wide range of topics I’m sure all of you can relate to, even if you are not a poker player. In this episode we discuss: * Why you might Tilt in one format (Like PLO), ...

Everyone talks about wishing they had better focus, while they have one eye on Facebook on their smartphone. We live in an age of distraction and as our relationship with technology becomes symbiotic, it can come with great cost. This week Barry speaks with Professor and Author Cal Newport. Cal is a Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University and one of the most productive researchers working today. He also is a best selling author of no less than five ...

Today's episode of The Mental Game Podcast was a real honor for me. My guest is exactly the kind of expert I had in mind when I wanted to expand the podcast beyond poker. Chris Chabris is an Associate Professor of Psychology and co-director of the Neuroscience Program at Union College in Schenectady, and along with Daniel Simons wrote the fantastic book The Invisible Gorilla: How our Intuitions Deceive Us. He is also an accomplished poker and chess player, and ...

Happy New Year! Now time for some tough love. Many of you are starting to make big goals for the year. Goals related to your career, your health or ticking something off your bucket list. Many of you also feel unstoppable. This will be your best year. You're inspired by what you're going to accomplish, how much money you're going to make, how strong you're going to get, how much weight you're going to lose, and more. Yet, the odds ...

Today on the Mental Game Podcast my co-author Barry Carter interviews a hero of his. James Altucher is an entrepreneur, hedge fund manager, podcaster and NY Times Bestselling author. USA Today called his book "Choose Yourself" one of the best business books of all time. He is very well known in the self-help space, but what is less well known is that he is also an avid poker player. Barry tried, and failed, to get a copy of The Mental ...

My guest today on the Mental Game Podcast probably has about as varied a CV as you can imagine. Terrence Chan is a professional poker player, MMA fighter, former PokerStars employee, founder of Ultimate Poker and currently co-host of the 2+2 PokerCast. Because he has achieved so much in so many fields, I knew he was going to be very insightful about success and the learning process, but even I was surprised at just how educated he was on the ...

Today my guest Max Steinberg who recently finished 4th at the WSOP main event final table. I have been fortunate enough to have long time clients make the November Nine in each of the last two years. Last year it was 3rd place finisher Jorryt Van Hoof, and this year it was Max. I don’t publicly share specific details about what my clients and I do when we work together, but Max graciously volunteered to discuss this in depth. In ...

We are trying something new again this week for the Mental Game Podcast. One of the most popular things I have done, and has really resonated well with my audience are Ask Me Anything threads on forums like Reddit and 2+2. It's been great for the person receiving advice to get something tailored to them, but more importantly almost all mental game issues are universal, so very often there’s something everyone can learn from them. So we are introducing the ...

We are doing something a little different today on the Mental Game Podcast. My co-author Barry Carter is very interested student of the psychology of performance, which started with poker and has expanded significantly with the numerous books he’s read on the subject. As we expand the scope of the podcast, he will be joining us occasionally to interview some interesting minds from the world of psychology. Today he interviews Jonathan Gottschall, a scholar at Washington and Jefferson College in ...

My guest today on the Mental Game Podcast has a unique perspective on what it takes to get to the top in whatever profession you choose. David Tuchman is an accomplished poker player, but an even more accomplished poker commentator. When you add up his work on Live at the Bike, Sky Poker, Twitch and, of course, the World Series of Poker, he may have commentated on more hours of high level poker than anyone in the world. He is ...

To restart the podcast in style, I’m very happy to welcome reigning WSOP Main Event champion Martin Jacobson to the show. Last year while watching the final table in person, I got to see Martin’s performance up close. I was obviously cheering for my client Jorryt von Hoof, but it was easy to be impressed with the composure, professionalism, focus, and resilience that Martin showed on his way to the title and $10 million first prize. With the Main Event ...

We use the word competitive a lot in poker, but my guest today on The Mental Game Podcast has to be one of the most competitive poker players out there. Chris Moorman is addicted to winning, and as you will learn he would much prefer to win a smaller tournament than come 2nd in a tournament for a bigger prize. This mentality is very interesting to me in a game where cash is the way of keeping score. For Chris, ...