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Getting in touch with your mental game

When most people think of poker, they think of cards and hand rankings. Few ever consider the mental aspects of the game, and this is one of the reasons why only a few people win at poker. In online poker, psychological strength and conditioning are equally if not more important than actual card skill.

Top online pros in all games are constantly working on their ‘mental game’ as a means of increasing their edge in already tough player pools.  Mid-stakes grinders essentially make their living off of patience and discipline which are, not surprisingly, both aspects of mental game.

Learning to keep your head in check early on in your career will allow you to out-think, out-play and out-class your opponents consistently and for a long period of time.

Poker is a thinking game- an elite player shouldn’t be satisfied with winning off of card skill alone. One must only be satisfied when crushing the games to the best of the mind’s ability.

Before Playing

What is your playing environment like? Are you playing at a small, cramped, cluttered desk? Is your setup in a messy room? Messiness fosters scattered thought, and this is exactly what a serious player wants to avoid. Make sure your playing environment is organized to your liking, and is conducive to periods of extended thought.

The last thing you want is to be randomly distracted by a guitar across the room, or a book you forgot to read sitting on your desk. Turn off your television. Tons of ‘baller’ types on internet forums love to brag about being able to make money while watching movies, the connotation being they make ‘easy’ money, and they are somehow cool for that reason alone.

Truth be told, players like this often simply hit massive streaks of good luck (while the TV is on, of course) and become delusional. They are simply not good. You cannot focus on your game while trying to watch a movie. The thought in itself is ridiculous. Top pros are not watching anything while playing, and neither should you.

You need to focus on your thought process. That being said, music can often be a helpful tool for maintaining focus. Classical or electronic music tend to work well for many, played at a just-audible level in the background of the playing environment. Any type of music with repetitive patterning and few sudden structural changes will serve your purpose well.

It is important to begin your playing sessions in a healthy, positive and focused state of mind. If you are feeling tired, anxious or distracted, your game will suffer. Avoid playing at all if you feel under the weather. Once you are feeling confident with your general well-being, you can think about warming up your mind. Choose a mentally stimulating activity to participate in before your sessions.

Anything that gets your brain working will do- a logic puzzle, a game of chess, maybe even analyzing a few hands from previous sessions.

The purpose of the warm-up is to get your brain into a deep-thought state. If you find yourself  unable to concentrate on your warm up, or if you find it to be a ‘waste of time’ at any particular moment, you should re-evaluate your general state of mind, and maybe pick a better time to play. If your warm up goes well, you should be feeling sharp and clear, and ready to play.

While Playing

You want to maintain an intense focus throughout your session. Use any resources available to you to ensure you do not lose concentration. If you’ve set up your environment properly, and have entered your games in a ready state of mind, you should have no problems here. Focus on playing, and constantly keep your head in check. Periodically, it is a good idea to evaluate your state of mind.

It is common for a player’s mental game to deteriorate with varying degrees when they have been faced with a lot of bad beats. If you find yourself getting frustrated with a cold deck, or other player’s bad play, quit. As soon as you feel your rational thought process becoming clouded with emotions, you should leave all of your games, and wrap up your session. Nothing will lose you money more than playing to ‘get even’ or based on immediate results, so avoid playing when you are not thinking clearly.

There is no shame in quitting while you’re losing, because in the long run, your edge will make you profit to cover the loss in future sessions. Never forget that poker is a long term game- the serious player should not think about immediate results (based on emotion) but rather long term profit. The moment you start thinking short-term, wrap it up and try again tomorrow.