As a poker player, you’ll face numerous setbacks—suck-outs, bad beats, coolers, and downswings. To achieve long-term success as a professional poker player, you need a strong, solid foundation. First, you must have a deep understanding of poker theory and the ability to adapt to changing trends at your stakes. Additionally, having the right poker mindset is crucial to handle the inevitable stress.
But how do you determine that your game isn’t good enough for the stakes you’re playing and that it’s no longer just due to a bad run? That uncertainty alone can cause some players to put their ambitions on hold or even quit their poker journey.
Here at The Mindset Lab we help you develop the mental skills to help you optimise your mindset so you can manage the various setbacks inherent in poker. This way you can sit confidently at the poker table day in day out.
Mental tools to help you optimise your poker mindset
If we want to optimise our mindset we need to focus on one thing at a time. What you’ll see in most blogs are x amount of tips to become an indestructable poker player. Sure that will help some people and it can create a certain catalog, but it is not the most effective way. Because how on earth would you know what your priorities are?
That’s why we want to dedicate our content & tips on just one or two things at a time. This way you’ll know exactly what to focus on in your next game or study session.
Implementation intention at the poker table: Always be prepared for setbacks
Poker, especially online poker, is a microcosm and a pressure cooker where the highest peaks can be followed by low lows in a matter of seconds. Trying to keep your cool in such an environment can be a real challenge.
How well can you stick to your plan when a voice in your head starts screaming louder and louder that you should surrender control over your emotions instead of letting your rationality steer the course?
Keep your emotions at bay
What you do with an implementation intention plan is sketch a situation for yourself prior to your session that you can recognise during your game to implement a thought or an action. It is similar or can be part of a visualisation.
It goes as follows: If scenario A occurs, then I will perform action or thought B or C
For example, you’re deep in an MTT on GGpoker, say the final 15. Villain hits their 3-outer on the river after a preflop all-in KK vs QQ. Your default behavior might be to shake your head, pound the table, or curse… or all three.
These reactions further fuel your emotions in your brain and the area in your brain responsible for structure, planning, and making disciplined decisions becomes less active.
Once you know this is your standard behavior, you can set an implementation intention for it: If villain hits their 3-outer on the river after a preflop all-in KK vs QQ, then I will keep encouraging myself by saying that I made the right decision, or that this is part of the game, or that I won the previous 93.5 times.
What you’re doing here is injecting rational thoughts into your head, keeping the emotion at bay, and also reducing the chance of tilt. An additional benefit of an implementation intention plan like this is that you create an extra goal for a very specific situation during your game. Nothing boosts self-confidence like achieving goals.
This is a great first step to improving your mindset at the poker table! Good luck on the grind!
