The Mental Game Podcast

There is an interesting theory that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. If you surround yourself successful people, you will strive to become more successful yourself. Liv Boeree is a testament to that. She started her career being coached by Annie Duke on a TV show, and in our interview today you will learn how she has continued to use collaboration with other players to enhance her skills. If you follow Liv, you will know that she never stops adding to her skillset. Whether it is poker, the guitar, presenting, or charity work she is a highly dynamic person with an incredible array of interests and skills.Like many poker players I have interviewed recently, Liv is really focused on self-improvement and her mental game. This is a great interview for anyone who has a passion for learning and always striving for more.

My guest today on the Mental Game of Poker Podcast is the youngest ever Triple Crown winner Jake Cody. He won an EPT, WPT and WSOP title in an 18-month period. Rarely is someone a true overnight success. Instead, we see someone young like Jake come along, take the poker world by storm and assume he got lucky. But, you'll be surprised at how much work went into getting Jake to the level of winning majors like the EPT.

My guest today on The Mental Game of Poker Podcast needs no introduction. Daniel Negreanu is one of the most famous and most successful poker players on the planet. It is always interesting to delve into the mind of an elite performer, but I am particularly interested in Daniel because in recent years he has made a public commitment to self-improvement. This seemingly has had a big positive correlation with his poker results. This is perhaps the most self-help focused podcast I have done, and we discuss his approach to learning and how he opens himself up to feedback, the importance of taking personal responsibility and not falling into a victim mentality, and how setting goals has been crucial to his poker success. In particular I think you will learn a lot from our discussion about positive thinking. Daniel and I have different perspectives but we still found common ground.

My latest guest on the Mental Game of Poker Podcast is Paul “Vulcans” Ratchford. He’s a prolific coach for DragTheBar.com and is author of a new book “Exploitive No Limit Holdem.” Before Paul entered the poker 6 years after the great recession took him from his corporate job at JP Morgan. In poker he’s a cash game player who’s averaged a 7BB/100 winrate since 2009 at a mix of stakes from $2/$4 up to $25/$50, and has won another $100k in live tournament winnings. He’s a thoughtful and smart guy who has a lot of interesting things to say.

My next guest on the Mental Game of Poker Podcast is Nick Wealthall. Most of you will know him as a host for PokerStars TV, and a former host for Sky Poker and Poker Night Live. He is also an accomplished poker author, and away from the game, a comedy writer. You may be surprised at just how much he has to share about the mental side of poker. Learning is a topic that has fascinated him for years and he has used this enthusiasm to create his own training video series at www.transformmypoker.com. Nick is a really funny guy with a great handle on some of the mental biases that can hamper our progression as poker players. You’ll learn a lot about learning in this show.

Today on The Mental Game of Poker Podcast I had a great discussion with Jennifer Shahade who is a poker player and ambassador for PokerStars. She is also a chess champion and author, who recently presented a TED talk about understanding decision making in chess and poker. I’ve worked with elite performers in a variety of fields like poker, golf, billiards and trading. One discipline that I’ve always found fascinating is chess, for a number of reasons. First of all, when you study performance, chess comes up a lot, it is used a lot to prove points about the role of hard work vs talent. I also find chess very interesting because it is a strategic, mental game, like poker. But unlike poker, variance doesn’t play a part. That’s why I was excited to talk with Jennifer. Here are a few things we discuss - decision-making, tilt in poker and chess, how she's promoting poker to chess players.

My guest today on The Mental Game of Poker Podcast is without doubt one of the most driven, hardworking and enthusiastic minds playing the circuit today. Jason Somerville is a WSOP bracelet winner with over $5 million in earnings. His caliber is so high that Russell Thomas, 2012 November Niner, asked him for coaching before the final table. He one of the great new ambassadors for the game, and sacrifices some EV by playing a reduced schedule to work tirelessly for Ultimate Poker. Amazingly in 2014, he is one of the few openly gay high profile players.

The mental game is like a muscle. If you push yourself mentally, whether it is to face your fears or develop a new skill, you can adapt and grow stronger. My guest today on the Mental Game of Poker Podcast is a true example of this. Bertand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier is very much like my recent guest Jason Mercier. Like Mercier, he wins everything. Like Mercier he has a reputation for running well. And just like Jason Mercier, most people don’t realise how hard he works to get where he is. ElkY is a world champion Starcraft player, a former SuperNova Elite and one of the few men to hold the Triple Crown.

My next guest on the Mental Game of Poker Podcast really does not need an introduction. Without 2003 World Champion Chris Moneymaker, poker would not be the industry it is today. Not only did help spark the poker boom, he has been a tremendous ambassador for the game. What you may not know is that he is perhaps the first poker player to put me on tilt. Find out how he out-mental gamed this mental game coach on the golf course, and much more.

What is the point of working hard on your game if you are going to get unlucky? Of course, fixating on the things out of your control is only going to make matters worse. The only thing you can do is double down your focus on the things you can control. Jason Mercier is one of the most prolific poker players in the world. He is about to surpass $10 million in live tournament cashes, he has previously been a Supernova Elite, he has two bracelets, an EPT title and a string of other huge results. He also has a reputation for having had more than his fair share of 'run good’. However you will learn from today’s show that the real reason for his success is surely his phenomenal work ethic. Many successful people have said that “the harder they worked, the luckier they got.” This sentiment rings true with Jason. If you are struggling to deal with variance, you would be much better off trying to emulate his work ethic than trying to will the cards your way.

Is it possible to play in the zone all the time? Vanessa Selbst doesn’t think so, and nor should you. In the latest episode of The Mental Game of Poker Podcast I get to speak with the most successful female poker player of all time fresh off the back of a $1.4 million winning trip at the PCA. We have a very high level discussion on how she manages her energy to make sure that rather than playing he zone all the time, she works hard to play in the zone at the most important time. We also discuss, how she manages mental energy, how to avoid burning out, and how she maintains her passion and enjoyment of poker through rough periods. This was a really enjoyable show with one of the true top performers in the game today.

My guest on The Mental Game of Poker Podcast is Shannon Shorr. Despite being just 28 years old, he was recently voted 7th in the Global Poker Index Player of the Decade rankings. He has over $5.4 million in live tournament winnings and nearly $2 million in online tournament winnings. Shannon really is a player who embraces the things in poker he can control and not the things he can’t. If you are looking to improve your focus in poker, he’s a great model to follow. If you want to learn more about Shannon or to follow his blog go to his website or follow him on Twitter: @shannonshorr.

Have you set your poker goals for 2014 yet? What are you going to do to make sure they happen? Do you find yourself setting ambitious goals and abandoning them after a few weeks or months? My guest today on the Mental Game of Poker Podcast is Roy "GodLikeRoy" Bhasin. He is a Team PokerStars Pro, four-time Supernova Elite and professional PLO cash game player. He is also a long-time client of mine and one of the clients who shared a story in The Mental Game of Poker 2. (His was about recognizing Burnout.)If you are about to embark on a big goal in 2014 you have to listen to this show to help you avoid some of the common pitfalls poker players make when setting goals at the start of a new year.

Eugene Katchalov is a professional tournament poker player and a Team PokerStars Pro. He boasts two WCOOP titles, a WSOP bracelet and a WPT titles, as well as a super high roller victory at the PCA. Outside of poker this former trader also was featured in Men’s Health magazine for his impressive weight loss after making some big changes in his fitness and diet. If you are trying to limit the amount of extra calories you consume over the holidays, or are thinking about making some big lifestyle changes in 2014, my next guest is a real inspiration.

My guest today on The Mental Game of Poker Podcast is Jeremy Ausmus. Jeremy first came to our attention in 2012 when he made the October Nine and came in 5th for over $2 million. He since had a number of near misses in high profile events but finally took down his first bracelet last month in Paris at the WSOPE. Jeremy has been a professional for nine years, and he is just about one of the most balanced and professional players you are likely to encounter. He really is the blueprint for having a solid mental game. In the show we discuss: • Why a slow and steady approach to learning has proven to be very successful in the long term for him. • Why he is always reanalyzing his game and never wants to think he ‘knows it all’. • How he values a strong mental game, and why he would always take a player with a solid C-game over a player who has an amazing A-game but prone to mental game leaks. • How he works on his game away from the table and why not wanting to get caught out in tricky spots motivates him to lea

I often talk about how being a poker player is a lot like being a small business owner. You are responsible for your own hours, education, money management, risk tolerance and much more. One player who understands this comparison all too well is Marc McLaughlin. When Marc is not playing poker he is a successful entrepreneur, but you all know him as one of this year's November Niners. He's going into the final table with a very healthy chip stack and shot at the world title. As you can imagine this is a very fascinating insight into the mind of someone who is just days away from the biggest final table in poker history.

The Mental Game of Poker Podcast is back, and what a way to return. I interviewed the reigning World Champion Greg Merson ahead of this year’s Main Event final table. Merson is certainly an interesting champion from a poker mindset perspective. Last year was his breakout year where he won arguably the two most prestigious No Limit events of the year – the Main Event and the Six Max Championship. Yet amazingly he started 2012 playing $1/$2. - See more at: http://jaredtendlerpoker.com/?p=4344&preview=true#sthash.VpV7SY1t.dpuf. More significantly Merson has beaten, and continues to beat, drug addiction, and has used his profile as WSOP champion to try and help others do the same.

If there's one thing I would change about The Mental Game of Poker 1 it would be to include more examples from the world of live poker. I tried to remedy that in The Mental Game of Poker 2, and if you want more proof that the mental game is just as, if not more, relevant to live poker look no further than today's guest on my podcast. Bart Hanson is a live cash game player who is best known for his commentary on 'Live at the Bike,' as well as having one of the most critically acclaimed strategy podcasts. His site, www.seatopenpoker.net, is on of the few training sites to concentrate on live play. Live poker does not get anywhere near enough coverage on training sites, but Bart is almost single handedly redresses that balance and proves that live players think as deeply about the game as their online counterparts. During our chat we talk about the importance of patience in live poker, some of the biggest errors online players make when the come to brick and mortar card rooms, how to combat distractions, spottin

Today's episode is not to be missed if you are a high volume online player. I sit down with Steven McLoughlin from PokerTracker to discuss the mental side of tracking software. We discuss some of the most common mental game crutches poker players fall into when using tracking software, the truth about all-in EV and luck, and so much more. As a mental game coach I found this discussion to be one of the missing pieces of the puzzle. I have many clients who had become over reliant on tracking software, some will use it as a crutch to try and 'prove' how unlucky they are. Others had tried to deny the truth by deleting their own databases after bad runs. Make sure you are not falling into some of the most common mental game mistakes when using tracking software by listening to this essential interview.

Today on the Mental Game of Poker Podcast, I speak with Pokerstrategy Coach “Schnitzelfisch” who is a personal productivity coach. He became very popular on the Pokerstrategy forums for this guide that he posted on personal productivity. I’ve talked in the past about and written in the mental game of poker, how errors in how you learn can create mental game problems. You can become frustrated, anxious, lose motivation and confidence all because you don’t understand or have unrealistic expectations of the learning process. Being unproductive or inefficient in the way that you’re working on your poker game, or your ability to balance poker and life, can create the same problems. By learning more about how you learn, or by becoming more productive, you can eliminate some of those mental game problems as well. Primoz may have some answer that can be a big help to you. You can follow him on Twitter: @PrimozSYP