The Mental Game Podcast

Today on the Mental Game of Poker Podcast I’m joined by the incomparable Jay “Krantz” Rosenkrantz. Jay has teamed up with Taylor Caby on a documentary about the story of online poker called, “Bet, Raise, Fold.” Jay talks about the movie, the process of make it, and how what he learned from playing poker was instrumental in handling the chaos of it. For those who don’t know him, Jay was one of the biggest winners online in 2007 – 2009, he founded DeucesCracked, was on the show 2Months2Million, and co-created the excellent poker cartoon, The Micros. I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Jay and hope you do as well. For more about the movie go to: www.betraisefoldmovie.com. Follow Jay on twitter: @DCKrantz.

Today on the Mental Game of Poker Podcast I’m joined by two very interesting guests who have unique viewpoints on a two important issues that are all too common within poker. First up is Mike Weeks, the director and producer of a new poker documentary "Drawing Dead" about the highs and lows of online poker from two very different perspectives. One player, Dusty Schmidt, won millions and the other, Michael Korpi, became so addicted he stole credit cards so he could keep playing online poker. The film will be premiering at the Thin Line Film Festival – Dallas area - on Friday February 15th at 6:30pm. If you live in the area go check it out! You can follow Mike on Twitter: @DrawingDeadDoc My second guest, Daniel, is in the process of recovering from extreme isolation where he spent two year barely leaving his apartment and not interacting with anyone. Motivated to change he sought therapy and wrote a thread on 2+2 called, "Two Years of Solitude: A cautionary tale for poker professionals," where he chronicles the

Today on The Mental Game of Poker Podcast you’ll get a look inside the mind of one the most profitable mass multi-tablers in online poker, Randy “Nanonoko” Lew. He’s a member member of Team PokerStars Online and very recently made SuperNova Elite for the 3rd or 4th time…he can’t keep track anymore! Contrary to what many players think, Randy is not playing on autopilot the whole time he’s playing. In fact, he’s trained his game so well that he can easily pay close attention to game flow and other details of the action, while playing 24 tables simultaneously. Remarkable skill. Randy also talks a bit about how he handles tilt himself and spots it in his opponents. You can find Randy’s blog here: http://www.randylew.com/ and you follow him on twitter: @nanonoko

Today on The Mental Game of Poker Podcast Jared interviews Matt Affleck, who is famous for making two deep runs in the 2009 and 2010 WSOP main event. Matt recently said in a blog that reading the book was “eye opening” and made him realize how important the mental game is for him in poker. This interview opens with Matt talking about the mental game issues he’s recently discovered in his game, namely overconfidence, entitlement, injustice, revenge, and loss of motivation. He also gives some insight gets into the mental side of the big hand that he lost to Jonathan Duhamel in the 2010 WSOP. This candid interview is really interesting and may open your eyes to issues you didn’t realize were affecting your game. You can find Matt’s blog, here: http://www.mattaffleck.blogspot.com/ and follow him on twitter: @Mcmattopoker

Today on The Mental Game of Poker Podcast Jared interviews Phil Galfond, one of the top players in poker. Since Phil's mental game is so strong, the interview focuses extensively on how he learns and improves his game. He is constantly questioning his game to find new ways to improve because he doesn't see himself as talented as players like Tom Dwan or Viktor Blom. Phil is also a subscriber to several online training sites and has a new training site out himself, Runitonce.com. For more information on Phil, you can visit him there and follow him on Twitter: @PhilGalfond

This week on The Mental Game of Poker radio show I’m joined by Zach Elwood, author of “Reading Poker Tells.” This is the first time that I’ve talked extensively about tells on the show. We discuss some of Zach’s methods for deciphering tells from random information and how to get a handle on your own tells. Surprise surprise, there is often a mental connection to them. For more information about Zach or to pick up a copy of his book, go to his website ReadingPokerTells.com, or you can follow him on Twitter: @apokerplayer.

This week on The Mental Game of Poker radio show Jared is joined by Dean Bogan. Chances are if you spend a decent amount of time on 2+2 you’re familiar with Dean Bogan, his sense of humor, his coaching and staking advice, and his occasionally unintelligible (to North Americans) Australian accent. What you may not know is that life wasn’t always this fun for Bogan. Bogan spent most of his young adult life struggling with drugs, addiction, and worst of all, clinical depression. At the age of 21, Bogan tried to end his own life. Today, Bogan is a happy father, soon to be married, and the head of a large and very successful online poker stable, but he has never forgotten to whom he owes his new life. After leaving rehab, Bogan has dedicated his own time to helping troubled youths and Orygen. On Monday, November 12, Bogan will take part in a fundraiser meant to raise awareness for mental health issues and Orygen further.

Today on The Mental Game of Poker Podcast, Jared welcomes professional poker player and blogger Olivier Busquet. Busquet delves into issues of tilt control, something he struggled with severely in the beginning of his poker career. Fundamental distinctions are made between the success in live poker and success in online poker. Olivier is one of the most successful online poker players in the world, in large part to his professionalism. Listen in and learn from one of the best.

The Mental Game with Jared Tendler returned with special guest Ryan Eriquezzo. Originally from Danbury, Connecticut, 28-year-old Eriquezzo came under serious fire in July during the 2012 WSOP, after his ex-girlfriend Amanda Musumeci outed him on Twitter for having struck her. Two months later, Eriquezzo famously atoned by posting a starkly honest and personal blog detailing in great depth his relationship with Musumeci, his demons with drugs and alcohol, and his ultimate road to recovery and redemption.

Today on The Mental Game radio show, Cardrunners coach Jonathan “Djross13” Davis joined me to talk about a range of topics including how he’s recently solved a lot of his tilt problems. Jonathan’s is a long-time tilter, who’s broken his share of computer equipment. Entitlement Tilt was the main offender, but overall his tilt problems were made worse by personal stressors. After experiencing some major personal issues this year, he’s been dedicated to improving his mental game and eliminating negative emotion. Learn how he did it. Then our old friend and long-time listener, Benny came on the show again. Still struggling with how he handles Injustice and Entitlement Tilt from his last time on the show, we took the necessary steps today to break the issue down further and prescribe a strategy to make the significant progress he’s after.

After an enjoyable week off, I’m back today with a great episode of the Mental Game radio show. First up is an in-depth interview with Stacey Nutini, an MTT grinder and the owner of Lasvegaspokersource.com. Stacey has been playing full-time since 2010 and rapidly found success after training with some great instructors. Great instruction didn’t stop mental game issues from popping up, and today we talk about them, along with her prep for the WSOP, and more. Then, Barry Carter drops by to catch up on his recent trip to New York City to get married and we discuss a new book on productivity that can make poker players perform better. Lastly, I was joined by @SheepRustler who came on the show looking for advice to help him stop thinking about results during a charity grind. He’s trying to make money for charity, and can’t play well because he’s trying to make money for charity. Tough spot, but fortunately I gave him some advice that just might work.

Today on The Mental Game of Poker Podcast Jared is joined by Casey Jarzabek from TournamentPokerEdge.com. Casey gives a candid look into his tilt problem and is truly an amazing guest. If you’re looking for a model in how to take tilt problems head on, Casey is your guy. Everything about how he’s approaching improving tilt is a blueprint for you. While your tilt issues may be different, there’s a lot you can learn by listening to how one of the best online MTT players tackles it.

On this week’s episode of The Mental Game Radio Show you’ll get inside the mind of the top online PLO players in the world, Jim “Lefty2506” Egerer. He’s been playing the biggest PLO games on the net since 2007. Coached players from .10/.25 all the way up to 25/50 and understands the mental approach needed for long-term success in poker. Jim wasn’t always a mental master. But after banging his head against the wall enough times, he was motivated enough to figure what skills were lacking in both poker and his personal life. On today’s show he shares a lot of what he’s learned, and what he regularly teaches to his students. Listen in to this fast paced, conversational interview. You’ll learn some essential mental game skills that can help to keep your game sharp, and constantly improving.

Today on The Mental Game radio show, Hunter “BeachJustice” Bick from DragTheBar.com joined me for an in-depth discussion on poker learning. Having been winning player for 7 years, a stellar coach for 4 years, and now running DragTheBar, Hunter has a great view on the common errors players make when trying to improve. Hunter goes off on the All-in EV line, “I would love to wave a magic wand and make it go away.” Players are constantly focused on the All-in EV line in their database, when it’s not even calculated correctly! Lots of people have tilted because of it and they aren’t really even running badly. Listen in and find out more. After Hunter’s rant, the focus of our conversation turns to how best to learn from poker training videos. Far too often players watch videos too passively, in the background while grinding, when they need to be interacting with the material. Hunter and I give you some tips on how to be more active with your learning and get more out of it.

Today on The Mental Game of Poker Podcast Jared had the opportunity to interview two big names in poker: Phil Hellmuth and Maria Ho. They’re in Ireland for the inaugural iSeries Live event where they’ll competing against Daniel Negreanu, Eoghan O’Dea, Carlos Mortensen, and 5 other top players in a winner take all SNG that will be streaming live on the internet with all hole cards shown. Phil proved at last year’s WSOP that he has resurrected his game and his mental game. He admits to not working on his game and just expecting to roll into events expecting to win. He’s working a lot more on his game with the help of some solid players, preparing better, and taking his mental game seriously. He also reveals a few other things about his preparation for the iSeries that may shock you… Maria is the underdog going in and she shares her mental approach going into the event. She knows she’s up against a tough table and is ready for the challenge. She’s also worked a lot on her mental game over the years, listen in

Today on The Mental Game Radio Show three listeners came on the show for help with a variety of issues. Each story was unique, but the common thread among them was they had difficulty maximizing their learning in poker. Learning how to play poker better, is as important a topic as actually what you’re learning, yet it’s rarely talked about. The advice given in this episode is a must for anyone who is serious about taking their game to the next level. Chalk full of great advice tailored to three different players, you’ll be sure to find something that can help transform your game.

Today on The Mental Game of Poker Podcast Jared is joined by the first winner of poker’s Triple Crown, Gavin Griffin. This former WSOP, WPT, and EPT winner wrote a revealing blog on CardPlayer.com detailing his recent struggles. After winning millions, he’s back playing low limit cash games and rebuilding his bankroll. How did one of the best player in the world lose millions? Find out in this stellar interview. Gavin openly talks about how it happened and what he’s now doing to get back on top. So many players think that what happened to Gavin won’t happen to them, but it’s become a common theme in poker. Gavin is speaking openly because he wants to help other players. Towards the end of the interview, Jared gives Gavin some advice about how to better deal with the highs and lows of tournament poker. His struggles are common among many tournament players.

.

Today on The Mental Game radio show, I was joined by Tommy Angelo, author of Elements of Poker, and producer of the very popular video series “The Eightfold Path to Poker Enlightenment” on DeucesCracked. Our stellar conversation covered a range of topics, from dealing with tilt, the importance of meditation, and how our philosophies are similar and diverge. The phone lines then opened up and Cardrunner’s coach Verneer and Matt Wakeman, dropped some questions on us. The result, some hard hitting answers to running bad/good and being a better coach.

Today on The Mental Game radio show, I was joined by the excellent DeucesCracked coach Aaron “WiltOnTilt” Wilt. Even more exciting, today was the first time listeners were able to call in live with their questions. A few technical problems didn’t stop this show from being one of the best yet. Aaron is well known for having a strong passion and commitment to being a coach and video producer. The topic of poker coaching has been a hot button issue in poker lately. So, among many other things, we talked at length about the importance of coaching, his initiatives to change poker education, and what students need to know to get the most out of coaching or video instruction. When we opened the phones midway through the show, listeners lined up to ask a range of questions. Injustice tilt, anxiety, and confidence were among the many topics covered. Proving advice live on-air to listeners is a great addition to the show and I’m excited to make it part of every show.