In-session Actions (12:10)

Practice a Strategy

During my warm-up I decide upon some kind of strategy to keep in mind and practice as I play.  Here’s a great quote from Jim Kwik that’s a small departure from what we’ve heard a million times. He says, “Practice makes permanent.” I believe this is more true than practice makes perfect.  The more you work on a skill, the more it will be ingrained in your skillset.  Take whatever skill you’re studying off the felt and find ways to practice it in-session.

Speak Through Your Actions

Some of the best sessions I ever had was when I recorded game tape and spoke through every action I took. The reason is because as I speak through my actions I'm forced to verbalize the logic that I'm using before I click a button.  Before I click “Call”, speak through the reason I’m making that decision. Before I click “Raise”, I say why I’m raising, and I do the same before I check or fold.  Speaking through my actions is the best way to keep me focused on the task at hand, which is making money through +EV decisions.

This same idea is why many Twitch streamers like Jamie Staples, Bet on Drew and Jason Sommerville are successful. They’re constantly explaining their thought process to the audience. Sure, it’s entertaining for one thing, but on another level the audience is there to learn from them, and they’ve got to give good educational content as well. They’ve got to justify their actions. When you record game tape, pretend there’s an audience hanging on your every word and action.

Another thing I like about game tape is that it can force me to remain calm. You know the old saying, “Never let them see you sweat”? Well, if I pretend I’m playing to an audience, it helps me keep my emotions in check because the last thing I want is for them to see me get angry and lose a buy-in or two because of tilt.

Smile

I often throw a smile on my face as I’m playing. Whether I'm on a camera or off-camera, I'm smiling because I know the power of a smile. A smile naturally affects your mindset.  It's very difficult to remain angry or to go on tilt when you're holding a smile on your face.

Use an “Uncomfortable” Tag in PokerTracker 4

PokerTracker 4 allows you to create any tag you want, so I made one that simply says, “uncomfortable.” As I’m playing, I use this tag every time I find myself in an uncomfortable spot. Maybe it’s playing out of position in a multi-way pot, 3betting from the blinds, facing a cbet, facing a river donk bet, whatever. Tagging these hands allows me to put it out of my mind for the time being and continue to stay focused on the task at hand. Later in my study session, I’ll pull up all the uncomfortable hands I played and review them to figure out why I was uncomfortable.

Music Soothes My Savage Beast

Dennis Rodman once said, “Music soothes my savage beast. I got a beast in me running wild.” I feel the same way sometimes. And that beast’s name: Tilt-monstrosity. Music can help keep my emotions in check, so I’ll listen to Baroch-era classical music or music with a steady beat and no lyrics.  I'll sometimes listen to 80’s synthwave or music composed by Howard Shore or John Williams.

De-select “Show Desktop Items”

One thing I like to do is I hide all the items on my Windows desktop. I right click and de-select “Show Desktop Items” and BAM! more distractions removed.

Paper and Pen are a Must

I always have a paper and a pen in front of me to take notes. Sometimes as I play, something interesting will come to mind and instead of Googling it or opening up Facebook or email or whatever, I’ll make a note to follow-up on it after my session.

Be Ready for Tilty Things to Happen

There are many things that can set me on tilt or distract me at the tables, and I try to have a plan for each to occur because I know it’ll occur eventually. One thing I suffer from is “big hand blindness”. I see a big hand like AA, KK or QQ and instead of seeing my opponent or strategy or the best way to approach the hand, all I’m seeing are $$$. When this happens, I take a deep breath and tell myself, “Play this hand well, make good decisions, and don’t think about winning a massive pot.” Having a plan in place will save you many headaches at the tables.

5-Minute Question

I talked about this in last episode about warm-ups, but I really like to have a 5-minute question and my Tabata timer on. In the last session I played, my 5-minute question was “Who is my target at the table?”  When the timer went off every 5 minutes, I asked and answered it for each of the 4 tables I was playing. This kept me focused on who was at my tables and I believe my play and strategies were better because of this awareness.

Tournament Players: Pay Attention to the Tourney Dynamics

In tournaments, you have a few extra things to worry about:

• Blind/Ante structure
• Shrinking stack sizes (you and your opponents)
• Bubble considerations
• In the money considerations
• Approaching the final table
• Final table play

Getting back to being present in the situation, you’ve got to be aware of these factors. Your opponents will be adjusting their play based on these things, so you have to be ready to respond. There’s also ICM considerations of getting KO’d just before the bubble bursts, or even lasting just a little bit longer to make a pay jump. Stay focused on what’s going on around your tourney table, not just on what your opponents are doing.

Challenge (18:25)

Here’s my challenge to you for this episode:  Choose 2 or 3 things from the list of actions I take at the tables and practice them for yourself. Remember, “practice makes permanent”, so get to practicing.

Now it’s your turn to take action and do something positive for your poker game.