Ask Mental Game Coach Jared Tendler

[Jared Tendler]

Ok I played a little online poker and blew my bankroll, so I started reading books (mostly ones recomended on this site) and trying to work on my skills on a play money site. After building up $200k in play money I soon lost it all. I tried to rebuild but I have had so many bad runs that I cannot get my confidence back. I've turned into a tight/weak/passive player.The problem is that on the play money site is that Semi-Bluffing is very hard unless you have the right players, usually there is one or two that will never fold a hand' The second is that even with A's or AK suited no matter how much i bet ppl don't fold and I get drawn out on, and the last is the constant raise reraising before flop, people with very weak hands make it so expensive to stay in that if I stayed in the hand and lost I am down to 1/4 or less of my bank roll and I keep getting drawn out or not making an outside strait on the turn and river. Should I just quit playing the Play Money games because my confidence is destroyed?

Sorry for just getting to this post now. Please, update me on where you are now and I'll give you some advice. In your reply, let me know what you're goals are in poker and why your motivated by those goals.

Rebuilding confidence in poker, even in play money games, can be valuable if it helps you to uncover and correct the core problems that caused your confidence to be destroyed in the first place. If you do correct these issues, then you'll be stronger, not only in poker, but in other things that you want to do.

 

[Jared Tendler]

Hey Jared. Glad we he have some one here with your skills and expirence!
I was very curious on a layout of improving. Since a am taking all of my vaction days (3 weeks) that rolled over from last year, I will have much time to really focus on my game. I do not want to waste this time blindly jumping from article to video to books to tables.
I guess I am asking for some sort of agenda plan and tips for planning a strong poker schedule for someone who wants to review what he knows and advance in new/old aspects of there game. As I said early I will have A LOT of time on my hands.
Thanks Again, Kevin

Hey Kevin,

This is a really broad question to answer. The simple answer is to prioritize your work around what you want to accomplish: Ie, eliminating greatest mistakes, learning new concepts, increasing volume, etc. Then organize what you review around that goal(s). Even though you have a lot of time, you don't want to cram too much different stuff into your head. You want to work towards REALLY understanding a few things really well, so when you return to your normal schedule you don't have too much to think about it. Focus on mastering a few things, so when you return to your schedule you'll be able to accurately apply it. I guess in otherwords, your focus should be less on what you can accomplish in these 3 weeks as if it's in a vacuum, and instead focus on how much can you learn in these 3 weeks that will make it easy for me to consistently play better when I return to my regular schedule.

What do you think?

 

[neil1603]

Hi Jared,

Great book, I highly recommend it to all poker players who are seriously looking to improve their game.

 

[Poker Orifice]

Thanks for the bump PO. I was finishing up some work before I take some time off and realized that I hadn't been here in a while. This is a nice post to return too

Enjoy the book! Look forward to hearing how it helps you.

I didn't receive the book for Christmas
.. 'but', I did get an e-reader (Kobo). I just went to your site & saw the diff. versions of e-book listed there, which would work for my Kobo?
& what methods for payment do you take?

 

[kevin schaefer]

Hey Kevin,

This is a really broad question to answer. The simple answer is to prioritize your work around what you want to accomplish: Ie, eliminating greatest mistakes, learning new concepts, increasing volume, etc. Then organize what you review around that goal(s). Even though you have a lot of time, you don't want to cram too much different stuff into your head. You want to work towards REALLY understanding a few things really well, so when you return to your normal schedule you don't have too much to think about it. Focus on mastering a few things, so when you return to your schedule you'll be able to accurately apply it. I guess in otherwords, your focus should be less on what you can accomplish in these 3 weeks as if it's in a vacuum, and instead focus on how much can you learn in these 3 weeks that will make it easy for me to consistently play better when I return to my regular schedule.

What do you think?

Thanks. I will really focus a just a few aspects. I agree very broad question!

 

[FeltLikeIt]

HEY JARED

JARED simple questions here, Fulltilt for dummies online poker play book not sure if you read it, but is this book a good source to draw from for like an overall online poker experience or just FullTilt? Last question- I get deep in a ton of tournments, I always get 99's or 8'8s some mid to small pocket pair and play them wrong. when should I play these hands and why? thanks Buddy

 

[fletchdad]

JARED simple questions here, Fulltilt for dummies online poker play book not sure if you read it, but is this book a good source to draw from for like an overall online poker experience or just FullTilt? Last question- I get deep in a ton of tournments, I always get 99's or 8'8s some mid to small pocket pair and play them wrong. when should I play these hands and why? thanks Buddy

Jared speaks on the mental aspects of poker, not beginning strategy.

Post some hands in the HH section. Mid PP in MTTs are so specific to position, relative stacks, tourney stage etc. that a single answer here is absolutely impossible, except maybe to say dont play em if they always bust you. Find out what you are doing wrong first.

IDK that book so cant comment.

 

[Poker Orifice]

Fulltilt for dummies online poker play book not sure if you read it, but is this book a good source to draw from for like an overall online poker experience or just FullTilt?

That book ^ is not relative to 'Fulltilt site',.. it's an ok book (look it up online & check the table of contents in it).

 

[dj11]

, let me know what you're goals are in poker and why your motivated by those goals.

.

Not in a reply to anything I wrote, but its funny the things that trigger responses. When I read that ^^^ part of your reply, I asked myself what are my poker goals....easy...to make a buck. But the 2nd part of that , the WHY I'm (or anyone is) motivated by those goals is the tricky part.

After spending a few minutes pondering that, I came to the simple realization that I need to follow one of my oldest tenants of life.......Be Prepared (Boy Scout 101)! I need to improve my game so that I can be prepared for whatever game I find myself in.

I used to play live with short stacks with the mindset that it was a social way to waste some time (not money). I made money easy at the time of an incident where I found myself playing HE against someone who in my current mind might have been Freddy Deeb, short and less than handsome, He saw me for the fish I obviously was. I did not know the rules for HE at the time and he saw that. Cleaned me out of $100 pretty quickly, and the rest of the table mostly sat and watched him do it. I left that casino with a rather bad taste in my mouth for live ring poker, and my inability to cope with with all the (unknown to me) permutations of the game. Plainly I got my ass handed to me on a platter and I was embarrassed.

This was before online poker, and I really didn't get much opportunity to improve my game till online came along. I might have tried a live ring game in Reno since then, where I broke even and considered it an entertainment value.

Still no fan of ring, not sure I will ever get over that, but I did prepare myself enough so that I could handle a social ring game fairly well....or so I delude myself.

I prefer tourney's and SnG's. While I haven't got rich over the years I have never had to RE-deposit at any site, and have only gone busto at bodog, where I won a freeroll to get any BR at all there. I consider that a no loss scenario.

All that as premise to this question..... Do you think, or am I right in thinking that the games (ring/tourney) are different enough (approach wise), that I should stop worrying about trying to be good at the ring version and feel OK about my tourney preferences?

 

[Poker Orifice]

So I have a Kobo ereader now & understand that I will be able to read your book in ebook format (Adobe PDF DRM .. I believe) if I also download Adobe Digital Editions.
I can also pay for it using paypal (although it'll be going thru someone else's paypal as I've already paid them on Stars, lol). Do you take VisaGiftCard? .. or MasterCardGiftCard? (< these are typically easiest for me).
I also won a $50 Amazon GiftCard here on Cardschat but going to their site I noticed that the ebooks are only available for 'Kindle' (which I'm not sure if that is compatible for my ereader 'Kobo').

I also tilt easily when trying to read directions for stuff (ie. give me a new tv, surround sound & a dvd player with instructions for all 3, asking me to hook them up & you will see someone building to a rage).

Had another suckazz day in the donkaments, feeling some sense of 'entitlement' when I get other player (both sitting Top10 of ~200 left in large-field donkament) to actually 7ball ai on me vs my AA... "weeeeee!!!".. showing 'QQ'.. flop brings a 'Q' & 'poof'... I'm out, LOL. I got exactly what I wanted... but wasn't too happy with the outcome, lol (this also seemed to have come after a long string of stinging b.s. in succession... perhaps looked at from a slightly biased/prejudiced viewpoint... but ffs.. LOL). Bringin' in the NewYear losin' 80/20's like they were 20/80's & wondering "when is my 1-time?"

I need to read this book
(hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to get it this week & get it onto my Kobo)
tks again Jared, the stuff you've written here in this thread has been very helpful for me. Sometimes I feel like I haven't progressed that far but do know I'm working on it & probably if I were able to look back a year or so thru a crystal ball, I'd be shocked at seein' how bad I was compared to now.

 

[fletchdad]

Jared, one of my goals in 2011 was to overcome tilt.

I did it!!!!!!!

One of my goals for 2012 is to learn to be honest with myself.....

Remains to be seen.

Happy New Year.

 

[Poker Orifice]

Jared, one of my goals in 2011 was to overcome tilt.

I did it!!!!!!!

One of my goals for 2012 is to learn to be honest with myself.....

Remains to be seen.

Happy New Year.

Store where you've been purchasing coffee mugs will be needing to adjust their purchase orders for 2012.

 

[yellowpad]

Jared,
Thanks for coming out and helping us out. I have a problem and that caused me a few tournaments so far from getting first. I have a temper problem...and when that happens, I don't give a damn anymore and just shove all in without thinking. At that point I get blank out....and all I wanted to do is beat someone up physically. I have been controlling that by shoving all in and keep quiet ignoring everyone thing and everyone around me. How can I overcome this temper to focus the hand at play?

 

[Poker Orifice]

I will be getting the book... just a matter of when (it's on the 'wishlist' for others buyin' me gifts... I'm easy to buy for > 'get me a poker book')

Jared it's just about exactly 1yr. later & I GOT YOUR BOOK!!!!!

My partner surprised me last week by telling me she'd purchased a poker book for me on the Kobo site. When I first heard this my initial reaction was "Shyt! She probably got me the wrong one but of course I will act real happy about it anyways (not wanting her to feel bad obv. lol)"
I ask her, "Which book is it?"
She responds, "I forget the name of it but I'm pretty sure it's one of the ones you want." (now I'm getting even more nevous).

I open up my email & find I've received a gift/book from Kobo & the book is.... the one you wrote! Yes!!!! I didn't even have to pretend I was happy to get it. How cool is that? (8yrs. & I guess she actually does listen to me... &/or does know me a bit now.... or maybe she's sick of hearing me moan while playing the pokerzzz?).

Thanks for the book! Hope things are well with you.

 

[long_bong]

Hi everyone!

I’m not sure how many of you know me, or are familiar with mental game coaching/poker psychology, so in talking with your faithful leader Debi (Dakota-xx), we decided the best way to introduce me to all of you is to briefly describe what I do, how it can help you, and then open up this thread to any questions you have.

As a coach to over 125 poker players from 19 countries, my work is solely focused on the mental game. Although I’m a fish in most of the games that all of you play, I understand poker players and the challenges all of you face well enough to know how to help you play better. That means not only eliminating or reducing issues like, tilt, anxiety, motivation, focus, decision making, and confidence, but also helping you increase the number of tables/hours you play, learn poker more efficiently, and consistently play in the Zone.

The key difference between what I do, and other psychological approaches you may be familiar with, is that my program draws from a wide variety of sources to create a logical and practical approach to the mental game that is exactly the same as how you’d approach learning poker. The reality is that everything in the mental game can be rational and orderly; though that’s rarely how it feels.

Drawing from my own experience as a former pro golfer, my master’s degree in psychology, 4 years of work in traditional counseling, 3 years working as a mental game coach to golfers, tennis, and football players, and now with poker players for the past 3 years, I’ve created a program not only unique to poker, but within all of sport psychology. It’s based on science, novel use of old theory, new theories I’ve created, a ton of direct experience and practical solutions.

If you’d like to know more about me, my work, read client testimonials, or to be among the first to be notified when my pokers psychology book is available, visit my website: jaredtendlerpoker.com.

I recently posted a guest blog on PartyPoker titled, “6 Reasons Why Poker Psychology Matters in Poker,” that gives an overview of some of the major areas of the mental game and my take on them.

I’m happy to be here, and I look forward to answering your mental game questions in this thread.

Jared

If you don't know, now they know!

Every poker player that is serious about going pro needs to pick up your book JT!

You once asked me to write you a story for your book, sorry I never had the time, but I know you got enough help with this.

You def changed my poker career for the better bud.

Many thanks again and always.