Joined: Apr '11
Location: Romania
Age: 58 (M)
Posts: 2432
Current Global Poker Index leader Dan Smith has penned an article where he compares the risks taken by poker players with the risks entrepreneurs take every day. He shares four tips on improving your mindset in a risk heavy pursuit, which include 'manage your expectations' and 'avoid tilt by moving on from mistakes'. It is a very good read from one of the best minds in the game right now.
Joined: Nov '09
Location: Canada
Age: 55 (M)
Posts: 2387
Here is the article by Dan Smith, a good read:
The World's No. 1 Poker Player on Winning, Losing and Staying Sane in High-Stress
Entrepreneurship, like poker, is a high-risk game. Whether you're gearing up for a big pitch meeting or leaving your 9-to-5 job to pursue your side business full time, it's a leap – often, a very scary one. That special blend of excitement and anxiety entrepreneurs know so well is something I deal with whenever I enter a big poker tournament. In a game where the results are volatile and largely out of your control, it's easy to get caught up in the stress of it all. You may not be able to win every hand, but what you can do is put yourself in the best possible situation to succeed during these high-stakes situations. Here are some things that have worked for me over the years.
1. Manage your expectations.
In a 1,000-person poker tournament, if you are skilled enough to win the tournament 1 out of 200 times, you are doing a good job. Even with an edge big enough to have a solid ROI, if you get heartbroken every time you don’t win a tournament, you're going to spend most of your time being disappointed – and that can affect your future performance. Some amount of heartbreak is inevitable; poker is a brutal game. But if you go in thinking you deserve to win every tournament, it’s going to be a lot harder. When you are fortunate enough to have a good day at the office, make sure to enjoy it! Too often, we're quick to forget the wins and dwell over the losses.
2. Prepare as much as possible.
In high-stress situations, it can be hard to perform your best. It is easier to calculate some scenarios in the comfort of your own home, with no cameras, all the tools and resources (computer/calculator/Google) at your disposal than on the fly. If you have practiced beforehand, you can more easily do it on the fly. With enough practice, you will find your educated guesses can become quite precise. It’s also important to know how your body and mind handle high-pressure situations. I sometimes lose my appetite, so I make sure to have easy-to-digest foods on hand. If I don’t do this, I find that I might accidentally go 16 hours without eating. I also understand that when I am playing, I like to stay "in the zone," and I find that staying in a quiet room to meditate helps me maintain my focus better than a crowded area where I would be expected to socialize. Everyone is different, but knowing what it takes for you feel and perform your best can be hugely beneficial.
3. Avoid 'tilt' by moving on from mistakes.
Despite doing everything right -- weeks of preparation, a good night’s sleep, and however else you might prime yourself to succeed – sometimes, you just make mistakes. This happens at all levels of any craft. One of the major differences between an expert and an amateur is the expert will strictly make fewer mistakes. But it's important to realize that even the best in the world mess up sometimes. We can strive to make it as infrequently as possible, but we are human and cannot be expected to act 100 percent consistently, especially under extreme duress. A common leak in the poker world, is for a player to get very upset over an error. In this state of mental confusion or “tilt,” a player becomes much more susceptible to making another error. Feeling bad about something that is no longer within your control is counterproductive.
4. Diversify your interests.
When all your time and focus is on a single task, that result will fully dictate your happiness. Unfortunately, despite doing everything right, sometimes there are things that are outside of your control that will prevent you from accomplishing your goals. Even when in full time “poker mode,” I like to spend some of my energy on other outlets. A new personal record at the gym helps me feel better about a failed poker trip. I’m not saying don’t work hard; repetition and improvement are very strongly correlated. But I think pushing yourself too much can lead to burnout and frustration.
Joined: May '13
Location: Mauritius
Age: 32 (M)
Posts: 2688
Yeah if you do at least 50 % of the four steps mentioned by Dan smith you would be at least profitable, if you say prepared yourself, watched some videos on poker , read about it and use the strategy then you better off against those that did not do anything, also yeah tilt issues is a big problems for all players , i know players who can crush tables at times but they do crazy things when tilted and the lose their bankroll and then is busted and out!
Joined: Mar '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 45 (F)
Posts: 2261
An interesting read from an excellent player.I don't know how much he plays online but whenever I have seen him play live he always seems like he could easily win.I saw him in an EPT event at Monte Carlo a couple of years ago and I think he won two or three events that year. It must be quite soul destroying for a live tournament poker player if you do not prepare yourself for losing often,to play dozens of high buy-in events and travel all over the world must be very stressful if you don't win for a long time.
