+++Q&A with Jared Tendler!!+++

Hello Jared
I keep thinking players are bluffing at nl2 !!! Generally they are but only 50% of the time so im breaking even with my shoves with mss

Roo

Hello Jared,

I play tournaments full time. When I get into a flip at the later stages, I pretty much get it in with the better hand, but I have this mental feeling that my opponent is going to win even when he's only 20-30% favourite to win. Then I start visualizing the next card , usually the card that I don't want to see hit the board (what my opponent needs), and BOOM it appears
I am a believer in the power of positive thinking. Usually when I play, I keep a positive mindset and visualize the cards I need and it appears, but when I start running a bad, or have been playing for quite a few hours , I get to this negative mindset and start loosing a lot and get sucked out.

How do I avoid these negative thoughts and keep thinking positive all the time I'm playing?? I start listening to good music which does the trick, but works only for about 1/2 an hour, I've tried some breathing techniques and other stuff that would cheer me up, but all these work only for a couple of minutes.
Can u suggest something that will keep me in a "feel good" state throughout my sessions. ?

I take frequent breaks too during my session whenever I think I'm losing focus or not playing my A-game .

Thanks a lot in advance for your help.
Keep up the good work.

Originally posted by roopopper
I keep thinking players are bluffing at nl2 !!! Generally they are but only 50% of the time so im breaking even with my shoves with mss

The Kindle edition of his book is $10. You'll lose more than that by not reading it.

Originally posted by VISHMASTER
Usually when I play, I keep a positive mindset and visualize the cards I need and it appears, but when I start running a bad, or have been playing for quite a few hours , I get to this negative mindset and start loosing a lot and get sucked out.

This kind of thinking makes you a mental game fish. Buy. Book. Now.

Originally posted by tokyoaces

Originally posted by roopopper
I keep thinking players are bluffing at nl2 !!! Generally they are but only 50% of the time so im breaking even with my shoves with mss

The Kindle edition of his book is $10. You'll lose more than that by not reading it.

Originally posted by VISHMASTER
Usually when I play, I keep a positive mindset and visualize the cards I need and it appears, but when I start running a bad, or have been playing for quite a few hours , I get to this negative mindset and start loosing a lot and get sucked out.

This kind of thinking makes you a mental game fish. Buy. Book. Now.

Yeah I really can't recommend Jared's book enough.

Originally posted by MJPerry
Yeah I really can't recommend Jared's book enough.

For years and years I suffered playing break even poker regardless of the limit. Then I finally stumbled on mental game books like The Poker Mindset and Elements of Poker. Those two helped me win at a decent rate.

However, after having read Jared's book and starting to apply all of his advice those other two books pale in comparison. His advice is direct and surprisingly easy to follow and apply. My overall mood no longer hinges on a single card or a winning session. Amazing stuff. ♠_love:

I have Jared's book now
Btw, why is'nt he active here nowadays??

Hi Jared,

I'm reading "The Mental Game of Poker" and so far I'm really enjoying it. I think it will help me a lot to improve my game. I was discussing some of the ideas presented in your book with a friend of mine. He doesn't play poker but he's a salesman and variance is a big deal in his profession also. I was telling him that your book is helping me dealing with this reality and that I'm happier when I'm facing a bad day/week because of this.
I would like to know if you could direct me to a good book regarding something as "variance in life/work" or something like that to help him. As poker players, we tend to take the teachings of poker and use them on everyday life but this guy doesn't have a clue about poker so telling him to read your book wouldn't be appropriate. Thanks.

Originally posted by VISHMASTER
I have Jared's book now
Btw, why is'nt he active here nowadays??

Hi again!

I know I've been away for a while. I've been working on the audiobook version of TMGP and what started out as a fairly simple/straightforward project, ended up taking a lot of time and energy. The good news is that the finish line is very close and I'm hoping to have it out in time for the WSOP!

If I had known ahead of time it was going to take this long, I would have said something in advance. But, it was one of those projects that kept getting bigger and rolling along week after week.

Great to hear you have the book. Enjoy!

Originally posted by datsmahname

Originally posted by JaredTendler

Originally posted by datsmahname
Hi Jared, I was wondering...Do you have any thoughts on dealing with complacency? I know you talk extensively about procrastination but my gut tells me that these things are different enough to represent their own beasts.

I think this is something I do pretty well already, but getting even better seems like a huge area to develop an edge over other players who are eventually out run by their competition.

I agree they can be different, but to give you advice, describe what complacency means to you. Plus, how clear are you about your goals in poker?

Definitions are tricky and I'm tempted to look only at the behavior and say "Complacency is when you stop improving," regardless of why. There's something kind of tangible about observable behavior. However this definition does not exactly set it aside from Procrastination or even a wide range of other barriers to improvement.

The difference I think is that Complacency is also when you think you've got it figured out. Its almost like a soft delusion where you fail to recognize the need, the areas, or the means to improve. Putting it this way, it almost seems like complacency might be a cause of procrastination. Frankly, I'm not sure.

At this point I think my goals are pretty clear, and almost too specific to list in any context besides their own. Right now its kind of easy to set goals because I have lots of options. I guess I'm just trying to have enough foresight to realize that it won't always be this way. To me, one thing is for sure: If I have a goal and I'm working towards it then its hard to suggest that I'm being complacent.

Its something that I keep thinking about so I decided to a blog post on the topic, or I should say "felt compelled to."

Spoiler

Originally posted by datsmahname

Innovation: The cure for Complacency

Writing this entry has been an eerie process. I'd write, put it down, and not a day would go by where I was reminded - at times in sobering clarity - just how important it was for me to get this subject out in my own words.

Inspiration comes from strange places. I found myself watching a lecture given to Pilots - highly trained to respond in a fraction of a second. In the air force mistakes are systematically intolerable; if you make a mistake it might just be your last. The closing remark: rituals are death traps. Put another way, in unfamiliar situations complacent people are the MOST likely to fail and respond incorrectly. At over 700 miles an hour its easy to see why 'doing it wrong' can get you killed, but how does this compare to poker? We're highly trained to respond quickly BUT our failures are much harder to recognize--so difficult in fact, that we make mistakes and believe we've done it right.

Complacency in poker? Death by a thousand cuts. It's creeping mediocrity.

At the end of the 20th century grinding the poker table was an industry for trailblazers. I'm not a historian (or an anything else) but it hardly seemed to matter if you were particularly good. You just needed to be better than the blokes at your table. In this regard nothing has changed of course... but a lot of other things have changed.

Like any product or industry, Poker is beginning to mature. Finding ways to remain profitable or increase profit demands a much more conscious approach. It reminds me of the Red Queen's dilemma "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place."

In 1992, Robert M. White, the now President Emeritus of the US National Academy of Engineering wrote: "Success is only the opportunity to compete in the next round." In the spirit of Western Capitalism he meant this to apply for just about everything; though, he never mentioned poker. Lets not hold it against him. Rather, we should be fiercely interested in the topic of innovation. After a three year study on the topic his office concluded that in order to remain competitive you MUST routinely and efficiently turn good ideas into profitable strategies.

On January 5th, 2012 ONEOuter.com released an excellent Podcast interview with Sheets, Eric Haber. Sheets & Bax are famous for turning staking into a very successful business strategy. Consequently they have a strong outside perspective on the lifespan of a player (or product) within the poker world.

At about 34 minutes in, Sheets discusses the player cycle in poker in no uncertain terms. The "unfortunate reality" is you have a guy who's good enough to win and slowly but surely he stops learning, either by choice or by ability. "Meanwhile, the rest of the world is catching up, the rest of the world is getting better." Our stagnant player goes on a downswing, but they've had downswings before. When it gets worse, they believe they've become very unlucky. After a while they're forced to move down.

In reality, smart players allow themselves to become irrelevant every day. After years of crushing they fail to adapt their game, they fail to move down in stakes, and gradually they blast through their bankroll. They cut and chop away until they're looking at the last tree on Easter Island - whether they knew it or not, this is complacency.

The way to fight complacency is by creating an environment where innovation is rewarded. Learn to discover new ideas. Learn and create efficient strategies for developing new ideas into practical tools. Proficient innovation means mastery of a dynamic process.

Here too, I've got a long way to go.

Your answer is exactly what I was hoping you'd get to - that complacency is one cause of procrastination. And there are many causes of complacency. You seem to be thinking and acting in a way that shows your on top of the issue for yourself. I agree, having a goal and working towards it means your not entirely being complacent, but, there may be some edge in this area that you're giving up. So, if you want some specific advice about improving it even further, give a detailed description of what aspect of it you consider to be a problem now.

Originally posted by fotakis

Originally posted by JaredTendler

Originally posted by fotakis
I play cash games and I am - 27bb/100 after 60.000 hands. I study poker hard and I am not drunk when I play. This is the worst rate I have ever met. Probably I have a mental desease that I found out with poker. Any help? I have bought and read your book, it was really helpfull but up to now nothing have changed.
My problem is TILT. It is not that I don't know the fundamentals - I may be I can say that I know them above the average. I have read all the basic books for theory, as well as for poker psychology. i play my A-game for 60%-70% of my time, but the rest 30%-40% is terrible. Although I know that what I do is wrong, something pushes me to do it. "I don't believe him. He tries to bluff me" or "Raise-second barell- third barell with air vs a super loose opponent" and so on, are some misleading thoughts that drive me to mistakes. I understand that some of these happens to mosts of the players at some time. But I have never met something similar. And that's why I wonder if it is something more important that just tilt in poker.
I have also to mention that generally in my life I take decisions persuated by emotions, even I recognise that they are logically incorrect.

I doubt that you have a mental disease, but I can understand why it may feel that way. I also wonder, do you think that your A-game is profitable in the game you're playing in?

The reality is, there is always a gap between what you logically know to do - Conscious Competence or Conscious Incompetence - and what you're able to do when emotionally compromised. The important question isn't around why that gap is there, it's to better understand what's pushing you to do what you know is wrong?

It sounds to me that you too often trust your gut, when your poker gut hasn't been trained well enough yet. Your gut in poker isn't some mystical thing, it's your Unconscious Competence reacting to the situation. You've proven by your play when emotionally compromised, that you have very little trained to UC. Which means, that trusting your emotional gut is a major mistake in itself.

So the question I then have, is why are you so easily swayed by how you feel in the moment? Why do you trust your feelings so much?

Coach Pawel "Verneer" Nazarewicz asked you about me at your recent show with Tommy Angelo.
I suppose that I feel that my abilities are above my opponent's. I think that my actions are able to cancel maths and possibilities. I think that I have an intellectual superiority that can push my opponents to make mistakes. I mainly feel this with bad opponents. I almost always feel that I am able to win them, even my cards are worse. I have also to mention that my IQ is 122. But my emotions keep me back.
Of course, all this is totally unconsious. And I Know that this logic is fault because " I am not good enough" .
Regarding profitability, I play 25NL cash games and playing my A-game is profitable, even I need to be improved.

Since it's been a while, I'm forgetting if I responded to your questions here in an email. Either way, I'll answer here to be safe.

First off, this is great insight. Recognizing unconscious beliefs like this are so important to solving mental game problems, so you're off to a great start here. I agree with you that the logic is flawed for that reason, but I think there's more flawed logic here to uncover.

I'm curious what would even make you believe that you were so good that your actions could cancel math and possibility. What do you think? Do you have a wish that you could be THAT good - like a superpoker hero?

Intellectual superiority is one thing, but when taken to that extreme it suggests that your beliefs about yourself are overblown, and I'm curious why or how that would happen.

What comes to mind?

Originally posted by DeMarcohsp
Watching your video on Tilt right now and at some point you say that with regards to bad beats "you've probably given as many as you've taken".

My philosophy on this is a little different, I think that good players are taking way more bad beats than they're given just because they're much more frequently getting the money in with the higher equity (that's why they're winning after all), so good players should be happy when they take a bad beat, it means they had the best of it and the opponent just got lucky this time.

Makes sense?

I agree. I'm guessing this was a video from Stoxpoker when my knowledge of poker wasn't as strong as it is now. My opinion now matches yours.

Originally posted by datsmahname
Just wanted to say, really enjoying The Mental Game Radio. I recommend it to other players all the time.

Awesome watermark for anyone coaching in poker right now; either in tactics, strategy, learning methods, in game mechanics or mindset and mental endurance.

How long before we see you on the PokerStrategy Podcast with your co-author?

Keep it right up sir!

Thanks! Yeah, I'm really happy with how the show has been going. Had some great guests, including some live listener "sessions" and Q&A's.

Good question, pester him about it. I haven't been on since it launched, wtf;)

Originally posted by Spungeh
Even if I believe that I don't tilt and that I don't base decisions on the fact of money in the pot, or the money I have won or lost to date.. But does this mean that I shouldnt be working on this part of my game anyway?

Due to not knowing I have major tilt issues, I may just have them? I am a very competitive person in all areas, I rush infront of people to make a better cup of tea, or better sandwich.. Just to say i've done it..

In Poker terms, I love beating people, but i also have the mindset to know in the long run i will be beating everyone.. And dont see myself tilt on my own, or with people ive seen.

Im playing relatively low stakes compared to people you have worked with, but would this potentialy become an issue when im fully reliant on the income poker brings?

Just so we're clear, are you defining tilt as being caused by anger? Or, the more common/general definition of tilt being anything less that playing your best? As a competitive person, how do you handle losing? Are there times where you competitiveness leads to bad play?

There is always potential for issues to emerge when under more pressure, including the pressure from relying on poker as your source of income.

Hey Jared. I've been reading your book for the last two weeks and suddenly a question popped up in my hand during a hand I played today.

The main confusion comes from things, as you say "learned to the level of Unconcious Competence".

To sketch the situation shortly: I had AJo and opened in MP and only SB called. Flop was QT6r, he checked and I made a cbet. He check/raised to a small amount. I called, hit a K for my straight on the turn and stacked the opponent's JJ.

I know I had the odds to call, I am aware of that. But there is something else I wondering about. After I reviewed that hand, I asked myself "why did I play the way I did" and gave myself a perfect explanation that was backed up by opponents stats (like his flop c/r is very low, so this means he has a really strong holding and if I hit I can be 100% sure I'll stack him...etc etc).

And my question is....kinda hard to put lol How do I know, that my reasoning that I made at analyzing the sitauation is the same I used during the time the hand was played (basically that would mean that I have obtained this reasoning/skill to the level of Unconcious Competence") or if that reasoning I made during analysis is only "an excuse" why I played so, where in fact I played like that for different reasons (tilt or whatever).

I know it's easy to know this if you ask yourself the same question while the hand is happening and you see if you can give the same reasoning while you're actually in the situation, but how do you know if you only take focus on the situation after the session.

I hope my question makes sense and I'd like to thank you for the answer in advance!

Kind Regards,

Jkob.

^^

great question imo, looking forward to an answer as well

whether we're justifying our decisions in hindsight cause it's all relative/"bendable" etc ...
ooor did our unconscious competence during that hand rly made those exact same decisions/conclusions based on the same reasons/pieces of information as the ones we come up with later when reviewing hands off the table.

Originally posted by tokyoaces

Originally posted by VISHMASTER
Usually when I play, I keep a positive mindset and visualize the cards I need and it appears, but when I start running a bad, or have been playing for quite a few hours , I get to this negative mindset and start loosing a lot and get sucked out.

This kind of thinking makes you a mental game fish. Buy. Book. Now.

Hello Jared,

Have you read the book "The secret" by Rhonda Byrne, or watched the movie ??
Do u believe in " The Law of Attraction" ?

Do u think it's all fake? I just try to implement it while playing poker and am in a coin flip. Does this make me a mental game fish??

I have bought your book and am reading it, I should say its a master piece
I have already improved my mental game considerably " especially with the different types of tilt issues" .

Thanks in advance

Originally posted by JaredTendler

Originally posted by datsmahname

Originally posted by JaredTendler

Originally posted by datsmahname
Hi Jared, I was wondering...Do you have any thoughts on dealing with complacency? I know you talk extensively about procrastination but my gut tells me that these things are different enough to represent their own beasts.

I think this is something I do pretty well already, but getting even better seems like a huge area to develop an edge over other players who are eventually out run by their competition.

I agree they can be different, but to give you advice, describe what complacency means to you. Plus, how clear are you about your goals in poker?

Definitions are tricky and I'm tempted to look only at the behavior and say "Complacency is when you stop improving," regardless of why. There's something kind of tangible about observable behavior. However this definition does not exactly set it aside from Procrastination or even a wide range of other barriers to improvement.

The difference I think is that Complacency is also when you think you've got it figured out. Its almost like a soft delusion where you fail to recognize the need, the areas, or the means to improve. Putting it this way, it almost seems like complacency might be a cause of procrastination. Frankly, I'm not sure.

At this point I think my goals are pretty clear, and almost too specific to list in any context besides their own. Right now its kind of easy to set goals because I have lots of options. I guess I'm just trying to have enough foresight to realize that it won't always be this way. To me, one thing is for sure: If I have a goal and I'm working towards it then its hard to suggest that I'm being complacent.

Its something that I keep thinking about so I decided to a blog post on the topic, or I should say "felt compelled to."

Spoiler

Originally posted by datsmahname

Innovation: The cure for Complacency

Writing this entry has been an eerie process. I'd write, put it down, and not a day would go by where I was reminded - at times in sobering clarity - just how important it was for me to get this subject out in my own words.

Inspiration comes from strange places. I found myself watching a lecture given to Pilots - highly trained to respond in a fraction of a second. In the air force mistakes are systematically intolerable; if you make a mistake it might just be your last. The closing remark: rituals are death traps. Put another way, in unfamiliar situations complacent people are the MOST likely to fail and respond incorrectly. At over 700 miles an hour its easy to see why 'doing it wrong' can get you killed, but how does this compare to poker? We're highly trained to respond quickly BUT our failures are much harder to recognize--so difficult in fact, that we make mistakes and believe we've done it right.

Complacency in poker? Death by a thousand cuts. It's creeping mediocrity.

At the end of the 20th century grinding the poker table was an industry for trailblazers. I'm not a historian (or an anything else) but it hardly seemed to matter if you were particularly good. You just needed to be better than the blokes at your table. In this regard nothing has changed of course... but a lot of other things have changed.

Like any product or industry, Poker is beginning to mature. Finding ways to remain profitable or increase profit demands a much more conscious approach. It reminds me of the Red Queen's dilemma "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place."

In 1992, Robert M. White, the now President Emeritus of the US National Academy of Engineering wrote: "Success is only the opportunity to compete in the next round." In the spirit of Western Capitalism he meant this to apply for just about everything; though, he never mentioned poker. Lets not hold it against him. Rather, we should be fiercely interested in the topic of innovation. After a three year study on the topic his office concluded that in order to remain competitive you MUST routinely and efficiently turn good ideas into profitable strategies.

On January 5th, 2012 ONEOuter.com released an excellent Podcast interview with Sheets, Eric Haber. Sheets & Bax are famous for turning staking into a very successful business strategy. Consequently they have a strong outside perspective on the lifespan of a player (or product) within the poker world.

At about 34 minutes in, Sheets discusses the player cycle in poker in no uncertain terms. The "unfortunate reality" is you have a guy who's good enough to win and slowly but surely he stops learning, either by choice or by ability. "Meanwhile, the rest of the world is catching up, the rest of the world is getting better." Our stagnant player goes on a downswing, but they've had downswings before. When it gets worse, they believe they've become very unlucky. After a while they're forced to move down.

In reality, smart players allow themselves to become irrelevant every day. After years of crushing they fail to adapt their game, they fail to move down in stakes, and gradually they blast through their bankroll. They cut and chop away until they're looking at the last tree on Easter Island - whether they knew it or not, this is complacency.

The way to fight complacency is by creating an environment where innovation is rewarded. Learn to discover new ideas. Learn and create efficient strategies for developing new ideas into practical tools. Proficient innovation means mastery of a dynamic process.

Here too, I've got a long way to go.

Your answer is exactly what I was hoping you'd get to - that complacency is one cause of procrastination. And there are many causes of complacency. You seem to be thinking and acting in a way that shows your on top of the issue for yourself. I agree, having a goal and working towards it means your not entirely being complacent, but, there may be some edge in this area that you're giving up. So, if you want some specific advice about improving it even further, give a detailed description of what aspect of it you consider to be a problem now.

Hey Jared,

Thanks for the reply. As an aside, I caught your podcast recently when you were talking about 15 minutes of complete focus on the driving range. Its a great tip. I've been doing "drill" style training with equity trainers and 30 minute live play sessions with 100% focus on the action. It works great.

About complacency... I think my motivation can be really unstable and you may recall this coming up during our session. In the short-medium term I can have a really inconsistent work ethic. Over the long term, without even thinking much about it I take calculated steps that do not require me to be "on" all the time. This type of long term thinking creates great opportunities, but it doesn't replace the good hard work that can make the most of them.

Originally posted by JaredTendler

Originally posted by fotakis

Originally posted by JaredTendler

Originally posted by fotakis
I play cash games and I am - 27bb/100 after 60.000 hands. I study poker hard and I am not drunk when I play. This is the worst rate I have ever met. Probably I have a mental desease that I found out with poker. Any help? I have bought and read your book, it was really helpfull but up to now nothing have changed.
My problem is TILT. It is not that I don't know the fundamentals - I may be I can say that I know them above the average. I have read all the basic books for theory, as well as for poker psychology. i play my A-game for 60%-70% of my time, but the rest 30%-40% is terrible. Although I know that what I do is wrong, something pushes me to do it. "I don't believe him. He tries to bluff me" or "Raise-second barell- third barell with air vs a super loose opponent" and so on, are some misleading thoughts that drive me to mistakes. I understand that some of these happens to mosts of the players at some time. But I have never met something similar. And that's why I wonder if it is something more important that just tilt in poker.
I have also to mention that generally in my life I take decisions persuated by emotions, even I recognise that they are logically incorrect.

I doubt that you have a mental disease, but I can understand why it may feel that way. I also wonder, do you think that your A-game is profitable in the game you're playing in?

The reality is, there is always a gap between what you logically know to do - Conscious Competence or Conscious Incompetence - and what you're able to do when emotionally compromised. The important question isn't around why that gap is there, it's to better understand what's pushing you to do what you know is wrong?

It sounds to me that you too often trust your gut, when your poker gut hasn't been trained well enough yet. Your gut in poker isn't some mystical thing, it's your Unconscious Competence reacting to the situation. You've proven by your play when emotionally compromised, that you have very little trained to UC. Which means, that trusting your emotional gut is a major mistake in itself.

So the question I then have, is why are you so easily swayed by how you feel in the moment? Why do you trust your feelings so much?

Coach Pawel "Verneer" Nazarewicz asked you about me at your recent show with Tommy Angelo.
I suppose that I feel that my abilities are above my opponent's. I think that my actions are able to cancel maths and possibilities. I think that I have an intellectual superiority that can push my opponents to make mistakes. I mainly feel this with bad opponents. I almost always feel that I am able to win them, even my cards are worse. I have also to mention that my IQ is 122. But my emotions keep me back.
Of course, all this is totally unconsious. And I Know that this logic is fault because " I am not good enough" .
Regarding profitability, I play 25NL cash games and playing my A-game is profitable, even I need to be improved.

Since it's been a while, I'm forgetting if I responded to your questions here in an email. Either way, I'll answer here to be safe.

First off, this is great insight. Recognizing unconscious beliefs like this are so important to solving mental game problems, so you're off to a great start here. I agree with you that the logic is flawed for that reason, but I think there's more flawed logic here to uncover.

I'm curious what would even make you believe that you were so good that your actions could cancel math and possibility. What do you think? Do you have a wish that you could be THAT good - like a superpoker hero?

Intellectual superiority is one thing, but when taken to that extreme it suggests that your beliefs about yourself are overblown, and I'm curious why or how that would happen.

What comes to mind?

I suffer from this "mental superiority" in all aspects of my life. This makes me unhappy when I fail to something I've tried to. I put goals in my social, financial and professional life which I am unable to achieve.

The reason is that I overestimate my abilities. So, I don't feel like a superpoker hero only, but also as a superlife hero.

How can I remove this fault belief? It looks that fails have only a temporary affect.

World Series off for the Mental Game Radio show??? crazy maze. What about doing a live stream once to bridge the gap?

grats on the audio book.

Originally posted by hackbinder
I've recently been diagnosed with severe OCD and have been getting really good treatment.

My question...

As someone who counsels poker players, how prevalent is OCD in poker/gaming?

The reason I ask is because not only has there been a night and day difference in my life since learning about my issue and getting the right treatment, I've noticed that there have been corresponding changes in my poker (for the record, I'm a micro rec player)...

1) Tilt is MUCH more manageable, if it was a 10 before, it is a 2 now.
2) Calling river value bets has disappeared
3) I can play my best a lot longer, and I can quit the game without so much as a second thought
4) In general, the overthink has vanished, and I can play according to a strategy without getting sidetracked
5) I enjoy playing a hell of a lot more

To be honest, for the last few months poker has been the last thing on my mind (my OCD nearly destroyed my marriage), so when I realized that what I mentioned above was occurring, I was quite surprised.

Thoughts?

Sorry for the delay responding to you. It's my intention to be back here more often, but recently there's been too much going for that to happen.

I'm not sure how prevalent OCD is in poker. I worked with clients who have it and have talked with others on forums who do as well. It's around. How much is hard to say for sure.

To your improvement since the diagnosis, I have a idea why that happened. Uncertainty, confusion, and/or a lack of clarity can escalate mental game problems, or tactical problems like you listed. Having the diagnosis provided that clarity and allowed you to make sense of what you've been struggling with in poker and personally. Especially knowing there are other people out there who also experience it, and other people who can help you to improve it, can relieve a lot of pressure. With it gone, you're mind is freed up and your increased control of your game is a result of that.

What do you think?