yegon - the old man

Good luck from another 30+ (I'm 33) guy.

There are some great mental game coaches, they should be able to help you with confidence problems.

Hey there Martin,

I would like to help you with your studying problems.

As you have probably figured out by yourself already, you can improve way more if you finish one thing than if you start 10 things, but never finish them.

The solution to your problem actually isn't very hard. What you can do is simply prioritize finishing the things the things that you start. Make is a top priority. Write this down somewhere (you can write your vision and mission and include finishing things in your mission :)) and remind yourself of it daily! You can also write daily reports in this thread - did you manage to finish what you've started or did you give up? Why do you think you gave up? etc.

Looking forward to your progress!

-Primož

Originally posted by Schnitzelfisch
Hey there Martin,

I would like to help you with your studying problems.

As you have probably figured out by yourself already, you can improve way more if you finish one thing than if you start 10 things, but never finish them.

The solution to your problem actually isn't very hard. What you can do is simply prioritize finishing the things the things that you start. Make is a top priority. Write this down somewhere (you can write your vision and mission and include finishing things in your mission :)) and remind yourself of it daily! You can also write daily reports in this thread - did you manage to finish what you've started or did you give up? Why do you think you gave up? etc.

Looking forward to your progress!

-Primož

+1 Schnitzelfisch hit th nail on the head here.

Hi Martin, I hope Bootcamp is being good to you.

Just a reminder that people will post more in your thread if it's up to date.

How are you progressing with your mission and vision? Perhaps you would like to post your thoughts and any questions about those here?

Have fun,

Mal.

thanks guys, was in Copenhagen for a tourney but now Im back at it full force

what is your vision in poker?

In other words, what are the answers to these questions:

1. Why do you play poker?
2. What do you wish to achieve in poker?
3. What motivates you to play poker?

And then, i'm also wondering, what is your mission? Mission is simply a plan for achieving what you want to achieve. So - how do you plan on doing it ?

Once you've got those questions answered for yourself, it'll be way easier for you to set efficient goals, as they will simply be steps on the road to your vision, which will ensure you to go in the right direction .

Vision:

1. Why do you play poker?
I like the game and the fact that I am battling someone with my mind only +
I can win money while doing it.

2. What do you wish to achieve in poker?
I want to play well and feel that I am dominating the competition. I dont want to doubt my game. I want to play higher stakes and be able to fund my travels to more and bigger tournaments in interesting places.

3. What motivates you to play poker?
I want to prove to myself that I can do it, that i can become very good and successfull at poker.

------------------------------------------------
Mission:

Play (due to owning a business and having a family my time is limited and my volume sucks - below 50hours/month) - schedule time for playing at least 2,5-3 hours a day

Think - no autopilot, take time and think while playing

Study - I have to develop a plan for studying so that i do not end up doing nothing because there is no specific thing set to be worked on, should do session reviews regularly and post hands into forums.

Mindset - listen to Eriks guided mindfulness video before sessions (have tried it and it calms me down and makes my mind fresh and eager to outhink my opponents)
------------------------------------------------

Weekly goals:

• make a sticker to remind myself not to autopilot but think while playing and attach it to my monitor
• set a playing schedule - 13:00-16:00 and prioritize it
• before sessions read my vision and mission + listen to Eriks video + do a 25 minute session review from the day before
• work out my standard balanced preflop ranges for all positions (open, defend vs 3bet, cc, 3bet ...)

Originally posted by yegon

Mindset - listen to Eriks guided mindfulness video before sessions (have tried it and it calms me down and makes my mind fresh and eager to outhink my opponents)

Nice to hear you like it. If you have any questions about the meditation experience itself just let me know

I am actually really struggling to keep concentration while listening to it, my mind is always racing, most of the time i even feel like my eyes are moving a little bit in all directions

but I guess this is normal and will get better with time and its really the reason why i should be doing the meditation excercise in the first place

thanks again

Hi yegon,

the issue about losing focus is now really big for lot of us, I would say it is typical for 21st century, lot of things are trying to draw our attention, especially with the use of internet when we are used to multitask and click quickly through various information.

I guess it makes us good in thinking more quickly, evaluating information and making approximations but on the other hand, we are not used to being focused on one thing for longer time. I also struggle with this a lot, in game and off game.

Originally posted by yegon
I am actually really struggling to keep concentration while listening to it, my mind is always racing, most of the time i even feel like my eyes are moving a little bit in all directions

but I guess this is normal and will get better with time and its really the reason why i should be doing the meditation excercise in the first place

thanks again

Remember that you are not here to perform the skill of focusing. When the mind starts racing and you realize this. Be kind. Gently try to accept the fact that you have a racing mind that need your assistance in calming itself down. Don't make the racing mind an enemy that you need to defeat or tell harshly what to do. The more the mind races the more you need to relax and not fight it, don't do anything. Just observe, be aware and bring you attention to the racing mind with mentally labeling and analyzing why and how.

Does that feel like it would be an easier approach?

yeah it does and I try to do it but its hard to be forgiving when I only catch myself after 5-6 minutes of thinking about something else and not realizing I should concentrate on my breathing

one more thing I realized after reading the fiskantes thread is how big my mood swings are while playing, if everything is working well I am cruising and playing confidently, but 2-3 of my bluffs get called or I make a river call that could be good overall but is not in this particular instance and I start doubting myself and my skill.

This goes back to my motivation, I really feel like I have to prove that i can do it, that I can play well - especially to myself. My selfesteem seems to depend on my results. I try to be objective and detach myself from results, asses if I am playing well and just running bad or hitting top of my opponents ranges but when in this mood I dont feel like I am competent to even make that distinction.

What would be the best way to start to address this - to make myself swing less emotionally and confidencewise during a session?

Originally posted by yegon
yeah it does and I try to do it but its hard to be forgiving when I only catch myself after 5-6 minutes of thinking about something else and not realizing I should concentrate on my breathing

What would be the best way to start to address this - to make myself swing less emotionally and confidencewise during a session?

1. You have had years and years of trining on thinking the way you do. Give yourself a break dude! You are putting the work in and will be rewarded by your effort but you just don't know when. Enjoy the journey and focus on being the best you can be right now, I you aren't able to just try again.

2.Start talking your emotions out at the tables. When you catch yourself being emotional in the session start describing the feeling out loud. I would recommend recording your session and re listen to the after. Try to set regular breaks at every 15 minutes to remind you to check in on how you are doing tilt wise. Try relaxing when you are emotional at the tables focus on your breath and see how that work

Hey yegon,

how is it going? I see that you have written your vision and mission, that's great :). Have you developed a study plan yet? Have you made your studying a priority?

Also, are you reviewing your vision and mission frequently? If you take some time to read it thoroughly and really think about it before studying, you should become way more motivated and it will be easier for you to start working :).

-Primož

I read the post with my mission and vision before every session, then I do the guided mindfullness exercise, look at some hands to start up my poker brain and start playing

the meditation thing is quite frustrating but I cant expect too much too quickly, hope it kicks in at some point. If nothing else it relaxes me physically

as far as my study plan goes, i did not do as much as i could. I said to myself to concentrate on pf stuff for now and I did some ranges based on pleno1 coachings but was not able to finish it up for all positions. The main problems are not enough time but also the fact that I did not develop the plan into any kind of depth. I think "work on preflop ranges" does not cut it for me because the goal is too big and I do not have any sucesses along the way. I will try to divide it to much smaller goals like "write down opening and defend vs 3bet range for UTG " or "BB defense vs BTN 2,5x open" etc. so i can actually finish something every day, hope this motivates me more.

Originally posted by yegon
the meditation thing is quite frustrating but I cant expect too much too quickly, hope it kicks in at some point. If nothing else it relaxes me physically

If you struggle with anything in the meditation remember you just need to relax more, physically and mentally

If you have any specific questions then just ask here!