Of course, slow rolls happen in all walks of life; from the aforementioned relationship example to seeing slot symbol combinations that just miss/change at the last moment when you’re playing games like Chumba casino. But as this is Cardplayer Lifestyle, we’re going to focus in this article on slow rolls that happen in poker.

I don’t think there’s an action in poker that can trigger such an emotional response as a slow roll. For some people it’s water under the bridge, but for others, it’s like lighting a match near a fireworks factory. If you’ve read a previous article of mine, you’d know that in my opinion, saying sorry after getting lucky in a pot, is more triggering than delaying throwing over your winning hand.

What is a slow roll?

A slow roll is when a poker player, holding the winning hand will deliberately take their time in tabling their cards, giving their opponent the impression, they’ve won the pot.

Having recently observed a Chernobyl meltdown after a player got slow rolled, I wanted to explore the subject more as to why people slow roll, but more importantly, why does it trigger such wild emotions in people.

A few weeks ago, I was playing No Limit Texas Hold’em at my local casino. The player to my left was a quietly spoken but friendly person. In this particular hand, after betting had ended on the river, his opponent flipped one card over to show trip Jacks. Thinking he was good; he tabled his hand showing a straight. At this point the other player flipped over his second card, giving him a full house.

The player jumped out of his seat and exclaimed at the top of his voice “why the f@#k did you slow roll me?!” In the space of a second he went from Wolfgang Puck to Gordon Ramsay. His opponent wasn’t backing down, angrily denying that he’d been slow rolled. It resulted in a screaming match with a supervisor eventually stepping in.

The screaming match continued, which resulted in the supervisor screaming at the dealer to press the magic panic button under the table to alert security to come to the poker room. As he tried to separate the players, like a boxing referee, I decided to throw in my two-cents worth by saying that the player to my left had been very quiet, and it was totally out of character.

I felt like one of those neighbours being interviewed on the news following the arrest of a serial killer. You know, the ones where they always say. “He was always such a quiet person who kept to himself.”

Both players involved in the incident had an early night as security escorted them off the premises.

This isn’t the only incident I’ve witnessed. One of the first poker games I played in a pub, a player jumped across the table and grabbed his opponent’s shirt after being slow rolled. However, I think in this case the opponent laughing as he threw his cards down was the thing that drove him over the edge.

Jared Tendler on Slow Rolls

We reached out to renowned mental game coach and author of The Mental Game of Poker Jared Tendler, for his thoughts on why people engage in slow rolling their opponent; why being slow rolled can trigger an emotional response in a person, and steps people can take to make sure it doesn’t affect their game.

Why do people slow roll?

To get an edge — if you can tilt your opponent the benefits are obvious. Entertainment — when the game is a bit slow and boring, slow rolling someone could get more interaction going at the table.

Why does being slow rolled trigger such an extreme emotional response in some poker players?

Poker is an intense game and so much of that intensity peaks right at the end of a hand, and in those brief moments when a player is slow to turn over their cards it’s easy to think you have the best of it. Seeing otherwise can feel like something just got stolen from you. Plus, if you combine that with a feeling that slow rolling is ethically wrong, flying off the handle seems justified.

What steps can one take from a ‘mental side of the game’ to take the ‘slow roll’ more in stride. 

The bottom line is you can’t control how other people play. Period. If you don’t think that slow rolling is right, from a moral/ethical side, you can work on ways to convince others of your perspective. But at the end of the day, you don’t get to decide how they play. If you try to control it, then you’re at risk of losing control of how you play.

How a True Poker Pro Handles a Slow Roll

One player who impressed me with the way he handled a brutal slow roll was Garrett Adelstein. It’s now an infamous hand involving Dylan Gang on Hustler Casino Live, where on the river, Adelstein hit a pair of Kings, only for Gang to re-raise his bet. Gang had turned a full house with pocket fours.

After Adelstein called his re-raise, Gang said “good call” implying Adelstein had the best hand. After showing his King, Gang then looked at his hand and said “just kidding” before turning over his full house.

Adelstein quietly cut the chips out to send over to Gang, showing no emotion or being flustered by the incident. He later tweeted.

Regarding the pot I lost w KT vs Dylan’s 44: We have no history aside from playful banter last week. I have no ill will towards him and he’s welcome to slowroll, needle, moon me midhand, etc. That said, he’s got an uphill battle if he thinks I’m affected by anything he does/says

— Garrett Adelstein (@GmanPoker) February 19, 2022

Adelstein got his revenge the following week, scooping a pot worth nearly $400,000 against Gang, and wasn’t he happy!

“How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.”
-Wayne Dyer

Poker is outrageously painful sometimes. And other times it’s so goddamn sweet! After maybe the most brutal stretch of sessions I’ve had in 18 years, tonight was special.

Thanks for sweatin w/ me

— Garrett Adelstein (@GmanPoker) February 26, 2022

How to React if You Get Slow Rolled

Here are three tips from Jared Tendler for how to handle the mental side of being slow rolled.

1. Figure out why it bothers you so much

So why do you hate it? Take some time to write you answer. Then once you’ve got a good answer, figure out what is flawed in your reasoning. For example, you might be expecting others to never do it since you wouldn’t, but you can’t control what others do or say, so it’s flawed to think that you can.

2. Study your correction and take it to heart

A cursory understanding won’t be strong enough to fight back the surge of tilt when you get slow rolled.

3. Don’t let tilt get you to make mistakes

Even if you can’t control your tilt from happening, which is very common at first, you must work to limit the damage and prevent tilt from causing you to make mistakes. Remind yourself that if you lose control the player who slow rolled you wins. You can’t let that happen so instead us your anger to play as well as you possibly can. Including being acutely aware of the table dynamics afterward, you may be able to use your image as being tilted to your advantage. This logic and tactic have helped several clients.

Four Different types of Slow Rolls

Generally speaking, you should never slow roll your opponents, although occasionally there are good, legitimate reasons for doing so. With that said, here are four different kinds of slow rolls you’ll see at the poker tables.

Karma Slow Roll

Nothing better than seeing a player deliberately tanking and slow rolling with the stone-cold nuts get rivered in what some might say is poker justice.

Revenge Slow Roll

Is there anything better than seeing a player get a taste of his/her own medicine. You might recall in Casino Royale with Daniel Craig, Le Chiffre slow rolls Bond when he rivers quad Jacks. He shows Bond one Jack and then proceeds to slide the first card over to expose the second Jack and mutters ‘oops’ before rubbing it in with a big smirk.

Bond would get his revenge, appearing to slide his cards in to fold, he then exposes them showing a straight flush, beating Le Chiffre’s full house

Tilt Slow Roll

As mentioned in the article, a slow roll is sometimes used to wind your opponent up and for entertainment purposes. If there’s one player that you don’t want to wind up, it’s Mike Matusow. In this classic poker clip, Shaun Deeb slow rolls Mike Matusow after flopping quads. The whole table bursts into laughter after Deeb tables his hand. An upset Matusow, who must’ve been steaming delivered an expletive laden spray.

“It’s the only thing in life I don’t f****** deal with. You can do anything to me, you can call me any name under the sun, you f****** slow roll me I’ll punch you in the f****** mouth. You think I’m joking? I’m not.

Accidental Slow Roll

There are times (and I’ve been guilty of it) where you just misread your hand, or you’re a bit far away from the cards, the result doesn’t necessarily become obvious straight away. It happens occasionally in Omaha, where I might be focused on a straight, but the flush or full house comes in. In this situation I’ll immediately apologise to the player.

Bonus: My Favourite Slow Roll

Then-96-year-old Jack Ury’s slow roll at the 2009 World Series of Poker remains my favourite of all time.

Sit back and enjoy. Even if you’ve seen the clip many times, it never fails to make a poker player smile.

2012 WSOP Main Event Champion, Greg Merson, talks about how fatherhood makes him a better poker player.

Greg Merson talks about his 2012 Main Event.

 NOTE: PLEASE SUBSCRIBE To Bernard’s YouTube page AND LIKE any videos that you enjoy

Greg Merson

In this episode of The Bernard Lee Poker Show on the Cardplayer Lifestyle Podcast Family, Bernard Lee interviews 2012 WSOP Main Event Champion, Greg Merson.

At the start of the interview, Greg talks about moving to New Jersey in 2014 and avoiding temptations with respect to his addictions. Greg talks about his family, specifically his two daughters, and how his family has made him a better poker player. Greg discusses his poker playing schedule online and live in the NJ/NY area.

During the second part of the interview, Greg talks about his 2012 WSOP Main Event memories including listening to Jared Tendler. Greg talks about the fact that a woman almost made the 2012 WSOP Main Event final table. He recalls the final table, his preparations, and the marathon play among the final three. Greg also discusses great spots during a tournament to take advantage of other players’ inclinations. Finally, Greg discusses winning the 2017 WSOP POY, and his 2022 WSOP schedule.

For the sixth consecutive year, Cardplayer Lifestyle is proud to offer our readers this Holiday Gift Guide for Poker Players. In much of the developed world, things seem to finally be heading back towards what we knew as normal, and there’s a lot to give thanks for. Thus, it’s important to try and focus on things that can make us happy and bring us smiles.

As always, we’ve put together a wide variety of gift giving ideas for you to consider this holiday season, including a number of new, creative entries on our list as well as some annual stalwarts.

Moreover, many of our featured vendors are offering exclusive holiday discounts to Cardplayer Lifestyle readers, so whether you’re looking for the perfect gift for your poker-loving partner or, alternatively, just want to treat yourself to something nice, be sure to take advantage!

We hope you enjoy this year’s guide!

SKIP TO: 1. DIGITAL POKER TABLES | 2. THE GTO+ SOLVER BUNDLE BY RED CHIP POKER | 3. THE MENTAL GAME TUNE UP FOR TOURNAMENT POKER | 4. RUN IT ONCE TRAINING | 5. FADED SPADE PLAYING CARDS | 6. CAESARS PALACE POKER ROOM | 7. SHUFFLE TECH MDS-6 MULTI-DECK SHUFFLER | 8. D&B POKER BOOKS | 9. POKERCOACHING PREMIUM | 10. THE POKER FORGE | 11. FLOPZILLA PRO CUSTOM SPLITSUIT EDITION | 12. RUNGOODGEAR APPAREL |

DIGITAL POKER TABLES

Take your home game to the next level with your very own Digital Poker Table. This holiday season is the perfect time to purchase your very own electronic gaming table, where you can play up to 18 different poker variants at the touch of a button.

No cards or chips necessary! Just an outlet, WiFi, and you’re ready to play poker with your buddies!

Whether you opt for the 2-, 4-, 6-, 8-, or 10-seat Digital Poker Table, you’ll always have access to the latest software updates and upgrades.

Choose to play limit, pot limit, or no-limit, whether in cash game or tournament format.

Best of all, the Digital Poker Table doubles as a family gaming table! You can play popular favorites like Rummikub, Trivia, and more with your kids, neighbors, and even invite the grandparents over for game night.

Don’t have room in your home for a table? No problem — for just $25/month you can purchase a premium subscription to the Digital Poker Table software and play on your iOS devices, even broadcasting the game onto your Apple TV!

Visit DigitalPokerTable.com or call (702) 628-1900 to order in time for the holidays, and be sure to mention Cardplayer Lifestyle!

THE GTO+ SOLVER BUNDLE BY RED CHIP POKER

Red Chip Poker has officially partnered up with GTO+ to offer you the best introduction to GTO. As game theory optimal (GTO) poker continues to increase in popularity and importance, now is the time to invest in a quality solver and training. So their new GTO+ Bundle includes a lifetime license to the GTO+ solver AND a complete course so you know exactly how to set up the tool, explore the trees, and analyze solves like a pro.

GTO+ allows you to do everything from simple solves to complex bet sizing exploration. Plus, you can “play against the solver” to test your skills between sessions. And for the more advanced players, this solver allows for node locking, various display methods, and even scripting.

Buy the GTO+ bundle for the poker player in your life (or as a nice holiday gift for yourself!) to start seeing GTO poker more clearly.

THE MENTAL GAME TUNE UP FOR TOURNAMENT POKER

The Mental Game Tune Up for Tournament Poker is a video-based course that walks players through the same steps that Jared Tendler takes his clients through to prepare for tournament play. Comprehensive yet simple, it consists of eight modules covering key topics, such as tilt, handling swings in variance, burnout, and distractions.

The most popular feature of the course are the unscripted coaching sessions called “Coaching the Pros” featuring two notable professional poker players: Diego Ventura and Matt Affleck. Go inside to see how top online and live professionals think and prepare for WCOOP and the WSOP. Now is the time to get yourself ready for 2022. Don’t wait until the next series to get started. Invest in your game and let Jared guide you through the steps to get it in shape.

“I can’t recommend the Mental Game Tune Up course and Jared’s work highly enough. I really found it valuable to work through leading up to my last WSOP trip which was my most successful trip by far. Thanks for another amazing product Jared!”

Lara Eiesenberg, 2021 WSOP Ladies Champion

Claim your special $125 discount this Holiday Season by using promo code CPL125 when you enroll in Jared’s course.

RUN IT ONCE TRAINING

If you want to start taking your game seriously in 2022 you’ll find everything you need to back up your commitment at Run It Once Training. Launched in 2012 by high stakes legend Phil Galfond, Run It Once has always been the place for dedicated poker players to advance to the next level and stay ahead of their opponents.

The slogan ‘Train With the Best’ doesn’t only reflect that you’ll learn from the highest tier coaches like Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates, Kevin Rabichow, or Phil Galfond himself. It also means you’ll benefit from a community of students that have the highest aspirations in poker and are often professional players themselves.

Members of Run It Once Training Plans get access to an expansive library of over 6,500 training videos, with two brand new videos every single day to make sure you’re always learning the newest strategies. No matter which form of poker you play or which area of your game you need to work on, Run It Once has you covered.

Just starting out in poker or want to transition to a new game format? Run It Once Courses were specifically designed for new players who want to start learning poker from the beginning, the right way. The courses follow a carefully crafted learning journey until you have the proper foundation you need to expand your game to the highest levels.

If you need help planning the perfect poker gift for your loved ones, reach out to Run It Once Support and we’ll assist you every step of the way.

FADED SPADE PLAYING CARDS

As the preferred playing cards of the World Poker Tour, Faded Spade has fast become the most popular playing card brand for poker players across the globe.

Poker players in many countries and continents have switched to Faded Spade playing cards for their poker home games. The cards are known for their modern face card designs and high quality 100% plastic that has an intentional balance of strength and flexibility. Two-deck sets are available in Poker Size 2.0 (Wide), Bridge Size 2.0 (Narrow), and 4-Color 2.0.

Beyond WPT programming, you might have also played with Faded Spade cards at your local poker room! Plus, you may have seen Faded Spade poker playing cards on many popular poker live stream shows or in play on NBC Sports, PokerGO, and more during poker programs like Poker After Dark, Super High Roller Bowl, Poker Masters, and the U.S. Poker Open.

CAESARS PALACE POKER ROOM

There’s perhaps no more enjoyable time to take a poker trip than the Holiday season, and similarly there’s perhaps no more enjoyable poker room to play in than the one at Caesars Palace! Once you hit Las Vegas, head straight to the center of the famed Las Vegas Strip to the one-of-a-kind Caesars Palace Poker Room.

With 18 tables, and located right next to the casino’s sportsbook, the 4,500-square-foot poker room offers all the action you can handle at limits ranging from $1-3 right up to the nosebleeds. Comps are offered at $2 per hour, with Caesars Rewards Members also earning 34 tier points/hour.

Beyond cash games, the room also offers multiple tournaments each day and is staffed by some of the most professional, friendly dealers and floorpeople you’ll find in the city.

Staff are happy to speak with you anytime, so feel free to call (866) 227-5938 and get your name on the waiting lists this holiday season at Caesars Palace, home of champions!

SHUFFLE TECH MDS-6 MULTI-DECK SHUFFLER

The new Shuffle Tech MDS-6 is perfect for this upcoming Holiday Season. As you gather with friends and family to spend time together and play games, this makes a perfect addition to your game night.

This multi-deck card shuffler can shuffle up to 6 full decks of playing cards. Whether you play canasta, blackjack, or any other multi-deck card game, this will streamline your hand shuffling. Paper cards will shuffle, but not as well as with 100% plastic playing cards. So, quality playing cards are always recommended. And as always, our products come with a 1-year warranty.

The MDS-6 runs both on direct power or battery operated (4 x D-sized). Plus, as with all Shuffle Tech products, you also get a 1-year warranty!

We ship worldwide! For more information, visit www.shuffletech.com.

D&B POKER BOOKS

D&B Poker produces the best poker books out there and their latest publication from the highly successful coach and author Jonathan Little is no exception. Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker: The Essential Guide can rightly claim to be the definitive guide to tournament poker. As per our own review, “The poker world was ready for an age-defining poker book in a period of global flux; it has found it in this book.”

This holiday season, you can get your hands on either the beautiful hardcover edition, the ebook, or the audiobook (recorded by Jonathan), all of which can be found HERE.

Also due out in the coming weeks is an addition to D&B’s Mastering Small Stakes series, Evan Jarvis‘ Mastering Small Stakes Cash Games. Evan’s reputation as a top notch coach at Gripsed.com is well established and in this book he brings his full arsenal of knowledge and skills to help players master cash game play. Evan takes a holistic approach, recognizing that being able to master people and master yourself are equally important in order to achieve poker success.

This book makes for an excellent stocking stuffer, as the paperback edition will be publishing in December in UK/Europe and January in the US, with the ebook due out in January.

POKERCOACHING PREMIUM

This holiday season PokerCoaching.com is rolling out the red carpet and giving you up to 61% off on PREMIUM memberships!

Beyond their already massive suite of training materials, you’ll also get FREE access to two of Jonathan Little‘s exclusive courses — the all-new Cash Game Masterclass and his Tournament Masterclass — PLUS his vast library of 1-on-1 coaching videos!

Cash Game Masterclass

• 32+ hours
• 156 lessons

In this completely new course, Little teaches you everything you need to know to crush small and medium stakes cash games. Via numerous hand examples and quizzes, you’ll internalize how to consistently win in both online and live cash games, with starting stacks of 100 and 200 big blinds.

Tournament Masterclass

• 30+ hours
• 180 lessons

In this highly regarded course, Little teaches you everything you need to know to play every stage of a poker tournament optimally, maximally exploit your opponents, and maximize your tournament equity.

1-on-1 Coaching Videos

Best of all, if you act now and join PokerCoaching Premium, you’ll get FREE ACCESS to 240+ hours Jonathan Little’s 1-on-1 coaching videos!

Ring in the holidays by joining the 120,000+ poker players who are using PokerCoaching.com to increase their win rate through active learning!

THE POKER FORGE

The Poker Forge helps online small-stakes players build valuable skills for a fun and profitable journey. You will go through 9 Masterclass courses that teach foundational and advanced poker strategies in a logical progression. This will build you up as a player with useful skills one upon the other, while helping you avoid poker overwhelm: That feeling of having too much to study and not enough time. The Poker Forge helps you learn where you must focus your efforts and guides you in that direction.

You can start booking wins right away with course #1, the Quick Wins Gameplans, which help you earn quick profits with easy-to-use strategies. Or, you can bounce around from course to course. Maybe start with the Hand Reading Course (to learn poker’s #1 skill) or the Finding the Fold Course (to plug that costly leak of poor post-flop calling). The journey is up to you, but along the way the Poker Forge gives you checklists, calendars and study guides to keep you on track.

All Poker Forge training is built upon the idea of “learn then apply”. Each video teaches you important strategies to use in-game or during your study time. Plus, every video gives you action steps to take that force you to practice what you just learned because… action is the greatest teacher.

Give yourself or the poker player in your life the gift of a profitable and fun online poker journey with The Poker Forge.

FLOPZILLA PRO CUSTOM SPLITSUIT EDITION

One of the best tools for poker study is Flopzilla Pro. Flopzilla can do everything from analyzing single hands to complex ranges, break down post-flop situations statistically, and even do advanced range-vs.-range analysis.

If you’ve never used this app before, here’s an example of using Flopzilla Pro to study a common $2/$5 hand:

To make things even better, the SPLITSUIT EDITION of Flopzilla Pro not only includes a lifetime license for the software, but it also includes custom range presets and additional training videos. This bundle sets every poker player up for success to make off-table time easier and on-table time more profitable.

Get the SplitSuit Edition of Flopzilla Pro today and book yourself a winning holiday season!

RUNGOODGEAR APPAREL

This holiday season it’s time to scroll past the parody shirts send your favorite poker player something they want to wear both at and away from the tables.

Since 2012, poker players have been gearing up with RunGood, the industry’s leading apparel company. Focused on producing clothing with an emphasis on comfort and style, the RunGoodGear brand is a popular sight in poker rooms around the United States, with a wide variety of hats, hoodies, and shirts available online.

“As a poker player, we don’t make anything we wouldn’t wear ourselves on or off the table.” says Tana Karn, Founder of RunGoodGear. There is a reason items become out of stock, don’t delay and pick up an item today.

Also, be sure to visit www.RunGoodGear.com to see what’s happening next with the multi-time GPI Award-Winning Mid-Major Tour, the RunGood Poker Series, while picking up your next hat or hoodie.

Wishing all of our readers here at Cardplayer Lifestyle a happy holiday season!

Check out our review of Jared’s new course

RecPoker is a vibrant and encouraging poker learning community. We are committed to learning the game, but our priority is building healthy relationships where we can not only grow in the game, but grow in our enjoyment of life. The membership website at rec. poker is awesome, but it’s just a tool to help us build that community. You can join for FREE, giving you access to the groups, forums, and other member benefits. If you want to enjoy the premium content, or become part of the RECing Crew, those options are available and you can get $10 off your first payment using the code RECPOKER.

Time Stamps

The second crucial skill set pertains to what’s broadly defined as “mental game.” It encompasses a variety of factors that are hard to pinpoint to begin with, let alone master. And that’s where the Mental Game Tune Up for Tournament Poker video course by Jared Tendler comes in.

*Use promo code CPL to save $50 on your course purchase!*

As you can probably guess from the name, this course is designed to improve your mental game, focusing particularly on tournament players. After taking it, I can say with confidence that it could definitely benefit cash game players as well with a few fairly simple tweaks.

Jared Tendler enjoys a reputation of being one of the leading authorities on mental game issues. His seminal works, The Mental Game of Poker volumes I and II are still widely considered to be among the top poker books (read our review here). He’s spent years coaching poker players and helping them improve their results on the felt, and this course provides you with access to all that knowledge presented in a condensed and easy-to-follow manner.

READ MORE: On meeting Jared Tendler in person

Mental Game Tune Up for Tournament Poker is divided into eight modules, each covering a specific segment of your gameplan. Every module contains two sections: one featuring Jared’s lessons, explanations, and recommendations, and the second showing the actual mind game coaching process he went through with pro poker players Matt Affleck and Diego Ventura.

The course also contains several worksheets designed to help you get the best results out of lessons. There are hands-on examples on how you should approach filling these sheets as well, so there is no mystery. It’s all laid out for you, but you’ll still need to put in the work to improve.

Modules 1 & 2: Setting Goals and Knowing Your Game

This course wasn’t envisioned as something you watch once and then forget about. Instead, it should be used as a useful resource before every tournament series to help you build your plan, fix any new issues, and make sure the old ones are still under control.

As mentioned, there are eight modules in total, but Tendler puts the most emphasis on the first two, as these are the ones you should try to watch before every series, even if you’re short on time.

The first module talks about setting goals and the right way to do it. It invites you to take notes, come up with realistic goals, and an actionable plan to achieve them. It also talks about thinking ahead about any problems you expect to face along the way and what would be the best way to tackle them, either ahead of time as they arise.

A big emphasis in this module is on having connection to your goals. Tendler explains why this is of the utmost importance for your success and clarifies how to establish goals that are actually relatable.

The second module focuses on your game. To achieve the best results, you need to have a clear view of your game, and the only way to achieve this is by focusing on the process instead of results. Tendler helps you understand the ways to establish objective feedback with a useful A- to C-game Analysis tool.

Completing exercises from this module will help you understand where your game is at and how it tends to fluctuate (and why). This won’t just help you improve your play but should also lessen the emotional intensity in the long run.

Modules 3 & 4: Tilt, Emotions, and Burnout

The next couple modules of Tendler’s Mental Game Tune Up for Tournament Poker are designed to help you dig deeper into your emotions and mental state, and eventually make you a sturdier player ready to play your best game for a prolonged period of time.

Module 3 leads you to explore the biggest emotional problems you’re likely to face during a tournament series. These are different for every player, ranging from being overly upset over suckouts and bad beats (injustice tilt) to overconfidence.

Too much emotion can clutter your brain, preventing access to important information during play. So, in this module, you’re encouraged to create your tilt profile, identifying different levels of tilt and how these affect your performance.

The way to do this is by getting to the root of the problem, figuring out what causes it, and then coming up with strategies to remove it.

While Tendler admits that the ideas in his mental game course aren’t revolutionary on their own, he explains that developing the right process is what matters the most and what most players struggle with.

Module 4 continues on the theme of the previous one but expands to cover burnout and the most effective ways to deal with it. Poker can be very intense — tournament poker in particular — and getting burned out at some point isn’t uncommon. But, with the right strategy, you can recognize it early on and address the issue immediately.

Tendler presents six effective ways to tackle burnout, such as improving your routines, not trying to learn new stuff days before the tournament, having proper diet, and exercising. He suggests trying to get rid of everything not related to poker and to rather fully focus on the game while playing. This will help conserve your energy.

Modules 5 & 6: Getting Into the Zone and Thriving Under Pressure

Anyone who’s played poker for a little while knows what it means to be in the zone. It’s that great state where you simply know what to do every hand. Decisions come easy to you and more often than not, they’re correct ones.

But getting into that zone isn’t easy. It takes just the right amount of energy to get there, and that amount differs for every player. For some, emotions play a big role in the process as well, even “bad” emotions like fear and anger.

In this module, Tendler provides a way to create your zone profile, which will help you identify the steps that work for you and come up with the right formula. It may seem a bit random at first, but over time you’ll start to recognize certain patterns and improve your ability to get in the zone almost at will.

Following on these ideas, Module 6 talks about performing under pressure, which is another huge factor in poker tournaments. Tendler provides some useful insights and explanations, even offering examples for certain high-pressure spots like final tables, heads-up play, and being the chip leader.

One interesting point in this module is that being nervous is perfectly normal and not something you should battle. Instead, you should learn how to contain this energy and use it to fuel your A-game.

Modules 7 & 8: Focus and Decisions Making

The final two modules of the Mental Game Tune Up for Tournament Poker cover two topics that go hand-in-hand: maintaining your focus at the tables and understanding your decision-making process.

The first is something we all know: we need to stay focused at all times to perform at the highest level, but this isn’t always easy. There are many distractions, and to improve you need to figure out what distractions are your biggest problem and find a way to get rid of them.

When it comes to decisions most of us focus on the end result, and we rarely think about the actual process that brought us to the conclusion. Here, Tendler also discusses the idea of intuition vs. instinct and how these two are significantly different.

The Mental Game Tune Up – There’s a Mobile App for That!

How Good Is Mental Game Tune Up for Tournament Poker?

Developing a strong mental game is key to long-term success in poker, there’s no doubt about it. Every top-level player will tell you so. The question is, how do you do it. More importantly, can Jared Tendler’s course help you get there?

What I’d say is that the course presents you with all the necessary tools to significantly improve the mental aspect of your game. Tendler is an experienced mind coach and he knows what he’s talking about. For this to work, however, you’ll have to get with the program and follow the steps.

Just watching the video course won’t do much for you. It may give you a few solid pointers, but to get the real value you’ll need to download those worksheets and take the time to answer all the questions. Then you’ll need to do it all over again before the next tournament series.

It’s a quality product but it’s designed for those serious about improving their game and winning titles, and Jared says as much at one point. So, if you find yourself fitting the above description, then go for it – you won’t regret it!

Jared’s course isn’t designed for recreational players who’d like to get better but don’t have the time or the will to put in serious work. The material isn’t as much of a course as it is a journey. I’m positive it can work wonders, but you have to really put your mind to it. So if you are ready to take your poker journey to the next level, you should strongly consider purchasing the course. The $499 price tag will be a wise investment worth making.

*Don’t forget to use promo code CPL to save $50 on your course purchase!*

Interview Transcript (Summarized)

So we’re very happy to have a special guest with us today Jared Tendler, author of two excellent books: The Mental Game of Poker volumes 1 & 2. I’ve read them myself and they’ve helped me tremendously both in poker and on a personal level. Jared is very well known in the poker industry, having been featured on a number of poker sites and he’s also a former 3-time All-American collegiate golfer. Welcome to the show.

Great to be here; thanks for having me guys. The poker mental game is something I’ve very passionate about. It’s always good to talk about it with people and I’m eager to see what direction you guys will be taking the conversation in, as everyone has a unique perspective.

How did you get into your current role? Nobody heads off to college, studies Psychology, and thinks to themselves: “Once I get my degree I’m gonna help poker players with their mental game”.

In college I wanted to play professional golf. I knew I needed a degree though, so I just chose something that would allow me to spend as much time as possible focusing on the golf. Midway through my degree though, I realized that it was my mental game that was holding me back.

Most people who play in the US Open have to qualify, as relatively few people get exemptions. I missed out on an opportunity to qualify for the US Open by a single shot, basically because I choked on my short putts. I 3-putted four times and missed a handful of short puts. What I took from that is that if I wanted to make it as a professional, I knew I needed to work on my mental game and conquer my fear; the pressure that was overwhelming me.

Eventually I just decided to forego a professional golf career because I realized how much better the other players were than me. So I went and got a degree in counseling psychology because lots of the sports psychology I was reading was pretty basic. I figured that if I could solve my problems, I could potentially have a career helping others like me solve their problems.

About 10 years ago, in 2005 I started working with professional golfers, and I was doing good work but nothing super transformational with them. In 2007 I started working with my first poker client, Dusty Schmidt. He was a former professional golfer. Sadly, in his early 20s he had a heart attack, so he left professional golf.

He was one of the biggest online grinders prior to Black Friday. He was making a million dollars a year. When we met he was making about $20,000 a month. In the 4–5 months since we met, because of the help I gave him controlling his anger at the tables, he made $500,000–$600,000. Anger was a big issue for him and his wife. That was my entry in to the poker world. Dusty showed me the ropes and helped me understand the game to a level I hadn’t known before.

When missing those short putts, did you have the yips?

I didn’t have the yips. I was kind of just missing right or left. I had a good stroke, but it was clear that the pressure was affecting me. It wasn’t as bad as a yip or a shank.

So you were able to start teaching Dusty without much knowledge about the game?

I had good luck and variance to have Dusty as my first client. He and I met each other randomly at a golf resort. He was able to relate the things he was dealing with in poker, in golf terms. Getting a bad beat was the equivalent of hitting a perfect drive down the fairway and then having it hit a sprinkler head and go out of bounds…and then having that happen every hole for the entire round.

Had you ever played poker yourself recreationally or in home games?

Of course! In the summers growing up we’d play golf in the morning, then in the afternoons my buddies and I would be playing nickel and dime poker by the pool, acey-deucey, hi-low, dealer’s choice. Same for family holidays – we’d win $4 and feel like it was an incredible amount of money.

It seems to me that the target audience of your books is professional poker players. Would you say that it’s just as important for recreational home game poker players to have a strong mental game and work on it regularly?

It depends. Actually, the target audience for me was not necessarily professionals, but rather “people who take the game seriously”. If you are a recreational player but still want to take your game to another level, the book is for you.

I often give the analogy that the Dalai Lama is a terrible golfer. He has a great mental game, but he’s never going to beat me at golf.

In poker, the mental game can help to facilitate your ability to execute your strategy. But if you don’t have much of a strategy and are just there having fun and splashing money around, then the mental game isn’t going to help you much.

What would help you is getter a better understanding of basic strategy. That’s where your efforts should be at the beginning.

One step beyond, if you’re a recreational player but have problems in your life that affect your mental game – both at and away from the table – then yes working on your mental game would be a good thing and would help you improve across all facets of your life.

Seems like having a good mental game would help with your peace of mind? If I come home winning, I feel good. If I come home a loser, I feel crappy. Same thing for bad beats…

That makes a lot of sense. What you’re describing is someone who takes the game seriously enough to care. The book is for people who take the game seriously enough to want to learn and improve.

Does working on one’s mental game of poker, and thus that person taking poker more seriously, come at odds with “trying to have fun” in a relaxed, social atmosphere of a home game? In other words, would it only be advisable to use the techniques learned from your books in a casino poker room setting?

If you’re taking the game seriously enough to care about your results, then yes. There’s a mental side to technical mistakes. If you’re starting to get frustrated, then your frustration will start to show. If you’re able to reduce you’re frustration then you’ll be able to automatically play a more solid style of poker.

If your anger issues and fear are taking away from your enjoyment, then poker starts becoming a lot less fun. As a recreational player, it’s not just about the money – your time is valuable too.

I find myself trying to get dialed in and working hard through a “pilot’s checklist” of things to remember at the poker table, but that’s hard work and I find myself exhausted. I’m mentally wrung out. So I ask myself if that’s what I want to be doing during a recreational home game.

The answer is that it could just be about training. Mental endurance is a real thing. The more you train yourself in the skill of making a well-thought-out decision, the better you’ll get at it. It could take a few months, easily. It takes a while to integrate things into your decision making. Sometimes it works easily because you’re very focused. Other times, the decision making isn’t as automatic. So, over time you want to increase the amount of times that you’re making automatic decisions (having worked out what types of decisions you’d like to be making).

I like being good at things. Working hard at something makes me better at it, and after a while, if you work at your mental game, you’re probably going to improve. As a poker player that’s likely to make you happy and to me, at least, that sounds like fun and it’ll probably ensure you have a better time when you play.

You’re training to form a habit, and sometimes it could take a while; it really depends on the person and how intensely you’re training to form a new habit.

You’ve also got a podcast of your own – who are you trying to reach through that podcast and why?

I try to do a couple things with the podcast. For starters, it’s an opportunity for me to promote the Mental Game of Poker. Also, for listeners, it’s an opportunity for them to see another side of professional poker players they’re familiar with, like Vanessa Selbst, Jason Mercier, Greg Merson, and Daniel Negreanu, that they don’t always get to see.

For a lot of these players, their mental game is also about the philosophy of how they’ve gotten to be successful at the game. Jake Cody, for example, worked for 3–4 years grinding through the game until he “broke out” as a known, successful player. Not many people know that, but that type of story will come out in the podcast when I’m talking to them about their mental game.

We try to take the home game angle and do the same with some of our guests. For example, we interviewed Mike Sexton and probed about his home game experience. You could tell when he talked that nobody really asked him about that topic too much.

Yup, I do the same and want it to be fun for the person I’m interviewing.

How is the mental game coaching you offer similar to or different from going to a psychologist for therapy?

Many issues my clients have aren’t personal; they’re more performance-related. A mental coach gets to understand the context in which those performance issues come up and then tries to help in that way.

I understand poker and poker players better than most people. So I understand the right way in which to help them. I’m also a licensed therapist; I do have that background in offering therapy. Therapists tend to be focused on the personal stuff, while most of the time I talk with my clients about what’s currently going on in their games.

Have you ever had a pipe dream in participating in big poker events yourself, especially considering that your mental game is so strong?

No. I understand that the players I coach are really good and they work hard. I like poker and am happy to be a recreational player. If I were to ever think and dream about going pro it would be golf. I take that the most seriously. That’s where I’d invest time and energy. My mental game in golf has transformed over the years. I qualified for a big amateur tournament last year. It was a huge accomplishment because I knew my improved mental game helped get me over the hump.

Do you ever play any recreational poker home games anymore?

Out of circumstance, not too often anymore. Less than 6 times a year… but I play golf far more often than that.

Thanks for spending some time with us Jared. We definitely recommend your book. Anything else you’d like to tell our listeners?

Do what you love and find things you’re passionate about and make sure they remain passionate rather than causing you pain and frustration. Sometimes a perspective shift can help – that you’ll take something a bit less seriously.

Me and Jared

I’m currently on a short trip to the States to celebrate my brother’s engagement. In advance of the trip, I let The Mental Game of Poker author Jared Tendler know that I’d be in the New York area, as when we had last been in touch, he had said I should give him a heads-up if I was ever in his neck of the woods. I entered, sat in, and left that meeting with Jared on a tremendous high – and here are the five reasons why:

• First off, I was thrilled and honored that Jared was so happy to meet with me as well and that the timing worked out despite the relatively brief advance notice I had given him.
• Second, I’ve already read and reviewed The Mental Game of Poker and am in the process of reading volume 2. If you’ve read my review, you’d see how much I liked the book and recommended it as a “must read” to all poker players. Specifically, aside from having improved my poker game, lessons from the book have helped me improve a few things in my life as well. I was excited to share this with Jared in person.
• Third, I’ve never gotten anything autographed in person before. Jared was kind enough to indulge this fanboy and also write me a nice dedication.
• Fourth, there was a particularly unique poker-related question I had wanted to ask Jared, and I only truly felt comfortable enough doing so in person. He graciously took the time to guide me towards the right and proper mental path in order to try and achieve a solution to my poker problem.
• Finally, and most importantly, it was so nice to see that Jared was “a regular, normal, flesh and blood guy” – not just a name on a book and a face on a Twitter profile.

Friendly, knowledgeable, and just all-around good-natured, it’s not hard to understand why so many poker pros gravitate towards Jared for mental game counseling. Needless to say, I fully endorse Jared in this respect.

Thanks again Jared for an awesome brunch, and I look forward to finishing The Mental Game of Poker 2 and to seeing your future mental game products debut.

Cardplayer Lifestyle: Thanks so much for joining us Jared. First off, congratulations to you on your recent marriage! Can we expect to see “The Mental Game of Newlyweds” sometime soon?

Jared Tendler:  Ha! Well I suppose I should get through my newlywed phase first. Thanks very much, the wedding and honeymoon were perfect. Couldn’t be happier.

Alright, so I’m about one-third of the way through TMGP2. Just as in the original TMGP, so far there’s a recurring theme of taking poker notes. Why would you say taking notes is so important in poker, rather than just committing things to memory?

JT: The important question is: How do people commit things to their memory? For many people, writing is a way to learn faster because it helps them remember. Simply writing can do that because it forces you to communicate something that may otherwise not get reinforced enough to stick in your mind. That’s not true for everyone of course, but there are enough players out there who benefit from writing and that why it’s something I emphasize a lot.

Is it just as important for recreational players to take poker notes (e.g., at their home games) as it is for pros and grinders, who make a living from playing poker?

JT: It really depends on how serious the player is about improving. If a recreational player wants to improve and they learn better by taking notes, they should do it. That said, they’ll very likely write less than their professional counterparts.

I’ve co-created an app called Poker Notes Live, which enables live poker players to take notes on themselves and their opponents on their mobile devices. In your opinion, are cell phones and tablets distractions at live poker tables, and, if so, would a poker note-taking app like that be an exception to that rule?

JT: If players are using cell phones to tweet, text, watch movies, or read, they are definitely a distraction. Too often players, just like distracted drivers, don’t realize how much information is being lost because of their lack of focus on the action. Even a poker note-taking app could also be a distraction if players are spending too much time with it (while playing). In general, they need to be taking notes quickly so they can capture the most relevant data (that’s also likely to be forgotten), and then after the session they can add additional notes.

The Premium version of my app allows a player to email their notes to themselves for analysis away from the table as well as import/export their notes database to have as a backup. How important do you think it is for players to review their poker notes, and would there be a distinction here between recreational players and grinders?

JT: It’s huge. If you just take notes in the moment, it’s easy for valuable information to be forgotten weeks later. Sure you may remember the next time you play, but if it doesn’t stay at the top of your mind, it’s likely to get lost. Reviewing notes between sessions gives players the extra reps to have their notes stand out better. This is true for recreational players and grinders, but again, how much a recreation player does this really depends on how serious they want to take the game.

From my own experience, the more effort I put into poker note-taking, the better my notes serve me going forward. That kind of effort takes time though, and sometimes it can be difficult to do with a live poker game going on, as I won’t want to miss out on the table action. What tips would you recommend to poker note takers to help them strike the best balance?

JT: Makes total sense to me why that’s true. With a lot of things, the more you put in the more you get out. As I said earlier, it’s important to only get down the notes while playing that you’ll forget, and then after the session expand on them. Doing more off the tables actually helps learning and of course will keep you more focused while playing. Reviewing afterwards, your focus is entirely on the hands you’re reviewing and that means you can think more deeply about them. It’s impractical to think that deeply about a previous hand while actually playing.

The Mental Game of Poker 2 talks extensively about striving to reach “the zone”, which effectively mean’s an individual’s peak poker performance potential. Is it recommended, or even possible, for a player to take notes at the table in between hands while in this ideal mental state? Would it preferable to take notes only after each live poker session?

JT: Definitely. Again as long as it’s something quick, note taking can be part of the zone.

Taking good poker notes that will prove useful in the long run involves a good amount of work and dedication. What sort of advice would you give to a live player who has never taken poker notes before and is just overwhelmed by the work involved?

JT: Start small. It’s easier to build up slowly and then add more when you get into a routine of doing it. Start by picking one hand in a session to write about. Then add a second, and so on, until the habit is established. The work isn’t really the hard part, the hard part is getting into the habit of doing it. And that’s easier by making small steps.

Thanks again so much Jared for your time. I’m looking forward to finishing TMGP2 and reading volume 3 if it ever comes out.

JT: l look forward to hearing what you think of #2. No plans for TMGP3 at the moment, but you and Cardplayer Lifestyle readers can catch articles from me and TMGP co-writer Barry Carter on our website.

Too often, as poker players, we attribute our failures at the felt to bad luck, random happenstance and being on the wrong side of variance. Surely, most losses we endure are as a result of bad beats, suckouts, and lucky fish having their way with the deck at our expense. Rare are the players who understand that the solution to their poker problems lie not in poker itself but rather within themselves. As The Mental Game of Poker teaches, the emotions of tilt, fear, confidence, and motivation can all be controlled, and even mastered through the injection of logic and intense self examination and improvement techniques. To be sure, co-author Barry Carter expertly weaved these teachings into poker-specific situations and examples throughout.

Make no mistake about it; this is no traditional poker book. You’re not going to learn amazing poker strategies, hidden poker tells, or what makes the greatest poker minds tick. You will learn about the other game being played by millions at and away from the felt: the mental game of poker. This is a self-help book designed to assist you in becoming the best poker player you have the potential to be.

READ MORE: Interview with Jared Tendler

Note-Taking Isn’t Just For the Classroom

Aside for identifying wholeheartedly with the book’s idea of self-introspection, as mentioned, the other main theme that struck a chord with me again and again as I read the book was Tendler’s insistence that poker players take notes on themselves and their actions and reactions at and away from the poker table.

Throughout my schooling, I always prided myself on the notes that I took in the classroom. This habit extended well into my adult years and university classes, as I’ve found that writing down my observations for future review has proven to be the ultimate study tool.

I extended this concept to the poker table when developing my Poker Notes Live app, which enables players to quickly and efficiently take notes on their mobile devices while playing live poker. An important feature that we integrated into the app was the ability to email your notes to yourself after a poker session for subsequent review.

READ MORE: Jared Tendler on the importance of taking notes in poker

Needless to say, I was overjoyed to read how Tendler emphasizes over and over again the importance of taking notes on one’s mental game. The many testimonials given throughout the book by poker players who’ve done this and how successful this strategy has been for them just helped to confirm my own long-held beliefs in the power of note-taking. Humbly, then, I also personally believe that anyone who reads The Mental Game of Poker will see the value in downloading my Poker Notes Live app for the sake of taking notes on themselves while playing live poker.

(Ed. Note: I’m aware that I’ve just shamelessly promoted my own app, but I’m very sincere in my belief that it can help poker players improve their game – and now their mental game as well.)

How to Get the Most Value Out of This Book

It took me about a month to get through The Mental Game of Poker. At 242 pages long, it’s not because I’m a slow reader; it’s actually because I did all my readings on Saturdays, the Jewish Sabbath. As an orthodox Jew, I refrain from using all electronic devices on my Sabbath and other holy days. The peace and tranquility this offers away from the buzzing, ringing, and pinging of regular daily life is indescribable. It’s with that type of calm that I sat down to read and enjoy The Mental Game of Poker.

Without any other “modern trappings” to distract me, it was that much easier to concentrate on this book’s higher-level concepts. It’s because of that, in my opinion, that I was able to gain so much from the book. If you pick up a copy, I highly recommend that you try your best to consume its content and learn its lessons in a similar sort of relaxed, undisturbed ambience. While the lessons are, of course, to be incorporated at and away from the table, they’re most certainly best imparted and absorbed in serene solitude.

Conclusion

As a poker player, with a vested interest in seeking out weak opponents from whom to make money off of, I’d prefer to square off at the felt against someone with a poor mental game; i.e., someone who has never heard of Jared Tendler, Barry Carter, or this book.

As a poker writer and blogger, however, I cannot help but give this book my highest rating and recommendation. Well done sirs! I look forward to reading and reviewing The Mental Game of Poker2, and further improving my own mental poker game.