The Mindset Advantage Poker Podcast

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Blake Eastman didn’t believe that poker tells had much (if any) value. 

Even as an adjunct psychology professor and founder of the behavioral research company The Nonverbal Group, he fell into the camp that believed old-school pros overvalued physical tells, and that betting patterns and game theory were all that really mattered. 

However, being the researcher at heart he decided to put this theory to the test. To do this, he funded his own research study, where 79 players were filmed over the course of many hours of play. 

After painstakingly analyzing the data over hundreds of hours, Blake found nothing. He watched film from players who were weak and found nothing. He watched film from players who were strong and found nothing. Just as he was about to give up, he decided to look at the data in a different light, and finally found the breakthrough he was looking for. 

Blake had finally cracked the live poker tells code, and he’s gone on to consult with players in the biggest games in the world and helped significantly increase their edge in those games. He’s also packaged everything he learned from that study, and everything he’s learned since then, into his Beyond Tells course. 

In this episode, Blake joins the show to discuss his journey from “Tells Skeptic” to “Tells Consultant”, and explains why Beyond Tells is so much different from every other book or course on poker tells in the market.

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This post and podcast episode contain affiliate links for Odin Poker. When you use our links we receive referral commissions when you purchase a membership. We are extremely selective with who we partner with, and are committed to recommending only the highest quality products and services that will benefit our listeners. Thank you for supporting the show! 

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Matt Jarvis is most known for losing one of the biggest rollercoaster hands (with $3mm in equity on the line) in the history of televised poker at the 2010 WSOP ME final table.

However, he didn’t let that bad beat hold him back as he parlayed his winnings in that tournament into multiple successful business ventures. 

After embarking on a journey of entrepreneurship, Matt was finally able to combine his passions for poker and business into a mobile gaming app called Cash Live Poker. 

After getting funding from some of the biggest names in poker, and winning a spot in Snapchat’s Accelerator program, Cash Live is on the trajectory of massive success. 

In this episode, Matt joins the show to share his journey from poker to business and how he plans to give anyone with a mobile app the chance to experience what it feels like to win a massive poker tournament.

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Odin Poker Grand Opening Special: Save 35% on your membership and claim exclusive bonuses when you use this link and use the code: ELLIOT at checkout. 

Rory Young is a high-stakes professional poker player with experience in live cash games as big as $1000/$2000 NL. 

As someone who used solvers as the backbone of his study, Rory grew increasingly frustrated with the tedious and expensive process of running sims, and he decided to find a better way.

And that's when the Odin Poker team was born.

In this week’s episode, Rory joins the show to give an Odin Poker review and share why he's more optimistic than ever about the game's profitability despite this dramatic leap in poker study technology.

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Mario Mosböck is a former professional footballer who gave up the game and transitioned into the poker world. 

After following the blueprint laid out for him by his mentor Fedor Holz, Mario has recently had some significant scores, including taking down the SCOOP Main Event for over $800,000. 

In this week’s episode, we dive deep into why he decided to give up life as a professional athlete, the emotional roller coaster of winning the SCOOP Main Event, and how he’s used the power of network to rapidly accelerate his learning.

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With nearly $20,000,000 in online MTT cashes, Jonathan “apestyles” Van Fleet has long been considered one of the top players in the game. 

Recently, he’s allowed the poker world to peek behind the curtain with regular streams on Twitch, and his apestyles bundle on the BBZ training site.

In this episode, apestyles shares the struggles and insecurities he dealt with at the start of his Twitch streaming career, and he used this new challenge to further fuel his success on the tables.

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This special episode is brought to you by the Run It Once Training Summer Sale, where you can now get Elliot Roe’s A-Game Poker Masterclass and Patrick's Pads on Pads course as a bundle for 50% off the regular price.

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As a self-taught coder, Vanessa Kade started her career in the video game industry. She discovered poker at the office, where her co-workers would regularly play a quick sit-and-go during lunch. 

After years of grinding live games, Vanessa switched to online in order to give Twitch streaming a try. It was then that she realized she could no longer coast on intelligence alone and needed to put in serious work if she was going to be successful in the game. 

After a “simulation-like” run that saw her speaking out against misogyny in the poker world and getting an ACR contract, Vanessa capped it off by taking down the PokerStars Sunday Million Anniversary Special for $1,514,920. 

In this episode, Vanessa joins Elliot Roe to discuss the emotional roller coaster that played out like a fairy tale and culminated in the biggest score of Vanessa’s career.

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Paul Otto built one of the most respected coaching teams in the game and has now moved on to using the skills he learned in poker to take on the cryptocurrency world. 

He currently runs F5 Crypto Capital and is paving the way for regulated cryptocurrency funds in Germany. 

In this episode, Elliot and Paul discuss what it takes to make it in today’s games, why Paul is still optimistic about the game’s future, and why poker players have a significant edge in the cryptocurrency world.

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Whether you’re a seasoned player or just getting started, your biggest leaks at the table come from emotional decision making.

Do you bring awareness and intention to every hand? Or do you make automatic plays based on your subconscious habits?

Know the science. Know the numbers. Balance with logic. And catch yourself before you punt off your stack again!

Your emotional leaks could be holding you back and costing your bankroll over time…

In this episode, Peter Clarke, long-time online cash game coach and author of Poker Therapy, shares how he stays ahead of the game—by taking a philosophical and rational approach to solver GTO strategy. Click play to learn more!

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What comes after a successful poker career?

Because of the high variance and limited economy the game offers, many players seek to diversify into business. Some want to leave the daily grind behind and transition out of the game.

Nick Howard and Wayne Yap are solving this problem with Beyond Poker, a podcast and network with a goal to help players transfer their skills into new markets.

Sure, you can create a startup, but that’s not the only option—and it may not even be the best choice for you.

Looking to transition out of the game? Want to grow multiple streams of income beyond your table time? In this episode, Nick and Wayne talk investments, business, mergers and acquisitions, and more. Click play to get inspired.

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Despite making poker history by becoming the first woman to final table the Poker Players Championship in 2014, Melissa struggled with the pressure and expectations from the sudden notoriety. 

After hitting rock bottom in her personal life last year, Melissa decided to follow her happiness and is now sharing her story with the world. With a mission to normalize mental health struggles in poker, she recently joined up with director Mario Cerrito to create a documentary series.

In this episode of the Mindset Advantage Podcast, Melissa reflects candidly on her struggles with anxiety throughout her years as a professional poker player.

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Think GTO is about playing like a robot? Michael Acevedo wants you to reconsider…

Yes, solvers have had a controversial place in poker history, but the application of them in gameplay has evolved since they arrived on the scene, and Michael wrote a whole book called Modern Poker Theory: Building an Unbeatable Strategy Based on GTO Principles.

In this episode, this mathematician shares some juicy insight into the practical, down-to-earth, HUMAN approach to GTO.

The goal should never be to play perfectly mechanically, but studying solver-based strategy and adjusting your gameplay to your opponents will give you an edge, which means more winnings at the tables over time. Listen to this episode to learn more!

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At 21 years old, Incze Zoltan walked into the hospital for a quick surgery to remove a swollen node from his face and walked out with a dreaded diagnosis: cancer.

But he decided right then and there that he would be a survivor. He battled and won and then realized he didn’t want to go back to his old life…

He made all the mistakes a player could make, but after reading psychology books, reviewing hands, and taking notes on every poker strategy content he could find, Zoltan grew into a winning player.

With the same determination he used to overcome cancer, Zoltan followed his passions to study hard and become a professional poker player.

Today, Zoltan runs ThePokerMindset.com, inspires players through his Instagram account, and is working on his second poker book. You can get your free copy of 25 Poker Mindset Tips Every Player Should Know at ThePokerMindset.com.

In this episode, you’ll hear Zoltan’s incredible story of survivorship, success, and inspiration. Listen to learn more!

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When Marle Cordeiro was invited to sit down at one of the most elite cash games in Vegas, she decided to take her big shot and play for mortgage-sized pots.

Marle also happens to be a creative who puts out a lot of content. She’s dabbled in Twitch streaming with her boyfriend Spraggy, and she’s got a hilarious YouTube channel called MarlzTV, where she shares her comedy sketches. Marle also started a poker podcast with Jamie Kerstetter called The Rake.

In this episode, Marle talks about what it’s like to make a huge jump in stakes, her move from live cash to online MTTs in the quarantine poker economy, and some helpful tips for content creators who are just getting started.

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Poker and rap? You’d better believe it. In fact, Adam “IT5PAYDAY” Neal scored himself not just one but TWO huge poker opportunities with his music.

After winning a contest with his rap video, Adam put his life in England on pause to fly out to the Virgin Islands to patriciate in Bill Perkin’s Thirst Lounge project.

In this episode, Adam Neal shares what it’s like to drop everything and live as a professional for a while, coming back to reality, and finding love for the game again.

Check out Adam’s new album LNC The Other Side of Me on Amazon.

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What’s it REALLY like to win big in poker? The excitement, the thrill, the sleepless nights… Is it all it’s cracked up to be? With three bracelets under her belt, Kristen Bicknell certainly knows a thing or two about it…

She’s one of the top MTT players in the world. She’s a dedicated mental athlete. She’s also down-to-earth and honest about the highs and lows of getting there. In this episode, Kristen gives you a candid peek into the reality of becoming a WSOP champion.

Want to be the best in the game? You’ve got to bring your best to the tables. Staying at the top takes a commitment to continuous growth—what investment are you willing to make? Listen to this episode to learn more.

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Are you a low-stakes player thinking about taking your game more seriously? You need what’s inside this episode! Tadas Peckaitis of MyPokerCoaching.com joins us in a conversation detailing the road map to long-term success in poker.

Early in his career, Tadas wasted a lot of time and energy by game switching and sitting down at the table randomly. Avoid his mistake!

Focus on what REALLY matters to winning the long-term game of poker—pick a game type that works for you and focus on the fundamentals. Listen to this episode to hear it all!

Click here to get the full show notes and resources from this week’s episode…

After a disappointing runner-up finish in the 2018 WSOP $1500 bounty event, Ranno decided to make some changes—big ones.

Over the next two years, Ranno gave up smoking weed, he healed anger issues he learned from his family, and he completely revamped his mindset by working with Poker Mind Coach hypnotherapist Dan Heskett.

When Ranno found himself at the COLOSSUS event final table, he showed up prepared to go home with the bracelet.

In this episode, find out all about Ranno’s journey to land a huge WSOP win in 2020. He talks about becoming his own friend, releasing attachment to winning, and how hypnotherapy gave Ranno the confidence to take home this year’s bracelet at the COLOSSUS event.

Click here to get the full show notes and resources from this week’s episode…

Bencb worked his way up from the micro stakes after going broke three times… Want to know how he did it? He says it’s all about consistency, especially with all the boring stuff.

It may not be as sexy as a huge win at the tables, but a long-term winning mindset means putting in the time and energy – over and over and over again. It means staying curious and keeping your ego in check. Even if you’re crushing it and moving up those stakes, Ben says you’ve got to maintain that beginner’s mindset and watch out for your blind spots…

In this episode, Benjamin Rolle (AKA bencb) shares his rags-to-riches success story in online poker, the deep emotional work he did to get there, and loads of advice for players looking to move up in stakes.

Click here to get the full show notes and resources from this week’s episode

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After Black Friday, JackStack99 took a life gamble… He left his home in Queens, NY for Montreal to focus on playing online poker professionally. Following his success in high-stakes spin-and-go games, Jack co-founded Team 651, his stable for spins players. In this episode, Jack shares his expensive staking mistakes, how a curious mindset saved his poker career, and why only focusing on your results will keep you on a rollercoaster…

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This week's guest is Johannes Mansbart, the CEO of Pokercode, Fedor Holz's poker training company and online community.

Johannes didn't start his career in the poker world. He had a passion for soccer, trained for many years, became a professional, and decided to switch his focus after feeling unfulfilled in the sports world.

Listen to this episode to hear about Johannes' journey from former athlete to creating an elite poker community with his friend, Fedor Holz.

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After his legendary run on the Super High Roller scene in 2016, Fedor Holz shocked the poker world with his announcement that he was retiring from the game. While he did play the occasional live High Roller tournament, he has mostly stayed off the virtual felt… until now.

In this episode of the Mindset Advantage Poker Podcast, Fedor Holz returns to the show to discuss his comeback to the online MTT scene, his new partnership with GG Poker, and the Online WSOP series. Topics covered include Fedor’s motivation for returning to the game, how he’s preparing to perform at his best during WSOP, and what he’s doing with PokerCode to help his students ship a bracelet.

Click here to get the full show notes and resources from this week's episode

Click Here To Enroll In Elliot Roe's A-Game Poker Masterclass

Wondering what hypnotherapy for poker players can do for your A-game? Mark Herm has been working with Elliot Roe for over 3 years, and he asked if he could come share his experiences with you on the show.

When Mark started working on past trauma and emotional triggers, he started seeing exponential improvement in his poker game. Today, he’s crushing it at the tables and feeling free in life… But we’ll let Mark tell you all about it! If you’ve been thinking about starting your journey with hypnotherapy, you won’t want to miss this episode.

Click here to get the full show notes and resources from this week's episode

Click Here To Enroll In Elliot Roe's A-Game Poker Masterclass

There’s a new poker documentary all about the women at the World Series of Poker. The Poker Queens documentary just released – you can watch it with your Amazon Prime membership at home. Today’s guest is Sandra Mohr, poker lover and director of the film.

Sandra shares all about what it was like to stay at the Rio during last year’s WSOP to interview women and invite them up to the Poker Palace, a restful getaway suite for ladies of the tables.

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Click Here To Enroll In Elliot Roe's A-Game Poker Masterclass

After starting the first Galfond Challenge down nearly $1,000,000, Phil Galfond stormed back and sealed the victory during an epic final day of play.

In this episode, Elliot and Phil discuss the key mindsets Phil adopted that allowed him to play his best despite the pressure and the swings of the challenge.

Click Here To Enroll In Elliot Roe's A-Game Poker Masterclass

Jon Pardy is a Big Brother Canada winner who fell on hard times and found himself deep in drugs and forced to couch surfing. All that changed when he got a call from Bill Perkins. Jon shares the story of completely turning his life around after blowing his bankroll right before his big Thirst Lounge break.

After reshaping his mindset, he’s now a successful poker player and Twitch streamer – and has a new lease on life. Listen to this episode to hear what it took for Jon to get out of a $20,000 debt, win some incredibly ambitious prop bets, and forge a new path for his life – all in the past year.

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James Whittet, a former high-stakes player and mindset coach to poker professionals, entrepreneurs, and business owners, shares why he’s grateful for Black Friday and the possibilities it presented. He talks about what motivates him and how the source of his drive has changed over the course of his life. James and Elliot break down the three biggest challenges poker players have and how a player’s well-being has a direct impact on their bottom line.

Listen in to hear James reveal a bulletproof daily routine – and learn why having a community is one of the best things you can do for your personal and professional development.

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Jason Koon is one of the most successful high-stakes players in the world, excelling at both tournaments and cash games. In live tournaments, he has over $30,000,000 in earnings, and he can often be found sitting in the biggest cash games in the world.

All that being said, this episode is about something different.

Recently, Jason posted an incredibly brave series of tweets detailing his journey to overcome an abusive childhood, and sharing some of the wisdom he learned along the way.

Poker is a highly emotional game, one that can easily trigger emotions caused by events in your past. Part of becoming the best player you can be, and bringing your A-Game each session, is identifying those emotional triggers and taking steps to manage them or eliminate them altogether.

So, we asked Jason if he would come on to discuss his story in more depth, and what resulted was an incredibly open and deep discussion that could help a lot of people struggling with issues similar to what Jason has dealt with in the past.

Click here to learn more about Elliot Roe's A-Game Poker Masterclass 

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Recently, Fedor Holz invited Elliot to participate in a community coaching session for Fedor's PokerCode students. Usually, it's Elliot who is interviewing Fedor, but this time the tables were turned. What resulted was an engaging and insightful conversation, where Fedor permitted Elliot to be "fully open" with what they've worked on over the years in private coaching sessions.

Click here to learn more about Elliot Roe's A-Game Poker Masterclass (currently available for 70% off)

In this episode, former Mindset Advantage Podcast co-host Adrienne Carter returns to discuss her new career in Mindset Coaching and to give some tips on dealing with the COVID-19 situation.

Elliot and Adrienne share how they are personally approaching self-isolation and quarantine during the COVID-19, and discuss how you can deal with the stress and anxiety of these uncertain times, and come out of the other side stronger than ever before.

Elliot shares the free resources he has made available to help ease stress and anxiety, as well as the significant discount and extra coaching he is offering on his A-Game Poker Masterclass while this situation persists.

Click Here To Learn More About The A-Game Poker Masterclass

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Daniel Dvoress, a super high roller, shares how he became “numb” to the crazy variance of online $25Ks. He explains how playing online prepared him for his Super High Roller Bowl win in the Bahamas. Elliot and Daniel talk about dealing with pressure, spotting weak mindsets, and controlling your emotions when experiencing big swings.

Listen in to hear Daniel break down the secret to effective learning – and find out how to get the most out of your study time.

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In this episode, Dara O’Kearney, a professional poker player, author, and award-winning podcaster, breaks down how to form a habit and train your mind like an ultra-runner.

Listen in to hear Dara share tips for getting over things you can’t control – and learn what helps him stay hyper-focused despite the repetitiveness of the game.

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In this episode, Brad Wilson, a professional live and online cash-game player, coach, and podcaster, reveals how he improved his negative self-talk and criticism. He shares why he believes emotions should be felt – not suppressed – when playing poker and what he does to manage them. Elliot and Brad open up about the reality of failure in poker, the different tells online, and why knowing when to quit may possibly be the best skill to learn.

Listen in to hear Brad share tips for becoming a successful player – and listen to what he has to say about the future of poker. 

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In this episode, Phil Galfond talks about his series of challenges playing high-stakes PLO against some of the world’s best. He shares how the challenge came about, why he created it, and what he has been doing to prepare. Elliot and Phil discuss the mindset shifts that Phil has undergone, and he opens up about the hidden fear that has kept him from studying.

Listen in to hear Phil share what makes Run It Once different– and learn why he won’t need a vacation after these challenges are completed.

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In this episode, Dylan Linde, a renowned Run It Once coach, professional poker player, and author of Mastering Mixed Games, reveals what it takes to build and maintain mental toughness. He shares why his ability to see strategic similarities between games has been a catalyst for his success. Elliot and Dylan talk about going back to the basics, learning from small hands, and reviewing your bad plays.

Listen in for a quick coaching session from a pro – and learn the mindset training strategies that have done wonders for his game. 

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In this episode, Dan Cates AKA Jungleman, opens up about his anger issues and shares what he’s been doing to improve his mindset. He reveals what he has learned about himself while diagnosing the cause of his tilt, and gives some advice to those struggling with the same challenges. Elliot and Dan talk about Dan’s exciting new lifestyle project and we get a peek into what to expect.

Listen in to understand Jungleman on a deeper level – and learn some tips and tricks to begin the journey of mastering your mind, too.  

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In this episode, Kevin Rabichow, a popular Run It Once coach and longtime professional, talks about shifting into new poker games. He shares the biggest differences in mentality between online cash game and tournament pros and gives insights into the key mindsets that lead to success.

Listen in to hear why certain people “make it” while others fall to the wayside – and discover how to stay ahead of the pack.

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In this episode, Andrew Brokos, poker coach, host of the Thinking Poker podcast, and author of the book Play Optimal Poker talks about why we fail. He shares what he has learned on and off the table and stresses why it’s so important to manage your money wisely – even during upswings. Elliot and Andrew reveal why we can’t – and shouldn’t – always rely on predictions.

Listen in to hear why knowing poker theory is critical and learn how Andrew has made it accessible to the casual player.  

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In this episode, Rob Tinnion and Jon Van Fleet (aka Ape Styles), two of the best MTT players and coaches, talk about their training site Max-Value.com. They share information about their new course, The Blueprint. Elliot, Rob, and Jon deep-dive into the course’s material, their teaching methodology, and the results their clients achieve.

Listen in to hear two of the best MTT players in the world give tips for success.

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In this episode, Elliot will be talking to Matt, Drew, and Jon from The Thirst Lounge, a group of 10 talented individuals that stream poker and document their journey while sharing the highs and lows of their life-changing experience.

Find out how they became involved in The Thirst Project and what Elliot's course means to them, as well as hearing about some of the crazy prop bets that the guys have, and are getting themselves into!

Listen to what it is like to live in the Virgin Islands and to be sponsored by Bill Perkins on a year-long once in a lifetime poker adventure.

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In this episode, Josh Arieh discusses how he first came to love gambling and how he went from the pool hall to the professional poker table. He shares his views on the importance of adrenaline and how it helps him be a better poker player in the face of high-pressure situations.

He tells us his plans for the future and how playing poker helps him while going through a rough patch in life and gives some great advice to young poker players. Elliot and Josh talk about the infamous 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event and how he wasn’t as much of an asshole as you think he was!

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In this episode, Jeff Gross, one of the most interesting personalities in all of poker who professionally plays live and online, discusses how he got started on Twitch. He shares how he’s learned to be realistic about his evolution and growth in the poker world. Elliot and Jeff dive into how to get started on Twitch, what to expect, and how you could turn streaming into a business.

Listen in to hear this PBF – Professional Best Friend - talk about balance, family life, and why he loves engaging the poker community online.

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In this episode, Sandra Mohr, a Hollywood director and producer who retired to travel in an RV and play poker, discusses why she recently reentered cinema. She shares her inspiration for the film Poker Queens and reveals some of the famous (and not-so-famous) faces we’ll see in it. Elliot and Sandra explore what holds women back in poker, what gives them an advantage, and how we all can practice evolved awareness on and off the table.

Listen in to hear this poker queen talk about killer instincts, painful tilts, and the strides she’s making to highlight the badass women of poker.

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In this episode, Tommy Angelo, poker and meditation coach, discusses his new book Dailyness: How to Sustain a Meditation Practice.

He shares what meditation means to him and why, if you commit to making it a practice, you need to go all-in. Elliot and Tommy explore the common excuses and challenges people face when they meditate. Listen in to hear an expert share how meditation gives players an edge at the table and why you’re already better at it than you think.

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Episode 100 of The Mindset Advantage Poker Podcast is here! 

This is a massive milestone for the show, and more importantly, the poker community who have embraced the mental game and are always striving to become the best versions of themselves.

Today’s episode isn’t about any guest; it’s about you.

Here you'll discover what it means to be an A-Game Player, and how you can use the A-Game Poker Masterclass as a shortcut to get from where you are now to A-Game Player status.

Get access to the course here: PokerMindCoach.com/class

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In this episode, I have conversations with two students of my A-Game Poker Masterclass. Patrick Testoni and David Jeffres discuss the course, how they’ve implemented what they’ve learned, and the specific results they experienced. Patrick is a semi-professional player who plays both live and online MTTs, and David is an “enthusiastic amateur.” Both experienced tremendous growth since completing the course – in poker and in life.

Get access to the course here: PokerMindCoach.com/class

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In this episode, Elliot talks with two students of the A-Game Poker Masterclass. Andrew Lok and Lara Eisenberg discuss the course’s content, how they’ve implemented what they’ve learned, and an insider’s perspective on what to expect when you enroll. Whether you’re a full-time pro, semi-professional, or enthusiastic amateur – this course could be just what you need to get to the next level.

Get access to the course here: PokerMindCoach.com/class

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We are back with another special episode, celebrating the launch of Elliot Roe's A-Game Poker Masterclass in partnership with Phil Galfond's Run It Once Training.

In Today's episode, Elliot is joined by Fedor Holz as he recounts the events leading up to them working together and how he was able to go on his epic high-roller run so soon after.

It's a great story, and to our knowledge one that he's never shared publicly before today.

Pay close attention to this one, every time Fedor speaks, he drops so many valuable nuggets that you can use to be a better player almost immediately.

Listen in to hear how working on his mental game changed the trajectory of his poker career (and life) and learn why he recommends Elliot’s A-Game Poker Masterclass.

Get access to the course here: PokerMindCoach.com/class

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In this episode, Elliot and Phil Galfond discuss their exciting new partnership. They are releasing Elliot’s A-Game Poker Masterclass through Phil’s Run It Once training site because they recognize how important it is for truly dedicated poker players to master their mindset. Elliot and Phil discuss why a strong mental game is more critical than ever – especially now that solutions are more available and studied. Listen in to hear what to expect from the course, why Phil stands behind it, and how you can become part of a community of A-Game Players. 

Get access to the course here: PokerMindCoach.com/class

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In this episode, Wayne Yap, high-stakes poker professional and advisor, reveals how he made his way to the top despite severe financial adversity – and a two-year stint in the army. Elliot and Wayne discuss the importance of studying and building a network within the poker community. Listen in to hear an expert share his strategic thinking, practical game theory, and mindset mastery tips so you can jump stakes and play bigger.

Visit The Mindset Advantage Podcast or find us on iTunes to subscribe, visit previous episodes, and learn more about your host, Elliot Roe.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:50 – Introducing Wayne, his journey, and direction
• 01:20 – His started by playing small games in Singapore; his parent’s business was failing and he went into the army for two years at that time
• 02:00 – He didn’t have the money to practice his game so he downloaded poker videos and would watch them while out in the jungle while in the army
• 02:40 – The importance of studying
• 02:57 – Learning is important in any field if you want to improve and succeed
• 03:07 – The learner’s mindset is the most important thing
• 03:25 – How he ensured his improvement and success
• 03:32 – He had financial pressure so he felt like he had to get good
• 03:55 – After the army he went to Macau with some good high-stakes poker players and because he studies math and statistics he was helpful to them
• 04:10 – He learned from them and was valuable to them; this helped set up his network
• 06:05 – How long it took him to support himself through poker
• 06:22 – He got into high-stakes in about six years
• 07:05 – He didn’t appreciate it then, but does now looking back
• 07:42 – The mindset needed for the system used in Macau
• 07:53 – He said it was lucrative but killed brain cells
• 08:30 – Sessions run 24 - 30 hours and some do doubles to play longer with VIPs
• 09:33 – It’s not professional; after 20 hours, they are delirious and need to release awkward energy
• 10:50 – He knows only 5-10 people who like it to some degree; most of the time they’re miserable and tired and are doing it for the money
• 11:55 – He got very bonded with the people he played with; everyone became friends
• 12:38 – How the VIPs play in Macau
• 12:48 – The ones that come back to play want to be good players but don’t care about losing money
• 13:20 – They don’t care about the game but get to make friends with pros
• 13:50 – Advice for player who want to get to high-stakes
• 13:55 – Decide whether you want to be good at poker or be good at poker and make money
• 14:20 – Poker is dynamic; GTO is not the angle
• 15:37 – You can’t ever practically apply the exact solver outputs; you work on assumptions that can be wrong
• 16:30 – Don’t get stuck on the theory part
• 17:20 – Things Wayne sees around mindset
• 17:35 – The biggest mindset flaw is that people take things too seriously
• 18:25 – Letting emotions get to you has a negative compounding effect at the table
• 19:10 –The money you have is more valuable than the money you earn; find your threshold and know how much money you need and what you can afford losing
• 20:50 – Know your emotional limitations around losses
• 21:13 – What Wayne would’ve done differently
• 21:50 – Strategy-wise, zoom out a few levels from where you are
• 23:10 – Wayne’s next steps
• 23:25 – He explored block chain and made investments
• 23:45 – He wants to educate, train, and empower others
• 24:05 – He plans on doing cryptocurrency education and feels he brings a fresh perspective
• 24:33 – He’s teaching people how to play and make money playing poker; it’s important to build soft skills 

Contact/Resources

• Wayne’s website
• Follow Wayne on Instagram
• Follow Wayne on Facebook
• Check out the Jump Stake website

Credits

• Podcast Production by Podcastily

In this episode, Blake Eastman, founder of The Nonverbal Group, creator of Beyond Tells, and owner of The School of Cards, talks about the largest study ever conducted on the behavior of poker players. Elliot and Blake discuss how to integrate this new information into your game and why the use of tells isn’t for everyone. Listen in to hear a psychology expert share some tips and tricks that you can implement immediately to have an advantage over your live opponents.

Visit The Mindset Advantage Podcast or find us on iTunes to subscribe, visit previous episodes, and learn more about your host, Elliot Roe. 

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:50 – Introducing Blake, the founder of The Nonverbal Group, creator of Beyond Tells, and owner of School of Cards
• 00:55 – He was a psychology professor and now uses that knowledge and data to help people understand the use of tells in the game
• 01:23 – He started playing poker in his teens and his work now combines his three main passions – poker, nonverbal behavior, and teaching
• 02:25 – Blake was anti-behavior and anti-tells before, but after Beyond Tells his perspective changed
• 03:06 – Information on Beyond Tells
• 03:08 – It is the largest study ever conducted on the behavior of poker players; things like blink rate were recorded
• 03:55 – They found that the quantitative approach is useless but the qualitative results have been game-changing
• 04:22 – The poker community has been wrong about how they read tells – the results have found that qualitative patterns tell the most
• 04:57 – They’ve designed frameworks and approaches to identify who to watch, when, and how so you can integrate that into your game
• 05:30 – Video is necessary to analyze spots
• 05:50 –Blake’s “A-ha!” moment – when he realized the data was useful and he had been wrong
• 06:05 – He was in the office looking at footage and implemented the “grounding theory,” where you code the data without a hypothesis
• 06:30 – He was watching a specific player and saw correlations between his hand movements and range
• 06:51 – He started noticing the same thing with other players and live at the table; poker tells can be taught, they aren’t just an inherent skill
• 07:30 – How Blake teaches the skill to students
• 07:35 – First, students must understand and know the body can give off information, then that can be prioritized into a system
• 08:00 – They can establish feedback loops for players
• 09:20 – What you can pick up in a small amount of time
• 09:35 – Predictive models allow for you to follow a player using common patterns
• 10:27 – The system allows for you to know, not think, where another player is weak
• 11:15 – Which players to read
• 11:30 – It depends on the players, but is still beneficial even if you can only read one player
• 12:18 – He teaches people to go after certain spots and opportunities so behaviors can define and guide as to when to make certain moves
• 12:43 – Working with the greatest minds in poker
• 13:05 – He doesn’t want the highest echelons knowing his techniques because he plays with them
• 14:04 – On his work with Nonverbal Group and the power of perspective
• 14:35 – He sees a difference between mindset and mental game; he sees mindset as an approach and mental game as on-table optimization
• 14:50 – You must fix the foundation (mindset) before working on anything else
• 15:35 – On the game moving fast
• 15:50 – At the top it moves fast, but most games move slow; there’s a media bias and the local card room isn’t represented
• 17:42 – Lower-level players are still not up to date on higher-level information about the game
• 18:00 – Reading behavior and tells is for a specific kind of player, not just anyone
• 19:04 – On what Beyond Tells does
• 19:11 – They focus on live, no-limit Hold ‘Em and have a serious of programs depending on what the player needs, but mechanics need to be established first
• 20:10 – The course is embedded with his knowledge of psychology
• 23:36 – A tip for listeners: Pay attention to the hands
• 23:50 – Pick one or two players and focus on their hands pre-flop; see what they do right before and right after
• 24:12 – Increase your awareness
• 25:15 – High-level players want to know timing tells but there are more interesting tells to analyze
• 26:26 – A final tip for listeners: Embedded concealment strategies make it easier to pay attention to them
• 27:00 – Blake’s plans
• 27:06 – He’s going to Aussie Millions and WSOP
• 27:28 – He’s learning and understanding other player’s spots; he’s using his own findings to improve his game

3 Key Points

• The qualitative results Blake has found are game-changing.
• You must master the foundations of poker before studying behavior and tells.
• A player’s hands tell a lot – pick a player or two and see what their hand say.

Contact/Resources

• Beyond Tells - Training Website
• Poker Mind Coach – Elliot’s Coaching Website

Credits

• Podcast Production by Podcastily

In this episode, Phil Galfond, poker pro and owner of the Run It Once training site, reveals insider information about the launch of his new site and the challenges he has faced while developing it. Elliot and Phil discuss how his playing style has evolved over the years and how he has come to accept losses. Listen in to hear who inspires Phil, why he started Run It Once, and what to expect when his new site launches. 

Visit The Mindset Advantage Podcast or find us on iTunes to subscribe, visit previous episodes, and learn more about your host, Elliot Roe. 

Time Stamped Show Notes

• 00:50 – Introducing Phil and his company
• 01:20 – He started playing poker 15 year ago; he dropped out of school to play full-time
• 02:00 – He’s been a pro for 13 years, plays mostly PLO, and has had a few WSOP wins; 6 years ago, he launched the Run It Once training site
• 02:40 – How poker has changed over the last 13 years
• 02:50 – Achievable win rates were higher, but pros have gotten better; it’s still the same game, but the strategic knowledge has progressed
• 03:30 – How Phil felt when launching Run It Once
• 03:50 – He had made training videos before and focused on balanced strategy; he was comfortable and confident that he wouldn’t show leaks
• 05:30 – He prefers video coaching; he doesn’t like doing 1 on 1 personal coaching
• 06:30 – Phil’s swings and how he dealt with them
• 06:50 – Swings take longer to get drastic in nosebleeds; he hasn’t seen the swings that some players have
• 07:30 – He started playing as a broke college kid and the money didn’t scare him; he saw getting back up to higher money levels as a game
• 08:30 – His emotional disconnection with money allowed him to think more clearly; today, he feels more pressure and that makes it harder to detach
• 09:00 – He finds himself shying away from certain spots now; he feels there’s no replacement for the naivety of youth
• 09:30 – What Phil’s mindset is like now
• 09:38 – He can snap out of feeling down very quickly; he can accept the reality of a loss or string of losses
• 10:30 – Everything feels stronger live; the social element makes wins and losses feel more personal
• 11:00 – Phil’s mindset inspiration
• 11:10 – Dan Cates (Jungleman) is very emotional when he plays, but his game never changes and this is a big advantage
• 12:00 – Phil used to think Dan tilted a lot, but he doesn’t; he has an interesting mind and can’t contain his emotions
• 12:37 – He doesn’t have the emotional pull that most people have
• 13:00 – The Run It Once company
• 13:15 – He loved meeting people who say Run It Once helped them; the coaches of the company are proud to be a part of the brand
• 14:10 – The switch from a training site to creating a software
• 14:15 – The training site gave him a false confidence in his business acumen; the training site did very well with little marketing
• 14:48 – The development team is bigger and the project is bigger; he now must manage people, which he hadn’t done before
• 15:15 – What’s new and different about Run It Once
• 15:30 – He was worried that the online poker market was in trouble; he didn’t know where online poker was heading
• 16:55 – They launched with cash games only; they have anonymous games and dynamic avatars to eliminate HUD use
• 18:30 – Stakes that’ll be allowed on the site
• 18:31 - It’ll be 6 max only at launch; they don’t want to split their player pool
• 18:50 – They’ve come up with some innovative things that’ll improve the quality of the experience and game for cash games and tournaments
• 19:10 – They are not incentivizing bum-hunting and targeting of weaker players
• 19:45 – There’s a balance that needs to be kept between the money that net depositing players lose going to the players on the site; it can go too far in one direction, as it has on other sites
• 20:19 – They haven’t finalized the exact stakes they’re going to offer; they must consider liquidity at launch and will open other stakes as more players join
• 20:55 – They won’t have nosebleed stakes at launch; they’ll build a separate experience for that with different rules and policies
• 21:15 – The launch timeline
• 21:18 – They are still working on fixing some bugs; he’s optimistic but needs to be sure it’s working perfectly before launch
• 22:30 – He’s not sure when it’ll launch
• 23:00 – New advancements with the training site
• 23:08 – They’ve gotten good coaches and are running a promotion for a discount and gift on annual elite membership
• 23:30 – They’ve reopened their apparel store
• 24:00 – How to join Run It Once
• 24:10 – Go to eu to see the features and policies and sign up for the mailing/beta test email list 

3 Key Points

• An emotional disconnect with the money can allow for clearer thinking during the game.
• Creating a training site is very different than creating a software.
• Phil’s training site has improved, and he’s not sure when the new site will launch.

Contact/Resources

• Run it Once Poker Training
• Sign up for the beta test/email list

Credits

• Podcast Production by Podcastily

In this episode, Jack Sinclair, WSOP Europe champion and final tabler at the main event in Las Vegas, reveals what he did to go from recreational player with a day job to WSOP champion – in two and a half years. Elliot and Jack discuss what it feels like to get into flow state and why understanding psychology can give you that extra edge. Listen in to hear a professional who fast-tracked his way to success share some insider tips that’ll inspire you to take leaps of faith, improve your game, and experience your own flow state.

Visit The Mindset Advantage Podcast or find us on iTunes to subscribe, visit previous episodes, and learn more about your host, Elliot Roe.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:50 – Introducing Jack Sinclair, a pro who made it to the final table at the main event in Las Vegas and won the World Series of Poker Europe

• 01:30 – He’s been a professional poker player for two and a half years now; he started playing online MTTs in London
• 01:40 – He had a coaching session with Phil Gruissem and later became his roommate
• 02:30 – He got 8th in the main event at the World Series of Poker in 2017 and won Europe’s WSOP this year
• 03:30 – He was happy to have placed 8th; he was playing above his highest level and was happy with his performance

• 04:27 – The decision to leave his day-job and play poker full-time

• 04:52 – He took a leap of faith before he was good enough to play full-time
• 06:10 – He’s wasn’t that confident, but was willing to try no matter what
• 06:20 – He started playing poker at university and got hooked

• 07:15 – Switching between online mid-stakes to live tournaments

• 07:43 – He’s always been a live player; he has a good understanding of psychology which helps his game
• 08:17 – With online poker you can’t read people as easily; he plays an exploitative game style which is best live
• 09:40 – Anton Morgenstern reads “vibes” and Jack is inspired by that

• 11:00 – Jack’s thoughts on the mental game in poker

• 11:15 – He was an early adopter of The Mindset Advantage and hypnosis; he was a member of Poker Nerve as well
• 12:17 – He’s suspicious of everything but thinks that these tools are helping his game
• 13:50 – It doesn’t matter how good your mental game is if you are unsound; the question is if improvement to your mental game helps your poker game

• 15:12 – Producing your best technical game at the table without failing due to energy loss, stress, or tilt

• 15:30 – You can’t always play to the best of your ability, that’s why mindset improvement is important

• 16:22 – Jack doesn’t enjoy meditation, but when he did it, he won the tournament

• 17:00 – Sometimes it’s hard to find the time to meditate
• 17:35 – He wears lucky socks when he plays

• 18:11 – The pressure at the final tables

• 18:25 – It didn’t feel momentous; he was just blown away being in Vegas and it was an overload
• 20:10 – He got into flow state on day six; he felt like he was no longer thinking and that every move was being gifted to him

• 21:10 – Describing flow state

• 21:16 – The day went by quickly, like there was no time
• 21:52 – He felt he was using his brain more and that the stream tables helped
• 23:33 – On day four or five of WSOP Europe he had a hand where he thought he was beat but called anyway; he knew he should have folded
• 25:20 – Now he doesn’t care and does what he believes is right; this mentality helped him at the final table

• 26:00 – On playing stream tables

• 26:02 – You’ll always look like an idiot because the audience can see things you can’t
• 27:05 – The reality is that there aren’t high-level poker players giving free, good advice on YouTube or stream comments

• 27:33 – On the getting the trophy

• 28:00 – He is satisfied with the way he played; he minimized basic errors and honed in his mental game

3 Key Points

1. Going from recreational to professional poker player requires a level of faith.
2. A trained mindset is important because you can’t always win on skill alone.
3. Flow state makes time fly and decisions feel like they are simply given.

Contact/Resources

• Jack’s Twitter
• Jack’s Instagram

Credits

Podcast Production by Podcastily

In this episode, Kevin Martin, former Big Brother winner, Twitch streamer, and professional poker player, reveals how his studying to get cast on the show helped the way he studies the complexities of poker. Elliot and Kevin discuss why having a healthy body and mind is critical to success – especially during multi-day tournaments. Listen in to hear a young and successful expert of the game share how he boosts his confidence, when he sits out of a game, and why his girlfriend’s support might just be his deadliest weapon.

Visit The Mindset Advantage Podcast or find us on iTunes to subscribe, visit previous episodes, and learn more about your host, Elliot Roe.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:50 – Introducing Kevin Martin, former Big Brother, Twitch streamer, and successful live MTT player

• 01:25 – Kevin is a 25-year-old poker professional in Canada
• 01:55 – Kevin won the Big Brother show in Canada; he used to love reality TV so he studied the casting process to get cast on the show
• 03:00 – He relates studying the casting process to studying the complex systems in poker to find an edge

• 04:00 – Kevin’s view on self-development

• 04:15 – It’s always necessary, in poker it’s easy to say “I’m running bad” when you really need to improve your game

• 05:00 – Kevin’s accomplishments

• 05:10 – This past summer he went on a crazy live run; he won three tournaments and placed 2nd in two tournaments  
• 06:10 – He sees the wins as a testament to his hard work and wants to keep it going

• 06:55 – Kevin’s game plan to get an edge

• 07:07 – You must set yourself up for success before the tournament; it’s important to eat well and take care of your body
• 07:45 – Optimizing breaks, meditation, and disconnecting while at the table
• 08:30 – If you miss a showdown, you lose money; treat the game like the most important thing in your life at the moment

• 09:10 – Tournament professionalism

• 09:25 – At the $1,000, $2,500, and $600 buy-in level, no one has the intensity required to get to higher stakes  

• 10:12 – How confidence impacts his playing

• 10:22 – He plays more aggressively when he’s confident; he advises not to play if you don’t feel confident
• 10:40 – Take a break if you’re on a downswing to study and boost your confidence; players will play differently against you when you are confident

• 11:28 – Kevin’s buy-ins: He was in a tournament for six bullets because he was within his bankroll management and it was still a profitable decision

• 12:10 – He feels comfortable playing bigger buy-ins now; he’s excited to play at a $25,000 buy-in this year

• 13:30 – Tournaments where PokerStars use it as marketing

• 13:51 – There will be a lot of dead money at the tournament, so it’s a good one to participate in when increasing your buy-in

• 14:00 – Seeing people break down at tournaments

• 14:38 – People that aren’t taking care of themselves fall apart in long tournaments; this is an advantage for pros
• 15:55 – Recreational players can study, commit to improving, and still win tournaments

• 17:20 – Kevin’s Twitch streaming

• 17:27 – He’s moved up stakes and started firing up mix games; his community has been very supportive and has set him up for success
• 18:02 – They play small, medium, and some high stakes
• 18:33 – Some people from Big Brother support him and got into poker

• 19:23 –Kevin’s goal list

• 19:40 – “To become a super-killer” poker player

• 20:23 – Kevin studies his mistakes and surrounds himself with smart people so he can improve

• 21:45 – Ego can get in the way, but you need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable
• 22:14 – The best players always question themselves and always look to improve

• 22:54 – A moment from 2018 that sticks out

• 23:17 – It was the final 22 at Run It Up Reno and there was $70,000 up top, his girlfriend was there
• 23:50 – He wasn’t himself so she told him to workout, shower, and meditate, and he came back after the dinner break 100% and ready to play
• 24:25 – She is a supportive partner and gives him an edge

• 25:00 – A message for listeners

• 25:00 – Poker is accessible to anyone who is willing to commit to the game; there’s still the opportunity to follow the poker dream
• 27:10 – Play sober and study; following the game plan pays off

3 Key Points

1. Optimize breaks, meditate, and stay healthy to perform at your best.
2. Always question yourself and look for ways to improve.
3. Play sober, rested, and confident – or don’t play at all.   

Contact/Resources

• Kevin’s Twitch  
• Kevin’s Instagram

Credits

Podcast Production by Podcastily

In this episode, Arlie Shaban, full-time poker player and Twitch streamer, talks about what it was like to stream 125 days in a row for 8 hours a day – a total of 1,000 hours – and get challenged by Poker Stars. Elliot and Arlie discuss extreme tilts, online trolls, and how he has learned to control his temper during a bad beat. Listen in to hear an Enterprise Rent-a-Car employee turned full-time poker player share his journey to becoming a professional player and progress on the “12 Labors of Arlie” Poker Stars challenge.

Visit The Mindset Advantage Podcast or find us on iTunes to subscribe, visit previous episodes, and learn more about your host, Elliot Roe.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:50 – Arlie Shaban is a Twitch streamer who has just been challenged by PokerStars for a chance to win a $30,000 Platinum Pass
• 01:20 – Arlie’s Introduction

• 01:30 – Arlie’s been playing poker full-time for 15 months; he hated working a regular job and loved poker
• 02:30 – He had a mentor to learn Twitch and Twitch poker; he went through the Max-Value Training Program
• 03:35 – Starting in November of 2017 he streamed 125 days in a row for a total of 1000 hours; he has an intense work ethic and went all-in
• 04:25 – Now he’s a full-time Twitch poker streamer

• 04:40 – What it was like to stream 125 days in a row, 8 hours a day

• 04:43 – He was confident and over-prepared; it was harder than he thought but he wasn’t willing to fail

• 06:50 – The challenges Arlie faced

• 07:00 – Arlie can grind for months; he thought that would translate well to streaming, but he completely underestimated its intensity and negativity
• 07:32 – He thought since he was on Big Brother Canada, he could handle anything; but he found streaming draining and distracting
• 09:30 – You have less time to study when you’re streaming; he stopped studying for a while

• 10:05 – Study and play hours

• 10:15 – He’s not consistent and doesn’t have a set schedule

• 12:23 – This past month he was at an 85% ROI; he’s up almost $4,000 and plays small $22 games and below
• 12:45 – The 12 Labors of Arlie challenge

• 13:10 –Poker Stars noticed his 1,000-hour challenge
• 14:00 – He later did a 43-hour stream and got 1,400 followers
• 14:45 – Poker Stars challenged him to the 12 Labors of Arlie, which were 12 random challenges
• 15:22 – He’s on challenge 5 now and just found out that the challenge is for a $30,00 platinum pass

• 16:30 – Breaking down the challenges

• 17:00 – Jamie Staples, the Twitch “Granddaddy,” set-up inspiration and things to do to improve his streaming and brand
• 18:30 – Mindset improvement challenge: He must clip when he has a bad beat and record himself having a positive reaction

• 19:30 – Arlie has intense swings and thought that’d be his barrier to entry in poker

• 20:10 – He realized that if he wanted to become a professional he would need to teach himself to not have negative reactions
• 21:05 – He understands poker enough to play without emotions affecting him

• 21:30 – As an MTT player, you should understand that you will have bad beats

• 22:00 – Play your best and you’ll be profitable over time
• 22:30 – As he’s gotten better and made more money, his reactions have improved

• 23:25 – Down time and study time is critical for success; playing 8 hours a day every day isn’t sustainable over time

• 24:40 – Consistency is key

• 24:55 – The most extreme tilt he’s had was with chats; he used to have a fan near his bed that he’d break

• 26:15 – He’d lose it over super-small stakes; he turned off chats for years because he knew how much it impacted him
• 27:10 – Where to find Arlie: Arlie.tv

3 Key Points

1. Mentorship and training programs can help you improve your game faster.
2. It’s important to balance your study and play time.
3. Unchecked negative emotions will hinder your success.

Contact/Resources

Twitch site: Arlie.tv

Podcast Production, Editing, Show Notes & Transcript by Podcastily

In this episode, Rory “DeosOner” Young, winner of $174K in the WCOOP’s Super Tuesday, talks about what he does to control his mental state and stay confident during the game. Elliot and Rory dive into why studying, training your mindset, and controlling your emotions will always be important – whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned player. Listen in to hear the WCOOP 2018 champion share what he thinks about short-cuts and strategy in cash and MTT games.

Visit The Mindset Advantage Podcast or find us on iTunes to subscribe, visit previous episodes, and learn more about your host, Elliot Roe.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:50 – Introducing Rory Young and his victories
• 01:25 – Rory’s poker playing journey
• 02:30 – The difference between online cash game players and MTT players
• 02:35 – The baseline strategy is more compact with cash games; strategy changes a lot based on stack size
• 03:42 – Moving to MTTs from Zoom
• 03:45 –He got coached through the transition by MTT grinders
• 04:25 – You can get through more spots in a shorter period with MTTs; he enjoys the adrenaline rush and pace of MTTs
• 05:02 – The schedule is different with MTTs, you must play through and manage your mental state and thoughts
• 05:50 – Advice on how to control your mental state
• 06:10 – Use a coach and tools to guide your mental training and understand how to control your thoughts
• 07:20 – The importance of continued learning and improvement
• 08:30 – Seeing hands play out and focusing on mental game
• 08:50 –Starting out in cash games helped Rory become more aware of the variance for MTTs
• 09:27 – Separating yourself from the emotions during the game
• 10:04 – Recalling his Super Tuesday win in the WCOOP 2018
• 11:00 – His PokerStars interview and comment about simply having a good run
• 12:00 – You must know how to capitalize when you run well
• 12:30 – Energy, focus, and being driven by the fear of busting
• 14:30 – Understanding his game and seeing the win as a launching point for improvement and growth
• 15:20 – Rory wants to study and play the high rollers in a few years
• 15:30 – Poker for Australian players
• 15:45 – There will always be good live cash games in Sydney and Poker Masters online, but Rory believes professional players shouldn’t live in Australia
• 16:40 – Rory believes people should travel, move, and make new friends to grow and push through personal limitations
• 17:10 – Rory’s travels: He is happy having found a base in Victoria, BC with friends
• 18:11 – Study recommendations
• 19:00 - Find someone who is where you want to be in 2 years to help you and offer them something in return
• 19:15 – Use PioSolver appropriately and talk to professionals who use the program
• 19:53 – There are no short-cuts; to get to high-stakes you must study
• 20:37 – The craziest tilt Rory has ever witnessed
• 22:00 – Rory deleted all his social media accounts, if you want to find him you’ve got to hunt him down

3 Key Points

• The learning and growing never stops.
• Find someone who is where you want to be to mentor you.
• There are no short-cuts; you must study!

Contact/Resources

• Book – The Power of Now
• Learning Tool - PioSolver

Credits

Podcast Production by Podcastily

In this episode, Lara Eisenberg, radiologist and semi-professional poker player, reveals how competitive skydiving and pool have helped train her mind to remain calm and focused, thus giving her a competitive edge against the pros. Elliot and Lara discuss how she balances work, play, continued poker education, and a happy personal life. Listen in to hear a well-rounded semi-pro share what she does to keep her mindset steady, her body healthy, and her poker game strong.

Visit The Mindset Advantage Podcast or find us on iTunes to subscribe, visit previous episodes, and learn more about your host, Elliot Roe. 

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:50 – Introducing Lara, a semi-professional player and radiologist
• 01:30 – She started with online PC gaming and taught herself by reading books on poker
• 02:36 – She uses the A-Game planner to organize her studying schedule and studies 5-10 hours a week
• 03:23 – As a working person, you must be creative when finding time to learn; you can listen to audio while driving or watch videos while doing chores
• 04:20 – On sitting at the table with professional players
• 04:36 – She doesn’t get intimidated and knows to put into action what she has practiced
• 05:15 – What bothers her making mistakes when she knows better
• 05:45 – Being a female player in the male-dominated sport of poker
• 05:50 – She’s always been drawn to fields that are male-dominated like medicine (although there are more women now), pool, skydiving, and poker
• 06:15 – There are advantages and disadvantages to being a woman in these fields, but she’s always been very competitive
• 06:48 – The more poker is appealing to a wider group of people, the better it is for all players; help make poker more appealing by being friendly and welcoming
• 07:38 – Lara doesn’t get phased by anger or rudeness at the table; she notices that the higher the skill level at the table, the lesser the players will make assumptions
• 09:00 – How she juggles work and play: She works from home and works every other week, so she can attend plenty of events
• 10:00 – In Maryland she’s lucky to have plenty of places to play nearby; she believes her location is better than Vegas because of the bigger games that happen more frequently
• 11:35 – Cash-stake games in Maryland
• 11:38 – The biggest she’s played is 510 but there are limit games that are bigger, people move near the MGM because of the tourist element
• 12:35 – The re-growth of live poker; Lara believes that the U.S. should have online poker and tax it
• 13:40 – How competitive skydiving has helped Lara cope with emotions
• 14:05 – She read the book, “Mental Training for Skydiving and Life,” which taught her meditation, visualization, calmness, and peak performance
• 14:44 – She has 4,500 jumps, so the danger element has gone away
• 15:00 – Skydiving has helped her poker game because she can better look for an edge, focus, and remain calm
• 15:39 – Having a short attention span is a big challenge at the table today
• 16:15 – Lara fits studying, nutrition, exercise, and mental health exercises into her workweek and play week
• 18:55 – The winning mindset and being driven to succeed
• 19:22 – Certain people get obsessed with things and want to be the best; there’s a balance needed between that and other important things in life
• 20:24 – It’s ok to play within your means and recognize that you aren’t a professional player playing high-rollers if you have a full-time job
• 22:00 – Poker as recreational: You can have a job and be a winning player if you invest time and money in educational tools and coaching
• 22:30 – If you don’t have as much time to invest in playing, you should invest in educational things that save you time like the Mindset Advantage or Elevate Groups
• 23:18 – Alex Fitzgerald has been her coach for years and she appreciates the individualized feedback

3 Key Points

1. You can still have an edge at the table as a semi-professional.  
2. Get your studying in by whatever means necessary; even if that means listening while driving or watching videos while folding laundry.  
3. Invest in educational tools and coaching to improve your game and keep up with the professionals. 

Contact/Resources

• Book – “Mental Training for Skydiving and Life”
• Poker Mind Coach Academy - website
• Elevate Group – website

Credits

Podcast Production, Editing, Show Notes & Transcript by Podcastily

In this episode Steffan Sontheimer, aka Goose, talks about the life of a high-roller, the ups and downs of his career, and how he maintains a healthy mind and body. Over the course of his career, he’s seen how unchecked emotions can ruin plays and open the door for rookie mistakes. Elliot and Steffen discuss why taking a break from poker during a downswing is a good thing – and can be better than trying to play through it. Listen in to hear a Poker Master’s champion share why physical fitness is key to long-term success, and why he believes it necessary to enjoy other things besides poker. 

Visit The Mindset Advantage Podcast or find us on iTunes to subscribe, visit previous episodes, and learn more about your host, Elliot Roe. 

• 00:50 – Introducing Steffen and his accomplishments
• 01:20 – Steffen’s view of the poker scene and how he feels about it
• 01:35 – 2017 was hot online and in-person, but 2018 has been the opposite
• 02:20 – How he keeps a good mindset during the ups and downs of his career
• 02:30 – All pros get emotional, but he tries to remain analytical so his game doesn’t change depending on how he feels
• 03:35 – The impact emotions make in the high-rollers scene
• 03:50 – It happens everywhere; as soon as emotions come into play, the wrong plays are made
• 04:30 – He knows what he needs to do in each hand, but emotions might cause him to play on the higher-variance side
• 05:30 – Steffen’s relationship with Phil Hellmuth
• 05:45 – He likes Phil and knows how to play him; Steffen had exploits ready before Phil even knew his name
• 07:00 – Phil plays the televised events, not the big high-roller events Steffen plays
• 07:50 – The mindset of world-travelling high-rolling players
• 08:00 – They give 100% to each game and seem like they’re born to do it
• 08:35 – It’s a great but draining and stressful lifestyle
• 08:50 – Steffen’s techniques to prevent stress and draining
• 09:00 – He takes breaks and spends time with non-poker friends to stay grounded
• 09:45 – After taking a break, he feels the thrill of playing again
• 10:00 – What it was like winning Poker Master’s last year
• 10:10 – It was seven-handed no-limit Hold ‘Em with the same opponents; he was used to the style of the game
• 11:00 – He was confident, played well, stayed analytical, and felt it was his time to win
• 12:45 – Online poker as a training tool for different types of tournaments
• 13:30 – He strengthens his weaknesses and maintains his strengths with online poker
• 14:00 – He doesn’t have a master plan or schedule; he likes to divide and conquer by splitting up his training into manageable parts
• 15:00 – Physical fitness and success
• 15:15 – Steffen believes physical fitness is key to long-term success because players should have other enjoyable activities in their life besides poker
• 15:30 – His worst played week was the week after his knee surgery when he couldn’t exercise
• 16:00 – A poker downswing isn’t enjoyable, so physical activity and/or sports gives the feeling of accomplishment and success during that time
• 17:00 – Advice for players experiencing a downswing
• 17:15 – He likes to whine and complain to let it out, and he thinks a break from poker during a downswing is a good thing
• 17:40 – Always play because you love the game and want to improve
• 17:50 – When he experienced a downswing, he went to a beach volleyball camp and took a break to forget poker for a while
• 18:45 – What’s to come for Steffen
• 19:00 – He doesn’t enjoy poker as much as he used to, and doesn’t want to travel as much, so he’d like to find something new that brings him as much joy as poker did
• 19:20 – Twitching is just part of the job for him

• Remain analytical so your emotions don’t affect your game.
• Physical fitness is key to long-term success.
• Take a break to reset your mindset during a downswing. 

• Steffen’s Instagram and Twitter
• No Limit Gaming

Podcast Production by Podcastily

In this episode, expert accountant Ray Kondler gives us a crash course on poker taxes so that amateur and professional players can understand their tax responsibilities and liabilities. Ray explains the pros and cons of filing as an amateur or professional, and stresses the importance of filing - no matter what. Listen in to hear a tax educator give tips and strategies on how to properly record, file, and deal with the IRS - whether you’re an international player or not - so you can maximize your earnings and keep your head in the game. 

Visit The Mindset Advantage Podcast or find us on iTunes to subscribe, visit previous episodes, and learn more about your host, Elliot Roe.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:50 – Introducing poker taxes and guest Ray Kondler
• 01:18 - Ray will give a crash course on poker, taxes and how they impact players
• 01:37 - Taxes are a common issue, especially for international players playing in America
• 01:44 - Kondler and Associates are national experts on taxation of poker players and serve both national and international players
• 02:00 - Services for American players
• 02:12 - Determining if to file as a pro or as an amateur, providing tax-saving strategies through investments, foundations, LLCs, etc.
• 02:26 - Services for International players
• 02:30 - Some countries take 30% out of the winnings, and his company works to get their clients as much of that back as possible
• 03:15 - Discovering the niche of serving poker players
• 03:22 - It started by educating people; most accountants and CPAs don’t understand the gambling industry and it’s intricacies
• 04:00 - If gambling is a person’s profession, they must file differently
• 04:20 - The advantages and disadvantages of different filing routes
• 04:30 - If you file as an amateur gambler (not poker-specific), you can only take your gambling losses against it, but it can be all gambling losses
• 05:30 - If you file as a professional, losses and buy-ins can count against income
• 05:45 - Professionals can file a schedule C as a business and write-off other related expenses like travel, cell phone, office, meals, etc.
• 06:25 - Professionals can even take pension plans
• 06:34 - A disadvantage to filing as a pro is that if there’s substantial income, they’ll pay regular and social security tax, since they are a business
• 07:10 - If a person doesn’t travel a lot, they wouldn’t file as a pro because they wouldn’t have the write-offs to make up for the social security tax
• 08:14 - Many accounts just show gambling and don’t consider all the other expenses; Ray’s having an issue with the IRS
• 08:30 - The IRS labels professional poker players a business
• 08:45 - If you win big one year and lose big the next, you can’t write it off in a subsequent year against a prior year income; Ray believes this is unfair
• 09:15 - The poker industry is an up and down game, and the taxation system should consider that
• 09:30 - He’s trying to take this issue to the next level because if the profession is considered a business on paper, it should be treated as such
• 10:10 - Deductions, making sure you file, and the use of Bitcoin
• 10:25 - If high-winning players don’t file, they can have an issue with the IRS
• 10:50 - Players are using and playing with Bitcoin and they found out some information had to be given to the IRS
• 11:15 - Ray gets 10-20 people at the booth each year who haven’t filed in years so he works to educate them on the process
• 12:00 - Tax tip for players: If you win, pay quarterly, and keep record of your earnings
• 12:30 - Bitcoin
• 12:50 - Some websites show Bitcoin records, but even the IRS is having trouble classifying what is taxable
• 13:41 - The IRS has classified Bitcoin as a stock, so the taxation rates are based on the length of time you’ve held it
• 14:00 - Keep record of your purchases and coin so your accountant has numbers to work with
• 14:40 - Always file something; the IRS will work with you if you’ve filed
• 15:55 - He’s working with foreign players to get their refunds from the past three years, but they usually don’t have expense records
• 16:30 - They can recreate their expenses with bank statements and credit card bills; the chances of a refund review are unlikely for foreign players
• 17:30 - He can get his foreign clients a tax ID number so they can get their refund; it takes 2-4 weeks to get their ID number and 3-6 months for the refund
• 18:30 - A certified copy of their passport is necessary for the process to be started, but it can be challenging
• 20:30 - Ray plays in events and knows what it’s like for players in the industry
• 21:20 - Ray never charges for calls and advice, so any tax-related questions should be directed to him 

3 Key Points

1. The biggest difference between filing as an amateur and filing as a professional is that a professional files as a business.
2. Always file because the worst thing to do is not report anything at all.
3. Always keep records of your expenses and earnings, and pay quarterly if you win. 

Contact/Resources

• Ray’s Website - Kondler & Associates

Credits

• Podcast Production by Podcastily

In this episode, Matt Berkey, high stakes poker pro, coach, writer, and blogger, breaks down the strategy, application, and constant evolution of the game. Elliot and Matt discuss the problems with playing hands based on theory alone, and analyze why adaptability is an important characteristic for gives players to gain an edge against their opponents. Listen in to hear Matt explain what his academy, Solve for Why, offers students and why there will always be a “wild card” in the world of poker.

Visit The Mindset Advantage Podcast or find us on iTunes to subscribe, visit previous episodes, and learn more about your host, Elliot Roe. 

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 01:00 –Matt’s summer started with a massive loss but he ended up breaking even; what this does to the mind
• 01:30 – He views playing cash as his bread and butter; as running a business without the results impacting him daily
• 02:05 – He has hope every day and sees it as a legitimate return on his investments; it was frustrating to start but had plenty of opportunities to make it up
• 02:55 – The difference for locals in Vegas playing high stakes cash games in the summer
• 03:05 – It’s a huge impact for mid stakes; for high stakes, it’s a revolving door and caters to VIPs throughout the year and keeps Matt out
• 03:55 – In the summer, the games run more frequently so there’s a mix between VIPs and guys like Matt; the games are different with more tough spots, which he likes
• 04:34 – It’s nice to have fighters in the game; it can exceed the bottom line in a good way
• 05:00 – He barely has any downtime in the summer; the process is fun, but when you’re in it, you’re in it
• 05:40 – What these next few weeks before Florida look like for Matt
• 05:45 – Cash games and the academy are still going; he’s got 5 days of rest before travelling east, but he’s got content and teaching to do
• 06:26 – The story of Nick Manion; he offered to give Matt and his friend, Jordan Young, Matt’s partner and roommate, exposure and offered to wear their Solve for Why gear
• 07:00 – They obliged and they got their brand out there, but there was a misunderstanding in that they didn’t get a piece of the winnings
• 07:30 – Poker News ran a story about Nick’s play and win, and rolled that story with the fact that he’s friends with Jordan so was wearing Solve for Why gear
• 08:20 – What’s going on with the Solve for Why Academy; they had 18 players (at least half part-time) and about $400,000 of cash for the summer
• 08:45 – One of their students won the Golden Nugget in week one and they’ve got multiple events coming up
• 09:15 – They are launching a sub-site August 13 that will be live-focused and focused on implementing and not just building strategy
• 09:30 – The game evolves so quickly; it’s natural that their material would as well
• 10:10 – The online academy is for anyone passionate about poker; it’s tiered depending on level
• 10:50 – A big piece of content is “Poker Out Loud”; he’s happy about how it came out and how unique the teaching methods are
• 11:30 – They are doing a docu-series and a podcast as well
• 12:20 – The “Poker Out Loud” strategy, pressure, adaptation, and confidence
• 12:48 – It gets daunting for others, but Matt is used to breaking down his plays; tilt and emotions are normal and are used in the game in an exploitative way
• 14:30 – They are doing a lot of work on strategy and foundational knowledge in live game theory; they do the heavy lifting and come back with a base strategy and deviations
• 15:30 – When playing online, you don’t have all that extra information; live can be contrarian to what theory would dictate
• 16:10 – People don’t know how to process new information if they just focus on theory
• 17:15 – How Matt sees the company evolving
• 17:28 – The academy is the icing on the cake; the new products are follow-up/primer products
• 18:48 – Being online allows them to work with people all over the world; they can provide value and entertainment to their community
• 20:35 – There are some things he wouldn’t divulge because it’s a liability to apply those nuances and it’s difficult to teach
• 21:20 – He teaches what can be deployed and encourages self-learning and independent thinking
• 22:10 – No two strategies look the same; largely speaking, people will apply strategy differently
• 22:45 – Outliers within the community do things differently by challenging notions that he sees in the collective
• 23:30 – We’ll never reach a stage where plays are standardized because we are human and imperfect
• 24:04 – Application processes will always be different, so there will always be a “wild card” and “sore spots” in the strategy 

3 Key Points

• No two strategies look the same because people will always apply strategy differently.
• The game evolves quickly so it’s natural that poker teaching materials would, too.
• You can learn strategy and implementation, but the way it is comprehended and executed will never be standardized.

Contact/Resources

• Solve for Why Academy Website
• Subscription Website

Credits

• Podcast Production by Podcastily

In this episode, Zach Elwood, author, former professional poker player, and poker behavior consultant, reveals the most consistent tells that he’s studied over years of playing and analysis. Elliot and Zach discuss why the studying of tells will be more important in the 2018 World Series than in previous years. Listen in to hear one of the few experts on tells in the game share some invaluable tips and tricks that’ll give you an extra advantage at the table.

Visit The Mindset Advantage Podcast or find us on iTunes to subscribe, visit previous episodes, and learn more about your host, Elliot Roe. 

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:50 – Introducing Zach Elwood, author of 3 books on poker tells, who has helped main event final table players prepare through studying and tips
• 01:20 – Zach has been working on the poker tells video series and has been trying to watch the World Series
• 01:30 – When he watches the World Series he’s always looking for tells; the earlier in the main, the easier it is to see behaviors
• 02:20 – The differences between Zach’s 3 books
• 02:30 – His first book in 2012, “Reading Poker Tells,” goes into things that hadn’t been talked about in terms of physical, verbal and the thinking behind poker tells
• 02:53 – “Verbal Poker Tells” of 2014 was longer and more in-depth; he’s most proud of this one
• 03:11 – “Exploiting Poker Tells” came out last year and explored more physical tells, concrete analysis, and fundamental strategy
• 04:10 – There isn’t a lot of good content about poker strategy; Zach had to do a lot of research and analysis to write his books
• 04:50 – He created a spreadsheet to create codes and organize patterns he saw on TV and while playing
• 06:05 – Some poker tell hints and tips
• 06:15 – Example: The famous hand between Esfandiari and Negreanu when Negreanu raises it on the flop and goes all in, and says “Thank God you didn’t snap call”
• 06:30 – The expressing of relief after someone doesn’t call immediately will almost always be a pretty honest reaction and can help you narrow down someone’s hand
• 07:15 – “We can” statements and how he categorized hand statements; bluffers usually don’t want to weaken the perceived range of their hand
• 08:00 – Indirect weak-hand statements, the consistency of the weak-hand patterns, and understanding underlying intentions
• 09:33 – A deeper explanation of the book “Exploiting Poker Tells”
• 09:38 – He revisited ideas that were firmer in his mind after having wrote about them 5 years’ prior
• 10:00 – It goes into how to determine behaviors as meaningful or not meaningful
• 10:45 – The things he’s done from outside: the video series and he worked with 2 main event final table WSOP players, Amir Levahot and Max Steinberg
• 11:25 – They watched old video footage of their opponents and video footage during the WSOP
• 11:30 – A potential game-changing tell
• 11:35 – The 2011 main event, Pius Heinz was the champion that year, and he was playing Martin Staszko
• 11:43 – Heinz had a pronounced tell where he looked down during a hand and at the flop; turns out he had pocket aces
• 12:30 – Zach made a video analyzing his tells and explains how to use those tells to your advantage
• 13:30 – It will be more interesting this year from a behavioral perspective because the players won’t have a break before playing
• 14:00 – There will be more in-the-moment tells
• 14:22 – Amateur or recreational players are going to be exhausted this year while the professionals will be battle-tested
• 15:13 – How Zach has used what he’s learned through poker in other areas of life
• 15:20 – He doesn’t pretend to have special knowledge and doesn’t believe in a correlation
• 15:32 – He did work identifying fake accounts on Facebook and his work was featured in the Washington Post and New York Times
• 16:06 – He was excited and his parents were proud, especially because he started out studying print journalism
• 16:40 – He was pissed about certain things happening in the world and was happy to create awareness about something others didn’t know about
• 17:20 – He had the same sentiment about poker tells
• 17:35 – The issue with fake Facebook accounts
• 17:40 – He’s been friended by fake accounts who were accepted by others in his network
• 18:20 – A lot of it is financial because the fake accounts drive people to websites who pay for the traffic
• 19:11 – In some cases the fake account’s purpose is unclear; Zach doesn’t think it’s purely financial
• 20:15 – Facebook doesn’t seem to care
• 20:40 – Zach’s recommendations and tips for poker players
• 21:00 – Strategy is more important than tells, but if you’ve got strategy down and want to learn about tells, watch Zach’s free videos on YouTube
• 21:27 – Read Zach’s articles on Poker News and his first book “Reading Poker Tells”

3 Key Points

1. Bluffers usually don’t want to weaken the perceived range of their hand.
2. Strategy is more important than tells.
3. Identifying tells is useful, but you must know how to interpret them and read a player’s intentions. 

Contact/Resources

• Website – Reading Poker Tells
• Zach’s books – “Reading Poker Tells” “Verbal Poker Tells” & “Exploiting Poker Tells”
• Zach’s YouTube video analyzing Pius Heinz
• Zach’s YouTube channel
• Zach's Reading Poker Tells Video Series

Credits

• Podcast Production by Podcastily

Gonzaga "Zagazaur" Oliveira is a high-stakes online MTT professional. He is one of the co-founders and coach of the Portuguese MTT staking company "Polarize Poker."

He has 2 SCOOP titles as well as multiple titles in other series, including Winamax Series, Powerfest, and EPT side events.

Elliot and Gonzaga discuss why your poker network has such a significant impact on your success, why joining a backing group is the fastest way to move up through the ranks, and how Gonzaga and his partners engineered a positive and supportive community in their stable.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

[4:00] How to stay cool under pressure on final tables while your opponents are freaking out over the amount of money you’re playing for.

[8:05] How playing high-stakes games before you’re ready hurts your results across all buy-ins.

[9:25] Why it’s essential to surround yourself with other poker players who you like and are on the same upward journey as you.

[12:30] How (and why) the Polarize Poker Team built a positive and supportive community.

[16:35] Why an MTT with a small first prize can be more profitable than one with a huge one.

[20:15] What you need to figure out before you decide to go pro that allows you to push through the hard times.

[22:15] Why those who are using poker as a vehicle to become the best version of themselves have an advantage over those just in it for the money.

Resources:

• Polarize Poker
• Polarize Poker on Twitter
• Polarize Poker on YouTube
• Polarize Poker on Instagram

Keep Up With Elliot:

• Check Out Elliot's Other Podcast: The A-Game Advantage
• Elliot's Twitter
• Elliot's Instagram

After PokerStars removed SuperNova Elite, Bertie Bayley (who achieved SNE 3 times while being a pre-rakeback winner) took the “Renaissance Man” approach to poker by spreading out his play over many formats rather than specializing in just one.

You can find Bertie online playing under the handle “bigstealer” where he bounces between Spin & Gos, cash games, and tournaments. Most recently Bertie chopped a $1k Party Poker Powerfest event for $80,000.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

[1:25] How the necessity of paying off high-interest rate student loans led Bertie to poker.

[4:05] Why Bertie actually loves his life more since PokerStars removed SuperNova Elite.

[4:45] How to balance the freedom poker allows and the work you must put in to stay ahead of the field.

[7:30] Why it’s so important to make the distinction between game selection and “bum hunting.”

[9:55] Whey Bertie chooses to chase EV over glory.

[12:00] The physical and emotional toll that playing outside your bankroll can cause.

[13:05] The difference between rational and irrational anxiety

[15:30] The “Mindset Of Make-Up” and how to approach this delicate situation both as a player and a backer.

[18:10] Why being curious instead of dismissive can be the difference between growing as a player and letting the game pass you by.

[18:45] The danger of mocking players that you think are making poor plays.

[20:45] The “MTT Raffle” mindset shift to help you deal with the variance of tournament poker.

[26:40] Why you need to be careful of the free technical content you consume and why joining a good backing group is a great way to jump-start your game.

[28:30] Clues that can help you decide if someone is a good poker coach or not.

Resources:

• Bertie's Twitter
• Bertie's Instagram

Keep Up With Elliot:

• Check Out Elliot's Other Podcast: The A-Game Advantage
• Elliot's Twitter
• Elliot's Instagram

In This Week's Episode:

Elliot Roe promotes his online mindset training academy, Poker Mind Coach. His academy offers help to those looking to improve their poker game without paying to become a personal client of Elliot. The membership benefits of Poker Mind Coach are of unbeatable value and include access to Q&A sessions from the world’s top poker players. Elliot’s Poker Mind Academy seeks to help the average poker player develop the mindset and skills to become an excellent poker player.

In This Episode You'll Learn: 

• 00:55 - Introduction of Poker Mind Coach Academy
• 01:19 - Why Elliot set up his academy
• 02:25 - Having access to Q&A sessions with the world’s top poker players
• 03:34 - Poker Mind Coach Academy is for giving everyone their shot at poker
• 04:58 - Controlling your mindset can help you feel more motivated to enjoy poker
• 06:15 - Poker Mind Coach Academy is no-contract
• 07:07 - Sign-ups are open until Saturday and the academy is only open a few times in a year

Keep Up with Elliot:

Poker Mind Coach Academy

Adrienne "Talonchick" Rowsome:

• Watch and Subscribe to Adrienne’s Twitch Channel
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook

***If you've enjoyed this episode of The Mindset Advantage podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review over on iTunes to help spread the word about the show. Thanks!***

In This Week's Episode:

For over a decade, Gabriel Kollander has been playing online poker professionally. He initially started out his poker career mastering SNG’s and then moved on to short stacked no limit cash games and crushed the highest stakes there for years. He has now made the transition to playing $500-$1000 Spin & Go’s full time to focus his energy towards providing the maximum value possible to members of his Spin & Go staking group, Evolve Staking.

Currently living in Ubud, Bali, Gabriel leads a rich life outside of his poker career. He enjoys eating delicious and healthy vegetarian food, going to ecstatic dance, meditation, exploring human connection, working out, self-introspection, yoga, inspiring others, and living in his highest joy as consistently as possible.

In this episode, Gabriel talks about caring for his mind, body, and self in relation to handling the stress of poker, and his experience winning $100,000 from a single $500 Spin & Go game. In addition, Gabriel speaks about how taking care of himself first has helped him improve his overall performance and his health.

In This Episode You'll Learn: 

• 01:40 - When Gabriel began playing spins
• 03:27 - How Gabriel balanced his life with playing poker
• 04:29 - How Gabriel felt not letting poker controlling his life
• 06:04 - Mental game coaching and life balancing in poker players
• 08:09 - Community aspect of poker stables
• 09:42 - Hitting a 100k Spin & Go game
• 11:52 - Mental game, mindset, and confidence in playing poker
• 14:55 - Appreciating what you do have
• 17:54 - Getting the maximum value for the work you’re putting in
• 19:40 - Time zones and living costs matter in poker  
• 21:38 - Living in Bali as a poker player
• 24:07 - The effect of diet on focus and poker play
• 27:19 - Intermittent fasting and efficiency for Gabriel
• 28:58 - Gabriel’s stable, Evolve Staking

Keep Up with Gabriel:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• TiltBook
• YouTube
• Winning 100k Spin & Go
• Evolve Staking
• Poker Mind Coach

Adrienne "Talonchick" Rowsome:

• Watch and Subscribe to Adrienne’s Twitch Channel
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook

***If you've enjoyed this episode of The Mindset Advantage podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review over on iTunes to help spread the word about the show. Thanks!***

In This Week's Episode:

Raghav Bansal made history in 2015 by becoming the first Indian to final table an event at the WSOP. Then, in March 2017, at the PokerStars Championship, he placed 2nd at the high roller for about $337k - the biggest cash prize by an Indian in the past 10 years. He has been at the top of the GPI Rankings for players based in India for the past 2 years, with multiple good scores around the world, mostly in Macau High Rollers. A well-respected member of the Indian Poker community, Raghav has truly shown Indian poker players that they can play the best players in the world and win.

Raghav is the captain for the Pune Sharks in the Poker Sports League, a league which aims to “sportify” Poker in India. Raghav’s unbridled success has paved the way for other Indians to do well in tournaments around the world. 

In this episode, Raghav talks about the booming Indian poker market and his experience as a professional. He explains the difference between mindset and technical skill in poker, as well as the importance of self-reflection for personal growth. Both online and in person, Raghav Bansal continues to succeed as a result of his powerful mindset.

In This Episode You'll Learn: 

• 02:52 - India’s poker boom and what stimulated it
• 03:45 - How Raghav was introduced to poker
• 04:39 - Raghav on building his poker career throughout the years
• 07:54 - The biggest moment in Raghav’s poker career so far
• 09:30 - How it feels playing at bigger poker tournaments
• 10:25 - The popularization of poker sports league in India
• 13:54 - The acceptance of family for an Indian poker player
• 17:47 - Astronomical poker winnings in India and its effects
• 22:05 - Mindset and its advantages in poker
• 23:58 - Facing the truth and self-reflection for self-improvement
• 25:57 - Raghav’s advice for poker beginners in India

Keep Up with Raghav:

• Facebook
• Twitter 
• Indian Poker Players Association (IPPA) Facebook Group

Adrienne "Talonchick" Rowsome:

• Watch and Subscribe to Adrienne’s Twitch Channel
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook

***If you've enjoyed this episode of The Mindset Advantage podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review over on iTunes to help spread the word about the show. Thanks!***

In This Week's Episode:

Ivan Stokes, also known as “ILS007,” is an English professional poker player who has been competing since the age of 18 and has been a two time Supernova Elite player as well as a successful coach. Coming from a “study-minded” standpoint due to his experience with chess, this mindset has benefited Stokes’s poker career from the start. In this episode, he speaks about how keeping a positive, productive mindset helped him become a better poker player, and offers tips on how you can improve your poker game.

In This Episode You'll Learn: 

• 04:19 - Ivan’s beginning experience with poker

• 05:23 - Ivan’s connection between poker and chess

• 06:36 - When poker became more competitive and how becoming skilled at poker is up to hard work

• 08:28 - How Ivan dealt with the stress of competing in Supernova Elite

• 10:02 - Poker pros vs. gamblers—the similarities and differences

• 12:10 - Mindset’s effect on Ivan’s success over the years

• 13:11 - How Ivan mentally prepares to play at the table

• 15:20 - Why a negative mindset leads to a lack of productivity

• 17:53 - The struggle of moving up in stakes and how it can impact decision making

• 19:54 - How Ivan takes on goal setting after Supernova Elite

• 22:35 - How collaboration helps with motivation

• 23:29 - Ivan’s advice for getting into poker in 2018

Keep Up with Ivan Stokes: 

Professional Poker Videos

Coaching Series 

Adrienne "Talonchick" Rowsome:

• Watch and Subscribe to Adrienne’s Twitch Channel
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook

***If you've enjoyed this episode of The Mindset Advantage podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review over on iTunes to help spread the word about the show. Thanks!***

In This Week's Episode:

YourDoom is a US-based NLHE cash game pro and owner of the training site YourDoomPoker.com.

He takes a different approach to the game than many players, choosing to play low volume to ensure that he’s always playing his A-Game. Using this approach, he’s been able to maintain a high win-rate and strong profit numbers only playing 12 hours per week.

If you’re interested in learning more about his approach, he has offered a sizable discount to listeners of the show. When you use the code MINDSET, you can save 33% on his Expert Cash Game Play course or 20% off any other courses on the site.

In This Episode You'll Learn: 

• (1:25) Why Ryan believes playing just 12 hours per week maximizes his profitability and enjoyment of life.
• (3:27) The difference between poker as a lifestyle and poker as a job, and why success depends on which you choose.
• (6:33) Why Elliot completely changed his mind about the future profitability of online poker.
• (10:29) Why “Downswings,” as most poker players view them, are a complete myth, and one that can completely ruin careers.
• (26:20) Ryan’s “silly little trick” for messing with your online opponent’s heads.

YourDoom

• Graph and Results
• YourDoomPoker.com
• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube

Adrienne "Talonchick" Rowsome:

• Watch and Subscribe to Adrienne’s Twitch Channel
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook

***If you've enjoyed this episode of The Mindset Advantage podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review over on iTunes to help spread the word about the show. Thanks!***

In This Week's Episode: 

Maria Konnikova is a contributing writer to The New Yorker, and author of the best selling books The Confidence Game and Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes.

Maria gained notoriety in the poker community when she won the 2018 PCA National Championship for $84,000, plus a $30,000 PSPC Platinum Pass.

What makes Maria’s story so fascinating is that a year before her victory, she had no clue how to play poker, and admittedly didn’t even know how many cards were in the deck.

Maria’s books focus on psychology, and it’s application in the real world. She chose poker as the subject of her next book, The Biggest Bluff, to try to understand the nature of luck vs. skill and figure out if we can learn how to tell the difference.

To research the book she chose to fully immerse herself in the game and attempt to make it on the live tournament circuit. With the help of Erik Seidel, her story has been one of outstanding success, and she’s going to continue with the journey at least until next year when she’ll play the $25,000 PSPC at the 2010 PokerStars PCA.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• 10:52 - How Maria landed Erik Seidel as a coach before she ever read a poker book (and why she targeted him as her ideal coach).
• 26:36 - The high leverage skill that Maria learned through poker which she now applies to her most important decisions.
• 28:11 - The 3 reasons why Maria achieved rapid success even though Erik Seidel labeled her as "not naturally suited to poker."

Resources: 

Maria Konnikova:

• MariaKonnikova.com
• Twitter
• Instagram
• The Confidence Game
• Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes

Adrienne "Talonchick" Rowsome:

• Watch and Subscribe to Adrienne’s Twitch Channel
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook

In This Week's Episode:  Jon “apestyles” Van Fleet has long been considered by many to be the greatest online MTT player of all time, and his accomplishments in 2017 only served to cement that legacy.

In 2017 he won the Party Poker Millions Main Event for $1,027,000, the Party Poker Power Fest Main Event for $153,000, and the PokerStars $700 Super-Sized Sunday for over $82,000.

Jon joins Elliot and Adrienne to talk about his incredible year and how you can study under him in his Elevate Group Coaching Program on Max-Value.com.

In This Episode You'll Learn: 

• [3:37] – How on the final day of the Party Poker Millions Jon was able to set aside the enormous amount he was playing for, make peace with whatever happened, all while remaining confident that he was going to win.
• [6:45] - The specific Yoga discipline that high-stakes poker players are using to improve their mental and physical performance.
• [12:13] – Why Jon stopped trash talking other player’s games even though he consistently finds leaks in their games and doesn’t believe anybody is very good.
• [14:20] – The mindset that Jon uses to maintain his passion for improving his game, even after grinding online MTTs for over 13 years.
• [21:14] – Learn about the Elevate Program that Jon runs on Max-Value.com and how you can apply to be a member and learn his system.

Jon "apestyles" Van Fleet

• Apply For Jon's Elevate Program
• Max-Value.com
• Twitter 
• PocketFives Profile

Adrienne "Talonchick" Rowsome:

• Watch and Subscribe to Adrienne’s Twitch Channel
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook

Want to get your hands on some of Elliot's best poker mindset content for free?

From December 26th-29th he is hosting The Poker Mind Coach Academy Open House, to celebrate the opening of public enrollment to the Academy.

Over 4 days you'll get 9 video "Sneak Peeks" of Academy content, and be able to attend a free live webinar with Elliot on the 29th.

To register for this free event just visit:  

http://www.pokermindcoachacademy.com

In This Week's Episode: 

Nick Howard returns for Part Two of his interview. If you haven't already please listen to Part One first.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• Exactly what you should do if you’re a low stakes player who feels like they’ve missed the boat, but still wants an opportunity to make it in poker. (7:52)
• Why Nick chose to start a coaching for profits group that ONLY accepted losing players. (11:37)
• The most devastating form of tilt and how Nick “punted his life off” for 8 years straight because of it. (17:46)
• What to do if you’re putting in 7-12 hours of study each week but still not seeing results (18:31)
• The key mindset shift between Nick's students who got stuck in the micros and those who are now earning $30-$50k per month at high stakes. (20:51)

Nick Howard

• PokerDetox.com
• YouTube Channel
• Run It Once Blog
• Twitch

Adrienne "Talonchick" Rowsome:

• Watch and Subscribe to Adrienne’s Twitch Channel
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook

In This Week's Episode: 

Nick Howard has been a professional poker coach for eight years. As a former RunItOnce.com coach, he became known for teaching practical simplifications of well-balanced play. I️n 2015-2016, he documented a notable amount of success on Ignition High stakes in his Run it Once Blog “Achieving Higher Balance,” where he developed many of the independent learning strategies he uses today.

Nick Howard is the founder and CEO of Poker Detox, an NLHE training company that launched in May 2016. In its first year, Poker Detox produced three major public courses, and Nick began a side project attempting to train a selection of losing players, using a team-training format. By Fall of 2017, that “losers” team had proven itself successful, and Nick had been able to refine his coaching methodologies to a point where he was ready to expand.

Poker Detox now functions as one of the most elite application-based staking companies in the industry, containing a crew of mind coaches and language-optimization experts that work to provide a full support system for students. The company achieved a high enough level of methodology that it became possible to tailor the Detox training system for players of different native languages and even different learning types. The result is a powerful combination of training exercises that highlight the necessary concepts while empowering the learner to choose their path toward integration.

Applications for new team members are accepted several times per year, and in 2018 Poker Detox became the first training organization to offer guaranteed salaries to its players.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• How chasing the GTO dream caused Nick to hit rock bottom and nearly give up on the game. (3:56)
• The two-step process for creating poker strategies that are both easier to implement and more profitable than GTO. (7:54)
• The hyper-aggressive exploits that have Nick’s student’s moving up so fast that their opponents have no time to adjust. (9:20)
• The mindset that is guaranteed to limit your progress in the game and kill any possible motivation. (10:36)
• Why it’s impossible to separate the mental game from the strategic game when trying to analysis hands at the highest level. (12:58)
• How different culture and language affect playing styles and optimal methods of learning the game. (25:45)

Nick Howard

• PokerDetox.com
• YouTube Channel
• Run It Once Blog
• Twitch

Adrienne "Talonchick" Rowsome:

• Watch and Subscribe to Adrienne’s Twitch Channel
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook

In This Week's Episode: 

Fernando Habegger, known online as “JNandez87”, has been a professional poker player since 2011.

His main game is $10/$20 Pot Limit Omaha and has accumulated over $100K in online tournament winnings.

After being an elite coach for Run It Once for over 2 years, Fernando started his own brand “JNandez Poker” and began streaming PLO live on Twitch.

In 2015, he ran a challenge to turn $20,000 into $100,000 in 100 days and succeeded on day 96.

Earlier this year, Fernando switched to YouTube as his main content creation platform, where he mostly makes videos about both, live and online poker, mindset subjects and traveling vlogs.

As the sole Pot Limit Omaha instructor on Upswing Poker, he just launched his second product called the PLO Lab, where his goal is to empower more poker players to follow in his steps, rise up the stakes and gain personal independence.

In This Episode You'll Learn: 

• Why Fernando chose the “Burn All The Bridges” approach to starting his professional career rather than playing it safe
• What Fernando decided to spend 2/3 of his life roll on the moment he decided to go pro.
• The mindset Fernando cultivated that allows his to play his best even when he drops down in stakes during a downswing.
• A two-step process for creating a massive life’s vision that will motivate you to crush it every day.
• How to go from “socially awkward poker pro” to growing a huge network with friends and connections in every city you visit.

JNandez Poker

• Youtube
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• The PLO Lab

Adrienne "Talonchick" Rowsome:

• Watch and Subscribe to Adrienne’s Twitch Channel
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook

For past episodes of the Mindset Advantage Podcast visit:

https://www.pokermindcoach.com/tmapodcast/

In This Week's Episode:  WCOOP is online poker’s biggest tournament series and runs from Sept 3-26th this year. It includes 81 events and features a wide range of game type and formats, and is sure to bring out the best players in the world.

To compete for your share of the $60,000,000 guaranteed during WCOOP you’ll need to bring your A-Game every day. In this special episode of the Mindset Advantage Poker Podcast, Elliot and Adrienne share their secrets for success in WCOOP and other big MTT festivals.

In This Episode You'll Learn: 

• How your time zone can give you a huge edge when you make a WCOOP final table. This is why some pros fly halfway around the world to play WCOOP, even if poker is legal in their home country.
• The one thing you must do to prevent burnout during WCOOP. Do this if you want to give yourself the best shot at winning the biggest prize pools at the end of the series.
• A short work out before playing has been proven to improve mental performance. Adrienne shares the exact workout she does that takes just 7 minutes.
• How to NOT blow your entire year’s profit during WCOOP
• How to decide when to quit chasing a leader board and when to double down. Most players end up chasing points over profits by doing this wrong.
• What to do when you find yourself close to burnt out just 10 days into a series.
• Why Adrienne wears the same clothes repeatedly during all of WCOOP. (Yes, she still washes them.)

For past episodes of the Mindset Advantage Podcast visit:

https://www.pokermindcoach.com/tmapodcast/

In This Week’s Episode:

Before Scott Blumstein sat down for Day 1C of the WSOP Main Event, he had never entered a tournament over $3,500.

On Day 4 he finished 8th in chips.

After 7 grueling days, he entered the final table as the chip leader with 97,250,000 chips...

And in hand #246 of the final table, he 3-bet shoved Ah2d and was called by Dan Ott’s Ad8s.

The board ran out Js6s5h7h, and just as it looked like Ott would double, the 2h landed on the river, giving Scott Blumstein the WSOP Main Event tilt and $8,150,000.

During the two day break between the end of Day 7 and the start of the final table, Scott brought in Elliot Roe to mentally prepare him for the biggest 3 days of his poker career, saying:

“Honestly, with the 48-hours I thought the mental game was more important than any technical stuff I could learn at that juncture.”

In this Episode of The Mindset Advantage podcast, Scott Blumstein joins Elliot Roe and Adrienne “Talonchick” Rowsome to talk about winning the most prestigious tournament in poker.

In This Episode You’ll Learn:

• How a mental blow up on Day 7 nearly cost Scott the entire tournament.
• Why he chose to prioritize working on his mental game over his technical game during the 48-hour break before the final table.
• What motivated Scott to win (even more than the $8,150,00 first place prize).
• How Scott went from a “Mental Game Fish”, who preached that there was no skill in poker to WSOP Main Event Champion.
• Exactly what it felt like when the 2h fell on river, giving Scott the win and the $8,150,000 first prize.
• What’s next for the 2017 WSOP Main Event Champ.

Links:

Scott Blumstein

• Twitter

Adrienne Rowsome:

• Adrienne Rowsome:

  • Watch and Subscribe to Adrienne’s Twitch Channel
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

For past episodes of the Mindset Advantage Podcast visit:

https://www.pokermindcoach.com/tmapodcast/

About This Week's Guest: 

Jared Tendler wrote the book on The Mental Game of Poker, in fact, he wrote two. His best-selling books The Mental Game of Poker 1 & The Mental Game of Poker 2 have introduced thousands of player to the mental game, and have been instrumental in growing the interest for poker mindset content.

Jared was first introduced to the game when he met poker-pro Dusty Schmidt on the golf course. After hearing about the trials and tribulations Dusty went through in poker, he felt that his mental game coaching program would be a great fit for poker players, and he started working with Dusty to test this theory out.

When Dusty achieved SNE and saved thousands of dollars in broken computer equipment, Jared felt confident that he had something of value to share with the poker world.

From there he created content for Stox Poker and went on to write his two books. Jared’s clients include WSOP November Niners, WSOP bracelet winners, and EPT Champions. He is now recognized as one of the leading experts on the mental game in the poker industry.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• How Mental Game coaching can pay for itself if you’re prone to smash mouses, computer monitors, or your walls when on tilt.
• How the Mental Game has evolved over the last 10 years, and where it’s going over the next 10.
• The mental leaks you might have if you’ve ever said: “Even if I’m mad or on tilt, it doesn’t affect my game.”
• How “Embracing Your Suck” can kick start a failing poker career.
• The one time it tilt’s Jared to see players reading his books.
• How the Mental Game work you do in poker can carry over to all areas of life.

Jared Tendler: 

• Get The Mental Game of Poker audio book for free
• The Mental Game of Poker 1
• The Mental Game of Poker 2
• Twitter

Adrienne Rowsome:

• Watch and Subscribe to Adrienne’s Twitch Channel
• Twitter
• Facebook

In This Week’s Episode:

Ari Meisel is an author and entrepreneur who's books include:

Idea to Execution and Less Doing, More Living.

He's also the co-founder of Leverage, an upscale Virtual Assistant Service.

Ari's philosophy of Less Doing is all about optimizing, automating, and outsourcing life's daily tasks to free yourself to do what you're most effective at.

In This Episode You’ll Learn:

• How Ari’s team is able to accommodate any (legal) request, even if it’s getting a photo of you riding on a grizzly bear while holding a bald eagle.
• How technology can take your bad habits and make them substantially worse.
• The “Liberty Paradox” that causes poker players to get less done even though they have unlimited freedom.
• How to figure out what daily tasks you can outsource to someone else.
• How to transition from “Professional Poker Player” to “Startup Founder.”

Links:

Ari Meisel:

• Leverage Virtual Assistants
• Twitter
• Books
• Youtube

Adrienne Rowsome:

• Watch and Subscribe to Adrienne’s Twitch Channel
• Twitter
• Facebook

In This Week’s Episode:

Over the last few weeks, there has been a buzz about the new app being released by Fedor Holz and our own Elliot Roe. This week, Fedor joins the show for a 3rd time to reveal all the details on the project.  

Primed Mind is a mobile app designed to make mindset coaching accessible to the entire world. They do this by providing bespoke mindset sessions for the most important aspects of your life, and guided sessions for growing every aspect of your mindset.

The app is now available on iOS and Google Play, and you can learn all about it on their website >>> https://www.primedmind.com/

In This Episode You’ll Learn:

• How Fedor stays ahead of the curve, even though he’s “retired” down to 10% of his old volume.
• Why Fedor believes discipline is an essential skill for players of all talent levels.
• What you must to surpass opponents who started the game before you, and have a head start in skill level.
• A step-by-step guide to forming your poker “inner circle.”
• What is this Primed Mind thing everyone is talking about?

Links:

Fedor Holz:

• Twitter
• Primed Mind

Adrienne Rowsome:

• Watch and Subscribe to Adrienne’s Twitch Channel
• Twitter
• Facebook

Kevin Martin is a professional MTT player, Twitch Streamer, PokerStars Pro and Reality TV Superstar.

After a 9th place finish in Big Brother Canada Season 3, he returned in Season 5 and went all the way to the end, facing off with his biggest rival in the final competition of the season.

While his opponent crumbled under pressure, Kevin’s experience in high-pressure final tables showed, and he was able to win easily. This allowed him to vote out his only competition and win the show, and $150,000, by a 9-0 vote.

Even if you’ve never watched Big Brother, you’ll still want to give this a listen, as Kevin lays out a road map for what it takes to accomplish those huge goals you have in life.

In This Episode You’ll Learn:

• How Kevin’s diligent study habits took his poker game to the next level and eventually allowed him to win Big Brother.
• What it’s like to live in a film studio for 3 months with no privacy and a camera pointed at you for 24 hours a day.
• How using mediation in the house allowed him to overcome the sleep deprivation all the contestants were faced with.
• How Kevin’s final table experience allowed him to stay calm in the final “heads up” competition for $150,000 and the win.
• The Non-TV friendly end-game strategy Kevin used to “break” Big Brother.

Links: Kevin Martin:

• Twitter
• YouTube
• Twitch.tv

Adrienne Rowsome:

• Watch and Subscribe to Adrienne’s Twitch Channel
• Twitter
• Facebook

This week is going to be a bit different.

Over the last few episodes, you've probably heard about the recently launched Poker Mind Coach Academy. It's a community of ambitious poker players all trying to reach their full potential in the game.

One of the benefits of being a member is a bonus segment from the podcast called "Afterthoughts." After we record an episode Elliot, Adrienne, and the guest all need to hang out while the recordings download. There's always a great conversation during that time, so we decided it was a waste not to record it.

Usually, these conversations are only available to Academy members, but this week we'll be sharing the Afterthoughts from last week's episode with Matt Berkey as a sneak peak into the Academy.

For more info on all the other benefits just visit PokerMindCoachAcademy.com

In This Episode You’ll Learn:

• How Matt went from a break even online MTT player to crushing the highest stakes in just 6 months.
• Why Matt was one of the few poker pro fist pumping when Black Friday happened.
• What happened when Matt lost $5.5mm in the 300/600/1200 and was down to his very last buy-in for the game.
• Why poker is rooted in failure, and how using that knowledge can help you not to take the results personally.
• How asking “why” can help you escape the learning curve and start your journey to hitting your ceiling in poker.

Links:

Matt Berkey:

• Solve For Why Academy
• Twitter
• YouTube
• A Gambler's Fallacy

Adrienne Rowsome:

• Watch and Subscribe to Adrienne’s Twitch Channel
• Twitter
• Facebook

Lex Veldhuis is a Dutch professional player and a member of PokerStar’s Team Pro Online. Lex made a name for himself with his hyper-aggressive play in televised cash games like High Stakes Poker and The Big Game.

With roots in online gaming and e-sports, Lex’s true home is on the online tables. Over the last year, he’s dedicated himself to growing his Twitch.tv following and has one of the biggest streams in poker. One of his goals is to build a bridge between the poker and e-sports world, and he will often stream other games as well as host (and be hosted by) large gaming streamers.

In This Episode You’ll Learn:

• How Lex bribed his opponents into teaching him mixed games.
• What Lex did to get branded as a fish, how that got it invited to huge private games, and why he’s done a complete 180 and wants to be viewed as a great player.
• What Phil Galfond, Sauce123 and Jungleman do that keeps them at the top of the game.
• How to prevent burnout during SCOOP and other large MTT series.
• How Lex uses his uses his anger and frustration to actually prevent tilt. (Be careful with this one as the majority of players who say this works for them are just denying they are on tilt)

Links: Lex Veldhuis:

• Twitter
• YouTube
• Twitch.tv

Adrienne Rowsome:

• Watch and Subscribe to Adrienne’s Twitch Channel
• Twitter
• Facebook

In This Week’s Episode:

Doug Polk is known as one of the (if not THE) best Heads Up No Limit Holdem players of all time. In addition to making a name for himself on the tables, he made waves in the poker community by not being afraid to speak his mind and call out other players.

He’s also had success in the live poker arena with two WSOP bracelets and over $5 million in earnings.

Since starting his training site, Upswing Poker, he’s become one of the most popular personalities in the poker world with one of the top viewed Twitch Stream and YouTube channels in poker.

In This Episode You’ll Learn:

• What Doug did when he lost 90% of his net worth and had to decide between giving poker one last go, or finding another path.
• How to prevent your ego from getting in the way of being honest about your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.
• The most important mindset to embrace if you have trouble with tilt.
• What you should do when you notice your confidence slipping after losing 30+ buy-ins.
• How Doug worked his way back from a massive $1.7 million downswing.

In This Week’s Episode:

Since his appearance on the first ever TMA Podcast episode, Daniel “Oxota” Dvoress has taken the live poker scene by storm. Since then he’s amassed over $3,000,000 in live tournament earnings, and become a staple in the High Roller/Super High Roller scene.

Daniel joins us to share how the ups and downs of making the transition from online to live, and how he uses mindset work to gain an edge on the field.

In This Episode You’ll Learn:

• Why preparation, play and study for live sessions is so much different than online.
• How learning a new game or format can boost your motivation.
• The exact routine Daniel uses before playing a high roller.
• How Daniel leverages high-pressure situations to run over a table.
• The correct way to use live-tells to enhance your technical decision making.
• How to gain an edge when you’re not a naturally gifted player.

In This Week’s Episode: In Tommy Angelo’s new book, Painless Poker, he approaches teaching the mental game from a new angle.

The book focuses around 7 fictional poker players, all archetypical characters representing the pain we experience while playing, who are attending Tommy’s “Painless Poker Clinic.”

Rather than teaching mindset with the typical textbook approach, you get to follow along with the story and see the changes the characters make in their own game. When you buy the print book directly from Tommy’s site, he’ll send you an autographed copy as well as a free digital download.

In This Episode You’ll Learn: Links:

• Why Tommy decided to use a fictional story to teach mindset concepts.
• Why all poker players should start meditating today.
• The point in your poker career you should start working on your mental game, and why most players start way too late.

In This Week’s Episode:

Jon “Apestyles” Van Fleet has been one of the most successful and profitable online tournament players of the last decade. With $8,000,000 in lifetime cashes, he’s won some of online poker’s toughest tournaments, including Pokerstars’ $1,050 Super Tuesday and Sunday Grand, and he has the highest average cash of the top 20 players on Pocket 5s’ all-time earnings leaderboard.

His most recent achievement, in January, was the largest Triple Crown recorded by Pocket 5s since 2013, featuring wins in the 888 Super XL High Roller and the Party Poker Super High Roller.

Jon credits his success to staying a student of the game, constantly adjusting, not being afraid to try new strategies, and prioritizing mental/physical health alongside study.

He’s a contributing instructor on Cardrunners, a co-author (with Rizen and Pearljammer) of the book Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time, and has worked with hundreds of students as an online MTT coach since 2011.

In This Episode You’ll Learn:

• How keeping a daily poker journal allowed Jon to discover a huge mindset leak.
• Jon’s “study prescription” for Adrienne.
• The great thing about downswings.
• Why you should be ruthless on the tables even if that’s not your personality in real life.
• The inverted relationship between the amount of alcohol Jon drank daily and how much he won at the tables.
• How playing poker for a living gave Jon the freedom to give back in areas that were important to him 

Links:

Jon Van Fleet:

• Twitter
• PocketFives Profile
• Cardrunners Profile

Adrienne Rowsome:

• Watch and Subscribe to Adrienne’s Twitch Channel
• Twitter
• Facebook

In This Week’s Episode:

Big news this week! 

Dr. Tricia Cardner has decided to focus on other pursuits and will no longer be co-hosting the show. We’d like to thank Dr. Cardner for her contribution to the show and for her dedication to helping poker players improve their mindset. You can follow along with her work by visiting her website:

http://www.drtriciacardner.com/

Taking over co-hosting duties is none other than Adrienne “Talonchick” Rowsome. Adrienne is a member of PokerStar’s Team Pro Online and runs one of the top Twitch.tv streams in the poker directory. Her experience in poker and work as an Occupational Therapist gives her a unique perspective, and we are excited to have her on-board.

You can watch Adrienne play on Twitch Every Monday, Friday and Saturday. Please check out her steam and support her efforts by subscribing to the channel: 

https://www.twitch.tv/talonchick

In this week’s episode, we are joined once again by 2x Sunday Million winner Rob Tinnion. Rob runs Pocarr.com, one of the largest backing stables for online MTTs, and the training site Max-Value.com.

Since his last appearance on the show, he has placed 2nd in a 1k SCOOP for $314k and released his long-awaited course MTT Foundations. 

In This Episode You’ll Learn:

• What Rob’s optimal schedule looks like and how it’s allowed him to get more done while having more free time.
• How to structure your study, so you improve faster with less work.
• Why Rob thinks he sucks at poker, and how that mindset has made him successful.
• Why winning a lot of money early in your career is the worst thing that can happen to you.
• How to build the foundations of an MTT game that will allow you to be successful for as long as the game is profitable.

Kurt “kurt23x” Fitzgerald has been an MTT pro for the last 10 years.

After Black Friday he briefly gave live poker a try but was lured to Costa Rica by some poker friends. His initial run while living there did not go well, and he moved back home with that plan to get a conventional job and go back to school.

After getting a taste of this life, he decided to re-dedicate himself to the game and gave Costa Rica another run. This mindset shift changed everything, and Kurt has been able to maintain his position as a top pro ever since.

He recently started a Twitch channel with the goal of raising money for hurricane victims in Costa Rica. Please check out his channel and donate to the cause if able.

Kristy Arnett first made a name for herself in the poker world by reporting on the game. She started playing poker in university, and in 2006 made the move to Las Vegas to work for Card Player.

After accomplishing everything she wanted in the poker journalism world, she made the switch to full-time player. She used the added freedom this gave her to focus on self-development.

That has led her to become an Emotional Intelligence Coach and to start the “WTF Am I Doing With My Life” podcast.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• The simple tweak that got 200% more study participants to exercise at least once a week.
• The reason that Kristy gave up a comfortable job as a poker reporter to play the game full-time.
• How Kristy uses poker to become a better person.
• How to decide if a risk is essential to take or if you should avoid it at all costs.
• How having a vision can help ensure that you are never just drifting through life.
• Why it’s important to be a decent human being to your fellow poker players.

In this week’s episode, Simon Jonas shares how being a poker pro has given him the freedom to travel the world and explore his passions.

You'll hear how the praise he got from becoming a great player made him question if there was more to poker than just getting to the top, what he discovered after reading 120 books in 2 years, and the one thing he’s sure is more important than mastering math and theory if you want to be good at poker and actually enjoy playing.

If you’ve ever felt like you’ve lost your passion for poker or that the game wasn’t as fun as when you first started, you’ll enjoy listening to Simon’s story.

If you’d like to hear more stories and tips from Simon check out his PokerSprout Blog.

• How to ignite the passion you once had for the game.
• Why you need to think twice before moving into a grind-house.
• Why you'll learn more watching a 10-minute poker video than a 90-minute one. 
• The reason why most player’s approach to study ends up in a dead-end.
• How to play outside your comfort zone without losing your shirt. 
• How getting praised as a great poker player made Simon feel less confident about his game. 

Dan Heskett was a successful high-stakes HUSNG professional, but after one private coaching session with Elliot, he was inspired to take his life in a new direction.

In episode 52 of The Mindset Advantage Podcast, Dan shares the result of that session and why it led to him getting qualified in Hypnotherapy.

He also discusses his journey as a professional poker player, and his new direction to help pokers players and men improve their mental game at the table and in the ‘dating’ scene.

• What ‘interleaving practice’ is and how it can improve the effectiveness of your study.
• The one exercise Dan does before every podcast, poker game, and interaction with women that makes him feel ‘unstoppable’
• The 3 skills you need to succeed with poker, women, and life that you’ll never get from school.
• The difference between playing VS. practicing (why the players who ‘make it’ ‘practice’ more than they ‘play’)
• What to do if you have confidence issues when talking to women
• How to use Hypnotherapy to deal with anxiety, improve your poker game, and be socially attractive to the opposite sex
• What to do if you can’t afford Elliot’s $300 session rate but still want high-performance coaching.

The Mindset Advantage Guest Run-Good continues as Eric Crain recently took down DraftKings Millionaire Maker. He also placed 3rd, 4th, and 12th in the contest and totaled $1,350,000 in winnings on the day.

He returns on this week’s episode to talk about what it was like to sweat the final minutes of the game and how the score will impact his career.

He also shares valuable insights on what it takes to play Daily Fantasy Sports for a living, and lays out a framework for anyone looking become a profitable player.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• The strategy Eric used to go from losing DFS player to multi-million dollar winner in just one year
• How to transition from poker to DFS, and why poker players are so successful moving over
• How winning a major DFS tournament is different from a big poker score
• Why Eric is in no rush to buy a house after his big win
• How being a huge sports fan can actually hurt your chances of winning at DFS

310 miles. 48 Hours. 1-day notice.

That’s what Brian Rast had to accomplish on his bike to win a $600,000 prop bet with Dan Bilzerian.

These were the terms:

• Brian’s $100,000 to Bilzerians’s $600,000.
• Riding only a road bike from the Las Vegas sign to Bilzerian's house in Beverly Hills (about 310 miles).
• He must leave by midnight the following day, so he would have no time to train.

The crazy part?

Brian had only purchased his first bike as an adult two months earlier, and a well-respected cycling coach gave him a 0% chance after looking at a wind map.

In episode 50 of The Mindset Advantage Podcast Brian Rast returns to share his amazing story of overcoming the odds and accomplishing a huge feat of physical and mental toughness.

(Oh, by the way, he also won the WSOP $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship for a second time which we talk about as well.)

• The habit that’s linked with lower brain matter density and worse attention and focus.
• What it felt like when he set foot on Dan Bilzerian's doorstep thus winning the $600,000 prop bet.
• How he was able to stay mentally strong even when the experts were giving him no chance to win.
• How Brain called his shot (by betting big on himself) in the $50,000 Player’s Championship.
• Why Brian doesn’t want to be judged on his tournament success, even though he has one of the best resumes in the game.
• The mindset differences between being an underdog and being a big favorite.

Brian Rast:

• brianrast.com/blog
• twitter.com/tsarrast
• instagram.com/tsarrast

Dr. Tricia Cardner:

• @DrTriciaCardner
• DrTriciaCardner.com
• Positive Poker
• Excelling at No-Limit Hold'em

Bryan “bparis” Paris is one of the most successful MTT players in online poker history.

With $9,671,716.97 in earnings (at the time this episode was released), he ranks 3rd in the all time online earnings leaderboard.

He also runs a popular Twitch channel, where you can regularly find him playing high stakes online MTTs.

Poker success came relatively easily for Bryan. He built his bankroll when the games were soft and was able to maintain a solid win rate without the need for much study.

That all changed in late 2014/early 2015 when he found himself in the biggest downswing of his career.

In a spot where many players would consider leaving the game, Bryan doubled down and decided to work hard to reclaim his spot as one of the top online MTT players in the world.

If you’ve ever worried that the game will one day pass you by, this episode does a great job showing you how to evolve your poker mindset in an ever changing game.

• The supplement that studies show may help reduce anxiety.
• The most important software to study if you want to take your game to the next level.
• How to handle the thought (or reality) that the game may one day pass you by.
• How having a child affected Bryan’s poker mindset.
• Why it’s important to play live poker occasionally if you are strictly an online player.
• The mindset shifts that “old school” players need to make to be successful in today's games.

Links:

Bryan Paris:

• Twitch.tv/bparispoker
• Twitter.com/bparispoker
• Instagram.com/bryanjamesparis

Dr. Tricia Cardner:

• @DrTriciaCardner
• DrTriciaCardner.com
• Positive Poker
• Excelling at No-Limit Hold'em

Christian Soto is a professional poker player from New Jersey. He got his start in live, low-stakes, cash games, but now focuses on $5/$10+ cash games and mid-stakes live MTTs.

Feeling that the slow grind of cash games wouldn’t allow him to achieve his goals fast enough, he embraced variance and Jumped into MTTs for the shot to get a big score early to boost his bankroll.

It worked out, as after getting his feet wet in New Jersey online MTTs he final tabled 2 of the first 4 $1,000+ live tournaments he played.

Christian is a Co-founder of Red Chip Poker, a site designed to provide low-stakes live cash game players a friendly environment to improve their game.

He’s also a coach for the Solve for Why Academy, who run boot camps for players looking to quickly improve their game.

• How brain training compares to physical exercise when it comes to improving mental performance
• Why Christian chose variance over stability when deciding to focus more on MTTs
• Why self-knowledge and understanding your bias is one of the most important factors of the mental game
• What it means to be a “Paper Champion” poker player
• How being excited and passionate can help take your game to the next level

Since he first joined us in Episode 3 of The Mindset Advantage Podcast, Jonathan Little has co-written a book with TMA co-host Dr. Tricia Cardner and launched the new training site PokerCoaching.com.

Peak Poker Performance lays out a blueprint for playing your “A” game every session. Topics covered in the book include; Creating winning habits, systematizing success, and beating procrastination.

PokerCoaching.com is a training site that uses weekly quizzes to show you which areas of the game you need to work on the most. There is also an in-depth monthly homework question where Jonathan grades/discussions the answer to in a webinar.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• How to actually integrate the mindset lessons we talk about into your game
• How optimizing your environment can set you up for success before you even start playing
• How watching TV while you play can slash your winrate
• Why it’s important to have an overall vision of why you’re playing poker
• How Jonathan was able to final table the WSOP Team Event with his Mom and Dad
• The difference in mindset and strategy needed to be successful in satellites vs. regular MTTs

Brent Hanks is a former teacher turned professional poker player who now works for the 24/7 poker network Poker Central.

His poker accomplishments include 6 WSOP final tables, one WSOP bracelet and $1,521,204 in live MTT earnings.

Poker Central is the world’s only 24/7 Poker TV network, and can currently be seen on most streaming devices such as the AppleTV, FireTV, Roku, and Xbox.

They also run and the Super High Roller Bowl, a $300,000 buy-in tournament that starts Sunday, May 29th. The tournament will air live on the CBS sports network starting on May 29th and concluding on June 1st.

To learn more visit: https://www.superhighroller.com

When we last spoke to Fedor “CrownUpGuy” Holz, in Episode 34, he was about to start play in an Alpha 8 final table as the chip leader.

He went on to win it for $1,589,216. Two week later he took down the WPTN Philippines SHR for $3,463,500.

Now, he’s back to talk about how those wins have changed his mindset as well a discuss his upcoming MTT master class.

Click here to visit the show page for all resources and links

On Thursday, April 21st, 2016 Olivier Busquet and JC Alvarado touched gloves in the Octagon at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas, NV. 

The fight was the culmination of 6-months of intense training, and a $270k purse was up for grabs. 

Over 100 spectators paid a $20 entry fee, which was all donated to the One Drop charity, and thousands more watched online. Most had a financial interest in the fight, with over $1,000,000 in side action was rumored to have been wagered. 

The fight was set for four 5-mintue rounds, with a fifth to be added if it ended at 2-2. 

The judges were not needed, as the fight was called after just 3 rounds. Olivier had bloodied up JC badly in the third, and it was agreed that it was no longer safe for him to continue. 

Olivier opened as the underdog, but after a dominant performance had his hand raised as the winner. 

In the week's episode Olivier joins us and shares his thoughts on the experience.  

Rob Tinnion is best known for winning the Sunday Million outright twice and has been one of the most consistent online MTT winners over the last few years with over $650,000 in total profit.

He is also a manager and coach for the backing group Pocarr, and founder of the MTT training site Max-Value.com.

Rob’s rise to the top of the MTT world is a great case study on how far hard work and a strong mindset can get you in poker. He began his career in the tough post-Black-Friday environment and didn’t have a huge score early to jump start his career.

Instead, he grinded a low ABI and worked incredibly hard on his game. After a rough streak, he joined Pocarr as a backed player and used their library of resources to further improve his game.

After winning the Sunday Million twice in 5 months and owning a large share of Pocarr, Rob continues to serve as a manager and coach.

Sean Kapul is a mid-high stakes PLO cash game pro who has been winning at the game since 2008.

Sean decided to take a shot at going pro after hearing his older friends constantly complaining about their conventional jobs. A 2nd place finish, for $50,000, in a 1k Venetian 1k MTT during his last year of university gave him the buffer he needed to take the plunge.

In our interview, Sean talks about how his poker career is just one piece of his plan to live his dream life. This is why he decided to move to Buenos Aires, and travel the world, even before US players were forced out of the country by Black Friday.

He also coaches PLO cash games, with a focus on helping NL players make the transition to PLO. 

If you’re interested in learning more about his coaching, you can visit his site: www.plomastery.com

You can often find Matt Berkey sitting in the biggest game in Ivey’s room, where six, and even seven, figure pots are regularly contested.

His poker career started as just a way to fund his dream of making a Major League Baseball roster.

After playing four years of college baseball, Matt set off on the road traveling between pro tryouts along the East Coast and in the Mid-West.

In between tryouts he would find the local casino and play $5/$10 NL to support his travel.

In 2006, he made the switch to a full-time poker pro, and he quickly climbed the ladder to the biggest cash games in the world.

He credits his success to the many hours he’s spent studying game theory and opponent tendencies.

Matt runs the exclusive Solve For Why Academy, a poker camp created to take players from good to great.

Each camp is restricted to 9 attendees who receive hands-on training from Matt and his team of coaches.

To learn more about the camp and see if you qualify to attend visit:

http://solveforwhyacademy.com

Adam Sherman is an online MTT pro turned Wall Street Trader.

His first major score came in PokerStars’ Wednesday Quarter Million event in January '10 for $58,200. He followed that up with a victory in the Stars $150k Guaranteed for $41.1k and also has a first place finish in the Nightly Hundred Grand for $22,700.

One of his largest online tournament cashes came courtesy of a victory in the PokerStars SCOOP-22-H ($3,000+150 NLHE 4-max) for $210,000. Less than a week later, Adam placed 2nd in the SCOOP-31-H ($2,000+100 NLHE Cubed 1r+1a) for $173,000. Those scores came only one month after he took down the Sunday 500 for $89,500.

In April 2012, Sherman chopped the PokerStars Super Tuesday and cashed for $69,000. In August 2013, Sherman was back at it, finishing second in the PokerStars Sunday Million following a four-way chop for $150,000. In May 2015 Adam won the PokerStars Sunday 500, taking home $76,000.

In 2014 he made the move to New York to take a job in a Wall Street trading firm. In our interview, we discuss the similarities he’s found between his two professions, and what poker players should do if they want to stock trading.

Ryan, aka "YourDoom", is a successful NLH cash game pro, video producer and coach.

Over his last one million mid-to-high stakes cash game hands, he has maintained an 11bb/100 winrate.

Before poker Ryan obtained a Master's degree in Secondary Math Education, and worked as a math teacher.

He has translated this teaching ability to YourDoomPoker.com, a poker training site for high level players.

• The tasty treat that could potentially boost mental performance
• Why so many pro poker players are unhappy
• How to overcome the mental road blocks holding you back from being your best
• The massive difference that good game selection can have on your winrate
• The 3 things YD does before he plays a poker session
• How to make your fold button a weapon

In part 1 of our interview with Olivier Busquet, we covered an incident that sparked his motivation to become the best HUSNG player in the world, how he started to learn deep poker theory and what he’s done to improve his tilt issues.

In part 2 we dive into his strategies for dealing with downswings and discuss his upcoming high-stakes MMA prop bet vs. J.C. Alvarado.

• How a properly timed nap can boost your study efforts. • How to recognize when you’re playing bad so you can quit and reset. • If you should drop down in stakes when on a downswing. • How Olivier found himself fighting another pro in an MMA match for six figures. • How Olivier is learning to develop the discipline that eludes most poker players.

Olivier Busquet:

• Olivier Busquet (@olivierbusquet)

Dr. Tricia Cardner:

• @DrTriciaCardner
• DrTriciaCardner.com
• Positive Poker
• Excelling at No-Limit Hold'em

Olivier “livb112” Busquet is known as one of the most successful heads up SNG players in online poker history.

In recent years, he has branched out to live MTTs, where he has quickly racked up $6,857,078 in earnings.

Olivier’s passion for greatness was sparked when he was berated for his losing HUSNG SharkScope graph early in his poker career.

A desire to get that graph even quickly transformed into making the games his full-time grind and he could be found near the top of the HUSNG profit leaderboards for many years after.

Olivier has been very public about his issues with tilt, most notably his epic chat blow-ups, and in this interview we take a deep dive into how he’s worked through fixing them.

• Whether having a few drinks to calm your nerves helps or hurts your game? • Why you should never berate the weak players in your game, especially by pointing out their losses. • How Olivier made the shift from using “brute force” to win to gaining a deeper theoretical understanding of the game, and why everyone needs to make that change if they want to stay competitive in today’s games. • Why a serious study practice is essential if you wish to make a living at poker. • How your circle of poker friends is quickly becoming an important factor in having an edge in poker. • Why Olivier self-banned his online poker chat. • Why Olivier believes being mentally strong is a requirement to be a long-term winner.

Olivier Busquet:

• Olivier Busquet (@olivierbusquet)

Dr. Tricia Cardner:

• @DrTriciaCardner
• DrTriciaCardner.com
• Positive Poker
• Excelling at No-Limit Hold'em

Carlos Welch has been playing and studying the game of poker for over ten years.

He is a writer for various poker media outlets and has been a frequent guest on several poker podcasts.

He plays small to mid-stakes tournaments and is well known for his extreme frugality - most notably his decision to live in a van.

Although he travels the world playing poker, he is not quite a professional poker player. He considers himself more of a professional poker student.

You can keep up as he lives his dream by watching his Twitch channel at www.twitch.tv/carloswelch and following him on Twitter at @HipHop101Trivia.

• The two activities you can use to boost your happiness and reduce depression
• How Carlos got a room for just $350 per month in Vegas for the WSOP
• How your overall life happiness should be factored into the games you play
• How to be a successful player without becoming jaded
• Why the “expense” side of poker profitability is just as important as “revenue”

Paul “Internet” Otto got his start in poker at the play money tables and worked his way up to being a mid/high-stakes 6-Max NL pro. He is also a highly regarded coach and video maker, producing content for IveyLeague.com.

Paul is the owner of PokerMarket.com, a website where you can sell and buy both tournament action and poker content. You’ll also find an active forum and rakeback deals on the site.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The two food types that can prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep
• How you can disconnect from the value of money while you play, so you can make the best decisions each hand
• The mindset you need to be successful when switching between Online and Live cash games
• How to approach improving your game, no matter what format you’re playing
• How to move up to mid/high-stakes once you’ve been successful at low stakes
• Why everyone should use math to improve their game, even if you think you’re “just a feel player”

Fedor Holz is a 22 year old player from Germany, now residing in Vienna Austria. In his short career Fedor has won several tournaments including the WCOOP Main Event 2014, he plays the high roller circuit now and placed 25th in the 2015 WSOP Main Event.

Mental Game MP3s | Poker Mind Coach

Eric Crain burst onto the poker scene when he was featured in the ESPN Coverage of the USPC in Atlantic City (video below).

His online and live MTT earnings total $1,584,960 including 3 WSOP Circuit rings, 3 WSOP final tables, and a $215 WCOOP win for $281,524.

Eric’s poker career has been the definition of swingy, and in our interview he discusses winning and losing million dollar bankrolls on multiple occasions.

He also talks about his recent switch to Daily Fantasy Sports, the mindset needed to be successful there, and preparing for two $50,000+ buy-in DFS Championship events where he will be playing for a $3 million and a $5 million first prize.

• How too much positive thinking can actually stop you from hitting your goals
• The consequences of not learning to respect the money
• What it takes to make it as a pro today
• When should you start working with a mental game coach?
• Why Eric put his computer tower in a bathtub and turned on the tap

Mental Game MP3s | Poker Mind Coach

Mark Herm (known online as “Dipthrong”or “shippitt”) is one of the most successful online tournament players in the world. He has been playing online poker professionally for 10 years and has amassed over 6 million dollars profit in poker play. He has also run one of the most successful online poker backing operations in history. He has won nearly every big online tournament including a Sunday Million victory for $229 000, a victory in the Full Tilt Poker Major for $128 000, and chopping the Sunday 500 on PokerStars 3 times… just to name a few.

Along with online success, Mark has had some deep runs in the live arena, despite not playing much. His most notable runs have been an EPT Prague final table for €100k, 3rd place in the 2014 WSOP $1500 Mixed Max for $128k, and a 226th place finish in the 2014 Main Event.

Mark has backed/coached many of the best online players to play the game and was recently ranked in the top 10 in the world according to Pocket Five.

 Mental Game MP3s | Poker Mind Coach

Mental Game MP3s | Poker Mind Coach

Joshua 'jdawg91' Hoesel is a 24 year old US born SNG pro that has resided in Rosarito Beach, Mexico since November, 2011, and plays on PokerStars as "slayerv1fan".

He has achieved SuperNova Elite+ four years straight, playing mostly midstakes to nosebleed hyper-turbo SNGs.

In that time he has accumulated over 7 million VPPs, and will likely become the youngest player to earn 10 million lifetime VPPs on Pokerstars, which has currently only been achieved by four players.

Having faced many ups and downs over the course of his career, most of which has been publicly recorded in his yearly blog threads on the TwoPlusTwo forums, he is someone to be looked up to for overcoming adversity and having the mental capacity to always strive to improve on and off the tables.

He is now working behind the scenes with a newly created MTT stable, FishTailStaking, which will be looking for new players in the near future.

 Mental Game MP3s | Poker Mind Coach

This is Part 2 of our interview with Daniel Negreanu, a professional poker player who has won six World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and two World Poker Tour (WPT) championship titles. The independent poker ranking service Global Poker Index (GPI) has recognised Negreanu as the best poker player of the past decade.

Since his second place in the Big One For One Drop 2014 tournament, he is the biggest live tournament poker winner of all time, having accumulated over $30,600,000 in prize money. He was named the WSOP Player of the Year in 2004 and again in 2013, making him the first player in WSOP history to win the accolade more than once. He was also the 2004-05 WPT Player of the Year. He is the first player to make a final table at each of the three WSOP bracelet-awarding locations (Las Vegas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific) and the first to win a bracelet at each. In 2014, he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

 Mental Game MP3s | Poker Mind Coach

Daniel Negreanu is a professional poker player who has won six World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and two World Poker Tour (WPT) championship titles. The independent poker ranking service Global Poker Index (GPI) has recognised Negreanu as the best poker player of the past decade.

Since his second place in the Big One For One Drop 2014 tournament, he is the biggest live tournament poker winner of all time, having accumulated over $30,600,000 in prize money. He was named the WSOP Player of the Year in 2004 and again in 2013, making him the first player in WSOP history to win the accolade more than once. He was also the 2004-05 WPT Player of the Year. He is the first player to make a final table at each of the three WSOP bracelet-awarding locations (Las Vegas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific) and the first to win a bracelet at each. In 2014, he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

Tommy Angelo grinded for 15 years before opening his “TILTLESS” coaching business ten years ago. Most of his clients are professional players. Tommy now defines himself as a writer. His 2007 book, Elements of Poker is widely considered to be one of the best poker books. Tommy writes a monthly column for PokerNews, he makes videos for RunItOnce.com, and he is finishing his third book, Painless Poker.

Tommy’s teachings go into extreme detail on every aspect of living the poker life. In broad strokes, he places emphasis on mental health, and reducing unhappiness, as means to increasing profit and well-being.

Tommy is like the Vince Lombardi of poker coaches.  Mental Game MP3s | Poker Mind Coach

Jaime Staples also known by his alias Staples is a Canadian professional poker player from Alberta, Canada who specializes in live streaming of online low stakes multi-table tournaments on Twitch.tv. He primarily plays on PokerStars and became a 'Friend of PokerStars' in April 2015. As of 2015, his total live tournament winnings exceed $9,000 and his online tournament winnings exceed $550,000.

 Mental Game MP3s | Poker Mind Coach

Alexander ‘msusyr24’ Carr is founder of Pocarr. Alex has played over 100,000 tournaments on PokerStars and is also a coach for Pocarr. Alex now plays primarily cash games and MTT’s while helping manage Pocarr. 

 Mental Game MP3s | Poker Mind Coach

Elliot Roe is a licensed Hypnotherapist based in Las Vegas who specializes in helping poker players resolve their mindset issues at the table. During his career, Elliot has worked with over 150 poker players from NL25 all the way up to some of the best known high stakes pros. 

Elliot's take on mindset issues differs from many of the other mindset coaches. He uses his expertise in hypnotherapy to explore players’ past experiences to help to resolve their issues at the table. By helping clients to  understand and resolving the issues of their past  it enables change in their behavior at the table. Mental Game MP3s | Poker Mind Coach

Adam "coffeeyay" Sobolewski. Currently residing in Denver and also the Shetland Islands for poker, Adam is a Heads Up SNG pro and coach. He created the "CoffeeHUD" for heads up players and is the author of "Math in HUSNG's". Adam has a BS and MS in Mathematics and a BA in physics with honors, a university level teaching certificate and has taught semesters of calculus and physics.

Dr. Tricia Cardner is a peak performance strategist who provides coaching and consulting to some of today’s biggest names in poker, sport and business by teaching them how to use psychology to gain an edge over their competition.

After becoming enamored with the game of poker, she conducted research on the psychological traits of elite tournament poker players for her doctoral dissertation called Peak Poker Performance: A Qualitative Case Study.

She combined her research and her experience playing MTTs into an upper-division university course on the psychology of poker.  She is the author of Positive Poker which features commentary by Jonathan Little. Positive Poker, A Modern Psychological Approach to Mastering Your Mental Game, combines her years of psychological research, clinical experience and poker playing into one place.

She is a co-author on Excelling at No-Limit Hold’em, and her chapter focuses on mental toughness for poker players.

She is currently developing an online Psychology of Poker course to further help poker players improve their mental games.

You can follow her on Twitter @DrTriciaCardner

Website: www.DrTriciaCardner.com

Patrick “Pads1161” Leonard is a MTT pro with over 2M in online earnings.

He also coaches and runs a very successful MTT staking group.

He’s twice reached the #1 spot in the PocketFives Online MTT Rankings, and has accomplished the rare feat of final tabling every PokerStars Sunday Major.

His love for creating media led him to get a Journalism major at the University of Sheffield, and he keeps that passion alive by blogging, podcasting and creating videos.

His personal blog thread on the TwoPlusTwo forums is incredibly popular, with almost 270,000 views at the time of this recording.

Patrick’s strong approach to the mental game makes him a great example of the right way to approach professional poker, a role that he admittedly seeks and enjoys with the players he chooses to stake. 

Mental Game MP3s | Poker Mind Coach

Tomáš Molčan, also known as Scarmaker online, is a 6-max cash game player and poker social media enthusiast.

He works for the website TiltBook.com, the biggest social media website for poker.

TiltBook is a poker community with over 20,000 members, including poker fans and players all the way from micro-stakes grinders to some of the top players in the game.

Members can follow other player’s results, thoughts, hands, and goals as well was sharing some of their own.

You can follow Scarmaker’s humorous posts and emails by checking out his TiltBook profile here: http://tiltbook.com/scarmaker/

Mental Game MP3s - http://www.pokermindcoach.com/mental-game-mp3s/

In Episode 18 Brian Rast becomes the first two time guest of The Mindset Advantage Podcast.

In Episode 11 he discussed his plans for the 2015 summer in Vegas including WSOP events, high stakes cash games, and playing the $500,000 Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB).

His summer was a smashing success, as he won a $500,000 SHRB seat in a $25k satellite, had a winning summer in cash games and won the SHRB for $7,525,000.

The SHRB win gave Brain his 4th 7 figure score, and moved him up to 11th on the all-time money list. 

In this interview we recap his fantastic summer, and learn exactly what work he did on his mental game to help him achieve these results.

Brian reveals that he’s been working with Elliot doing private mindset coaching, and explains how it’s helped him improve his game.

He also discusses how he was able to stay composed after taking a massive bad beat 3 handed in the SHRB, which allowed him to come back and win.

Brian Rast is a high stakes poker pro and lead instructor for Zen Poker Training.

Mental Game MP3s | Poker Mind Coach

David Tuchman has one of the most recognizable voices in poker. He's the commentator for the WSOP live shows airing on ESPN and streaming on the internet.

Mental Game MP3s - http://www.pokermindcoach.com/mental-game-mp3s/

Christ Moneymaker was the winner of WSOP main event in 2003. His win was a major driver in the popularization of poker and the World Series of Poker. This has been referred to as the "Moneymaker Effect." His autobiography, Moneymaker: How an Amateur Poker Player Turned $40 into $2.5 Million at the World Series of Pokerwas published in March 2005. Moneymaker has 2 WPT cashes and 4 WSOP cashes. Moneymaker married his wife in Las Vegas in April, 2005. He currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee.

Mental Game MP3s | Poker Mind Coach

Daryl Jace is a professional poker player and MTT specialist from Saugus, Massachusetts. Known online as "aaaaaaaa"and "fkscreennames". Daryl started playing online over 9 years ago back when he was 14. He currently has 3million in winnings and over 1.1 million in profit. His remarkable online scores include 5 sunday million final tables with 2 wins, 5th in the WCOOP main for 200k , 1st in FTOPS main for 385k , 4th in 500$ WCOOP for 200k. As far as the live tournament circuit goes he has 2 deep runs in the WSOP main get in 2009 ( 196th) and 2011 (89th). Daryl is currently traveling the live circuit , trying to make a living as a live pro.

 Mental Game MP3s - http://www.pokermindcoach.com/mental-game-mp3s/

Evan Jarvis is the Head Captain of Team Gripsed, and the Lead Instructor of Get Stackin' University.His mission is to help people reach their full potential and become the best poker players they can be. He played poker professionally for 11 years, and he now runs the largest and most popular free poker training YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/gripsed.

Mental Game MP3s - http://www.pokermindcoach.com/mental-game-mp3s/

Terrence Chan is professional poker player and MMA fighter from Vancouver, Canada. Terrence is perhaps best know for his impressive performance in the 2009 Pokerstars SCOOOP series where he won two limit hold’em events simultaneously – the $500 medium buy in and the $5000 high buy in. Other career highlights include 15 WSOP cashes (primarily in limit), including two 2010 limit final tables. Chan’s poker resume is rounded out by cashes on the WPT an APPT title as well as an assortment of deep runs in other international and local tournaments. 

Terrence has also founded and operated customer support organizations for two different poker startups: PokerStars (2002-2004) and Ultimate Poker (2013-2014).

His main hobby and passion is the martial arts that are typically associated with the sport of MMA: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai boxing, western boxing, and wrestling. He has an amateur MMA record of 3-0 and a professional MMA record of 1-0.

Mental Game MP3s - http://www.pokermindcoach.com/mental-game-mp3s/

TJ Dillashaw is an American mixed martial artist and the current UFC Bantamweight Champion. Dillashaw was also a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller. As of April 29, 2015, he is #6 pound-for-pound in the official UFC rankings, and is ranked #1 Bantamweight in the world by Sherdog.com. 

Duane Ludwig is a coach, retired American professional kickboxer and mixed martial artist. As the K-1 2002 World MAX USA Champion, he is one of only five K-1 Champions and the only K-1 World MAX Champion to compete in the UFC. In addition, Ludwig also holds the official fastest knockout record in the UFC after his win against Jonathan Goulet (in 0:06) at UFC Fight Night 3. 

Ludwig has also received acclaim for his role in the success of Team Alpha Male operating out of Sacramento, California, which is home to numerous highly ranked mixed martial artists who have competed in organizations such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting. Ludwig currently serves as the teams head coach, where his impact is believed to have been the "missing link" in elevating the team as one of the gold standards for training camps in the world. Ludwig has been voted the Coach of the Year in 2013 and 2014. Ludwig was considered the key element in helping Team Alpha Male win Gym of the Year in 2013 by the World MMA Awards.

 Mental Game MP3s - http://www.pokermindcoach.com/mental-game-mp3s/

António Ramalho has studied economics and he was always good with foreign languages, but was after his studies that he really started taking Poker more serious. He started by playing one dollar tournaments, and by playing micro cash limits. After reading ‘’Kill everyone’’ he started to crush 180s for a 20%+ Roi! In his next challenge he managed to turn himself from a low stakes regular into a solid high stakes regular in only six months, impressing the international community by achieving Supernova Elite with pre rakeback Profit. Nowadays you can find him in the 6 max hyper turbos 60$ up to 500$. And, his European Poker Tour journey already begun.

Mental Game MP3s - http://www.pokermindcoach.com/mental-game-mp3s/

Brian Rast is an American professional poker player from Poway, California, currently residing in Las Vegas, Nevada. He began playing poker in 2003 and is mostly known for winning two World Series of Poker bracelets in 2011. He was one of the 48 players to enter the biggest poker event in history, the $1,000,000 buy-in The Big One for One Drop during the 2012 WSOP. He final tabled that event and eventually finished in 6th place collecting more than $1.6 million in winnings.

Mental Game MP3s - http://www.pokermindcoach.com/mental-game-mp3s/

Ed Miller is a professional poker player and an author of books about poker. He wrote Small Stakes Hold 'em: Winning Big With Expert Play with David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth in 2004. In 2005, he completed Getting Started in Hold 'em, a beginner's book. In 2006, he co-wrote No Limit Hold 'Em: Theory and Practice with David Sklansky. Miller is also co-author of the book Professional No Limit Hold 'em with Matt Flynn and Sunny Mehta published in 2007 and wrote Small Stakes No-Limit Hold’em co-authored with Sunny Mehta and Matt Flynn. Miller came out with How to Read Hands At No-Limit Hold'em in 2011, Playing the Player in 2012, and Poker's 1% in 2014. Miller is part owner and produces educational poker videos for Red Chip Poker and StoxPoker, both subscription fee based poker coaching sites. His newest book, The Course, is set to release late April 2015.

Mental Game MP3s - http://www.pokermindcoach.com/mental-game-mp3s/

Isaac "Ike" Haxton is an American professional poker player and High stakes heads-up NLHE specialist from New York. Before poker, Haxton, like many other poker pros played all kinds of board and card games including chess and Magic: The Gathering. He picked up poker in high school and became serious about the game when he started studying Computer Science at Brown University.

After awhile, Haxton decided to take some time off school and pursue a career in poker. However, unlike many other young poker guns, Haxton had his family behind his back. By the time he turned 18, Haxton took his game to the live circuit and has been doing quite well for himself.

His major breakthrough came in 2007 when he finished as runner-up at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), back when it was an event on the World Poker Tour (WPT). It was a result worth an incredible $861,789, and announced Isaac as one of poker’s rising stars.

Haxton is also considered one of the best online players in the game. Fearless and aggressive, he’s racked up numerous tournament scores online and regularly plays in the largest cash games around.

Mental Game MP3s - http://www.pokermindcoach.com/mental-game-mp3s/

Zachary Elwood has been playing poker seriously for more than ten years. For three of those years, he played professionally. He’s long been interested in the psychological aspects of poker (while knowing that poker tells are much less important than poker strategy.)

In 2009, he started the ReadingPokerTells blog, on the subject of tells and psychology. The site has gained a decent following over the years. In 2012, he published Reading Poker Tells, a book on general poker behavioral patterns, that has been called the “best book on poker tells” by many players, both amateur and experienced.

Elwood published the book Verbal Poker Tells in 2014, which has also received high praise. Tommy Angelo, the pro poker player and author, called it “a treasure of profitable content.” He also did several poker tells presentations in Vegas, as part of a full-day seminar co-hosted by Jonathan Little. Elwood used a lot of actual televised poker hands to illustrate behavioral patterns that are often reliable.

He writes a monthly column for Bluff Magazine, and has written articles for PokerNews, the TwoPlusTwo Magazine, and The Freeroll. He has created poker training videos for the poker training site CardRunners.com.

Mental Game MP3s - http://www.pokermindcoach.com/mental-game-mp3s/

Robert Drysdale is one of the most accomplished tournament decorated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belts in the entire 100+ year history of this martial art. Robert was born in the USA in 1981 and has lived in both the united states and Brazil. Robert started his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu career in Las Vegas, NV in the late 1990’s and trained extensively with MMA pioneer John Lewis as well as the American black belt Steve Desilva.

Mental Game MP3s - http://www.pokermindcoach.com/mental-game-mp3s/

Mark Herm (known online as "Dipthrong"or "shippitt") is one of the most successful online tournament players in the world. He has been playing online poker professionally for 10 years and has amassed over 6 million dollars profit in poker play. He has also run one of the most successful online poker backing operations in history. He has won nearly every big online tournament including a Sunday Million victory for $229 000, a victory in the Full Tilt Poker Major for $128 000, and chopping the Sunday 500 on PokerStars 3 times... just to name a few.

Along with online success, Mark has had some deep runs in the live arena, despite not playing much. His most notable runs have been an EPT Prague final table for €100k, 3rd place in the 2014 WSOP $1500 Mixed Max for $128k, and a 226th place finish in the 2014 Main Event.

Mark has backed/coached many of the best online players to play the game and was recently ranked in the top 10 in the world according to Pocket Five.

Mental Game MP3s - http://www.pokermindcoach.com/mental-game-mp3s/

Jonathan Little is a professional poker player who has won over $6,000,000 playing tournament poker over the last 8 years. He also plays high stake cash games on a regular basis. He owns and operates the poker training site, FloatTheTurn.com. He is part of 3bet clothing, InstaPoker and BluesharkOptics.

Mental Game MP3s - http://www.pokermindcoach.com/mental-game-mp3s/

Adrienne was into poker before the boom, playing Omaha in local casinos before Texas Hold’em took over the world. She gradually began to play more and more online and the results started coming. Describing herself as a grinder who is more than happy at lower stakes, Adrienne plays for the enjoyment, as well as the profits. She qualified for the World Series of Poker Main Event for three consecutive years on PokerStars in 2005, 2006 and 2007, and had top-100 cashes in WSOP Omaha events in the next three years, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Online tournaments at PokerStars have also proved profitable for Adrienne, and she’s final tabled the Women’s Sunday event three times, with strong finishes in 2nd, 3rd and 4th spots.

When she’s not playing poker, Adrienne works as an Occupational Therapist and also enjoys sports including snowboarding and slo-pitch softball. She’s also big into yoga, which has helped the mental and physical sides of her poker game.

Mental Game MP3s - http://www.pokermindcoach.com/mental-game-mp3s/

Welcome to The Mindset Advantage Podcast! The only podcast dedicated to exploring the essential topic of creating a strong mindset both on and off the tables.

This weeks guest is Daniel "Oxota" Dvoress. A high stakes NLHE player and a Run it Once Elite coach. 

Mental Game MP3s - http://www.pokermindcoach.com/mental-game-mp3s/