Game-Set-RESET!!

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Game-Set-RESET!!

by Jamie Glazier

A part of Human nature that has an enormous negative impact on our performance on both the live and virtual felt, is our ability to drag the negative results forward and leave the positive results behind us.

One aspect I have worked hard on over the years with clients is to build the habit of being able to press the reset button after hands that have had both a positive and negative impact on their emotions, arousal levels or state of mind.

The game of poker has so many components that can cause a huge varience in both results and what state of mind or emotional state we may experience, that if we can build a reset button that will allow us to start every hand with a fresh new mindset, free from the past or future, it will help you stay focused on making the best decision possible in the present.

Being completely focused on the present has been a commonly discussed Mental Game technique in all mainstream sports, and will have the same positive effect on your performance as a poker player.

Creating a Reset button is one of the simplest ways of being able to achieve that ability to stay fcoused on the present, without the past or future having a negative impact on your decision RIGHT NOW!!

One technique I have used in the past to help players RESET after every hand, both good and bad, is what I call-Your Happy Place.

This exercise was inspired by one of my favourite movies, Happy Gilmore, where Happy was told to go to his Happy Place to help him stay calm and relaxed while trying to beat Shooter McGavin down the stretch of the Tour Championships.

Although Happy’s Happy Place consisted of a lingerie clad woman holding jug’s of beer and midget’s riding tricycles, your Happy Place can consist of a different theme all together, if this doesn’t appeal to you.

To begin the process of creating your Happy Place, be will begin with 3 different themes to help you to build a Reset button that has the power to withstand some of the extreme circumstances that the game of poker will enevitably throw at you.

The 3 themes consist of-

1.      Your Best Result.

2.      Your Best Performance form a Process point of view.

3.      Your most valued thing outside of poker.

We begin by going back to your Best result and replaying that result in your head. When replaying that result, I want you to come up with one point during that time that stands out over all others where you experienced the highest level of emotion towards that result. Whether it was when you saw ther river card drop to show the win, your account balance after that session or seeing yourself dominating an opponent, come up with a specific image of that best performance.

The next step is going back to a session where you played great poker, was emotionally in control or had an amazing level of focus throughout the entire session, when going back through that session, I want you to come up with one word that describes that performance and embodies all the small processes that you felt help you bring you’re a game to that session.

The last step is to focus on the things outside of the game that mean the most to you. Whether this is a loving partner, an amazing family or a fantatsic healthy lifestyle you lead, this time I want you to create an image and corresponding word to help you build your Happy Place.

Once you have come up with your image from your best result, your key word from your best performance and your key word and image from your valued assets outside of poker, I want you to begin to visualise these three aspects together that will help you to accept and enjoy the challenge’s of the game of poker.

The three components are what make up your Happy Place and will help you to be able to combat some of those nasty aspects the game of poker seems to throw at all of us, but just like anything, it has to be built.

The process of building your Happy Place can take anywhere between 2-5 weeks, depending upon how often you implement this technique and how clear the three different areas are in your mind. The more specific and clear they are, the easier it will be to access your Happy Place which in the game of poker, could be an extremely profitable exercise over a large volume of hands.

So whenever your experience one of those negtive trigger’s that seems to take you away from you’re A game, I want you to think about pressing the RESET button in your mind that will automatically take you to your Happy Place. This will help you to begin to take control over your mind and help eliminate some of those negative behaviors that seem to always eat away at your stacks.

But remember, it takes anywhere between 2-5 weeks to build, so be patient and you will begin to keep your stack where it belongs-IN FRONT OF YOU

Jamie Glazier is a Mental Game Coach that works with players such as Joe Hachem, Full Tilt Red Pro Jonathan “MonsterDong” Karamalikis and  Brendon “Brendooor” Rubie as well as a long list of other Professional MTT players.