I first played poker in college, but only occasionally. In psychology graduate school we started an ongoing weekly game that often involved faculty members, including the Statistics Professor, who never seemed to lose. After graduate school I don’t recall playing much; except for a handful of times over the next thirty years.
Since High School, and during all this time, I played chess whenever I could find an opponent. My interest in chess was fueled by the example of an uncle that was a Master chess player. But, about seven years ago I played my first Texas No Limit Hold’em hand. It was love at first sight. This game was even more complex and challenging than chess.
My passion grew and I became a serious student of the game. I study or play the game almost daily. I play medium stakes cash games about three times per week and try to play a tournament at least once a month. I still have my day job as a psychologist but I look forward to increasing my involvement with the game even more.
As a dedicated student, I have read dozens of poker books and hundreds of articles. I have received coaching from some of the best players. I do employ my psychological training and experience when I play and study poker. I have combined my expertise in human behavior with my increasing poker knowledge to develop a concept I call psychological poker leaks. This concept is based on the fact that in poker, as well as in life, best decisions are generated by self-knowledge, the management of our emotions, and the ability to think about our thinking.
Psychological Poker Leaks
As a psychotherapist (see my professional background) I constantly face individuals and couples that expect simple and quick solutions to their chronic complicated problems. It is often the case that once they experience symptom relief or some improvement of their personal situation, they are ready to pack up and leave my office. I work hard at explain to them that an individual simply venting or a couple sitting down and talking to each other for a couple of sessions can produce the sense of progress. I remind them; however, that feeling better is not being better.
For real change to take place we first need to come up with a correct diagnosis of the problem. If the noise your car makes is incorrectly diagnosed, you may pay through the nose for unnecessary parts and labor. If you self-diagnose that pain in your chest that sends a tingling down your arm as chronic heartburn, when it’s really a worsening heart condition, you may be dead soon.
Arriving at a correct diagnosis is essential in my profession. A couple will come in asking for help “communicating better”. Most times I quickly realize that the problem being presented is not the real problem. For instance, it may turn out their difficulty communicating is actually a problem in co-parenting. He is constantly angry, unaware that the cause of his anger is his feeling sabotaged by his wife in his attempts to discipline. Bottom line for him – he sees her as caring more for the kids than him. She, on the other hand, just sees him as angry and non-communicative. Bottom line for her – she just wants a harmonious home.
The trick is to first help them understand the real problem; then we can focus on how to achieve change. Real change requires the courage of self-reflection; the willingness to try new behaviors; and the commitment to hard work to improve the relationship. Curiosity about how your mind and your partner’s mind works makes the job immensely easier and raises the possibility of success.
The steps required to improve your poker play are very similar. It’s crucial that we properly diagnose why we are playing badly. I believe that in most, if not all, instances the correct diagnosis involves insufficient poker skills, specific mechanical poker leaks, or psychological poker leaks. In many cases it may be two or all three causes.
Players new to the game simply have insufficient poker skills to win consistently. This situation is correctable primarily through study and experience. Study can include reading poker books and articles; watching videos; practicing with play or real money; or getting coached. Even here, however, it’s important to properly diagnose the problem in order to focus on which skills to learn or improve. Of course, novices need to start by developing basic skills. Books by Harrington, Brunson, or free introductory courses such as those offered on www.pokerschoolonline.com are excellent places to start. Having a friend or spouse that is more experienced in the game and that is willing to mentor you can speed up the process of learning dramatically.
Even experienced players need to properly identify specific areas that need improvement. A professional baseball player usually recognizes whether he needs more fielding, batting, or throwing practice. However, practice becomes more productive when he knows that he needs to focus specifically on fielding ground balls; or hitting the cutoff man from the outfield; or hitting to the opposite field; or adding a new pitch to his repertoire. Similarly, even the best poker players need to identify their weaknesses, their specific mechanical poker leaks.
A consistently successful poker player does well because he can identify exact aspects of his game that need to be further developed. He may realize that he needs improvement in calculating odds; or accumulating chips earlier; or in reading opponents’ hand ranges. He can then generate an action plan to address his deficiencies. However, even the best players in the world go through periods where nothing seems to work. There are plenty of poker professionals that have gone bankrupt. Are these bad runs due to bad luck? Or is there something else at play here?
It turns out that in poker, just as in life, our behavior and decisions can be affected by feelings, thoughts, or attitudes that we are not aware of. We all agree that in poker we experience “stress” due to the requirement of constant decision making. However, what we don’t pay any attention to is the fact that each individual experiences stress in his own unique way. A timid individual responds differently than someone whose main personality trait is stubbornness.
When faced by an all-in on the River from a loose-aggressive player, the timid player may fold his set because he fears that his opponent made his flush on the last card. The stubborn player may snap call because he feels pushed by someone that is trying to scare him. These players may be novices whose play is primarily emotion-centered. However, even an expert player that knows this opponent likes to shove on the River whenever he can represent a flush may fold due to his own emotional makeup. Maybe this play is occurring at the WSOP final table and his personality craves the recognition he would gain by making “the big lay down”. These emotionally based decisions are what I call psychological poker leaks. The only way to correct these leaks is to follow Socrates’ advice: “Know thyself”.
Based on my 35 years of studying what is behind human behavior, I have developed a personality theory that explains behavior through the lens of 18 core personality traits. I have constructed a test that assesses these traits and which I have used successfully with dozens of my clients to help them learn about themselves, make better life decisions, and in turn, live a more rewarding life. I am working on adapting this system in order to help poker players identify and correct their psychological poker leaks. If you are interested in knowing more about this approach, feel free to email me at drmalonso@gmail.com.