Mental Toughness

Most poker writers focus only on our game, but I’ve reported research about behavioral finance, mental stimulation and aging, and other psychological topics.

Some people object that these subjects have nothing to do with poker, but anything that helps us to understand how people think, feel, and act can improve our poker. Sports psychology research can be particularly valuable because these researchers analyze the factors that affect competitors’ performance, and poker is an intensely competitive game.

Sports psychology is immeasurably better developed than poker psychology. I believe no university gives degrees in poker psychology, but several award masters’ degrees in sports psychology, and some award doctorates in counseling or clinical psychology with a sports psychology specialty. I’ve read two doctoral dissertations and one masters’ thesis about poker psychology that were written for three different types of degrees. There are almost certainly others.

Mental Toughness Is Essential

Several poker authorities have made that claim, but “mental toughness” is not well-defined. It’s been called, “heart,” “courage,” and other terms. For example, Doyle Brunson often said that top professionals need courage. Barry Greenstein’s book, Ace on the River, listed twenty-five “traits of winning poker players.” Number one was “psychologically tough.”

The reports of research in counseling, clinical, and sports psychology can help you to understand and increase your mental toughness. Dr. Patricia Cardner’s new book with Jonathan Little, Positive Poker, reports the research for her doctorate in counseling psychology. She asked highly successful poker professionals to identify the characteristics of winning players. Mental toughness was one of the five personality traits they identified as “enhancers to their ability to play poker successfully at the highest levels.” One chapter, “Mental Toughness: The Ultimate Psychological Edge,” recommends ways to develop and apply it.

Dr. Soledad Espinola’s clinical psychology dissertation was based on fairly similar interviews. Half of her subjects regarded “heart” as “an important characteristic for success. They described ‘heart’ as having ‘no fear and being willing to put it out there, especially in today’s world of no-limit Texas hold’em.’”

The most complete analysis I’ve read was Aaron Weinstein’s master’s thesis in sports psychology, “A Framework of Mental Toughness in Professional Poker Players.” His review of the sports psychology literature on mental toughness included a dozen books and articles. One said, “Mental toughness [is] a ‘psychological edge’ that entails an ability to cope better than your opponents and be more consistent than your opponents.”

Aaron interviewed fifteen highly successful poker professionals and “identified 47 components in 14 attributes that exemplify mental toughness.” I doubt that any poker writer has analyzed mental toughness (or any trait) so thoroughly.

Cautiously Apply Non-Poker Psychology Research

Whenever we borrow principles from research about sports psychology, clinical psychology, counseling psychology, behavioral finance or any other non-poker topic, we must consider both the similarities and differences between poker and other “games.” Poker does resemble other types of competition, but there are some extremely important differences. If we ignore those differences, we can make serious mistakes.

For example, Weinstein’s research used a conceptual framework developed earlier by sports psychologists. It regarded self-confidence as a critical component of mental toughness and called it “an unshakeable self-belief or inner arrogance relating to a total belief in your abilities to overcome any obstacle and achieve your full potential.”

The arrogant belief that you can overcome any obstacle may be an asset for athletes, but for most poker players it’s an extreme liability. Athletes generally can’t pick their competition. Schedules are set months or years in advance. Since they can’t refuse to play against tough opponents, it pays to believe, “I can beat anybody.”

Poker players need enough confidence to act decisively and aggressively, but can’t afford arrogance. If you arrogantly believe that you can beat anyone and overcome any obstacle, you’ll probably go broke.

Game selection is the most important poker skill. If you play against the right opponents, you’ll win. If you play against the wrong ones, you’ll lose.

The top pros in Bellagio’s Bobby’s Room love it when a nobody wins a tournament and joins their game to prove how good he is. They usually take a huge hunk of his tournament winnings and occasionally take his entire bankroll.

You Must Understand Your Own Motives

Although arrogance has caused countless pros and wannabes to go broke, it can be valuable — even critically important — if you have extreme ambitions. If you want to be a steady winner, you should play within your bankroll, select soft games, attack the weak players, avoid the tough ones, and so on. But, if you want to become a top player, you must take chances, including the risk of going broke. Daniel Negreanu and Doyle Brunson have publicly admitted that they have been busted repeatedly. Many other top pros have repeatedly gone broke, but don’t admit it.

Negreanu explained why he took that risk in “Why Do Sharks Eat Other Sharks?” (Card Player, 8/29/07) He couldn’t become a top player without the skills and toughness that could be developed only by challenging great players. He hated going broke, but regarded it as an essential part of the price of greatness.

Daniel Negreanu is much more ambitious and introspective than most players. Because he is exceptionally talented and had a burning desire to become a top pro, he was willing to pay a high price, both financially and psychologically. He told his readers that the lessons he learned from being busted helped him to become one of the world’s top players.

However, he ended his “Sharks” article by saying that his choices were not right for everyone. “So, after whom should we pattern ourselves in our poker careers? Well, that, my friends, is entirely up to you. There is no right or wrong answer.” Your answer should depend upon your motives:

• If you’re just playing for fun, you don’t need mental toughness. However, you might find poker useful for developing toughness that will help you in more important areas such as your career.

• If you just want to be a successful grinder and don’t have a burning desire to become a star, you should take the safer career path. However, because poker will always be a roller coaster ride, I recommend reading some of the diversified literature about mental toughness.

• If you have a burning desire to become a top pro and sincerely believe that you have the potential to become one, you need to become much tougher. Carefully study the works by great players and all types of psychologists. You should also take some of the painful risks that Daniel Negreanu described.

• It won’t be easy to develop mental toughness, but — if you want to have any type of successful poker career – you must develop that toughness. ♠

Do you often wonder, “Why are my results so disappointing?” Ask Dr. Al, [email protected]. He has published five books about poker psychology, five on other psychological subjects, and is David Sklansky’s co-author for DUCY?