Mastering The Fundamentals: Mental Game Strategy

[@PokerCoaching]

How often do YOU tilt at the poker tables? ☹ A) Never B) Sometimes C) Everytime I lose a hand!

[@LowTide941]

Sometimes. Used to be every hand but I’ve working on it

[@rambhavanyadav1102]

Sometimes

[@speedosam5221]

I'm a raging alcoholic, so I'm basically on tilt two drinks into the game

[@lowlyloop]

B - only sometimes. I almost never get mad at other players, I tend to get mad at myself for a (in retrospect) poor play (like calling off a tight player who obviously wanted to get all their money in), or at an unlucky runout when I made the "right" play.

[@vvgman]

the 48 to 1 outs on the river can tilt me!

[@ashersmithdefiance]

Next time I’m explaining to someone why Jonathan Little is someone I look up to, I’ll just point them to this video. I believe him when he says he wants the best for the viewers, it shows when he makes videos like this

[@gwoody4003]

Solid advice for life in-general. Don't let stupid things get to you. Be aware of when you are upset and prone to making poor choices. You can't win them all, but you won't win any if you don't play the game. Long term succes should be the goal, don't focus on minor failures. Learn from them. Getting whooped is how you get better. Never stop learning. Good Enough is the enemy of Great.

[@24Cristiandiaz]

The most important aspect of the game that always goes overlooked! Congrats on talking about this!!

[@NefariousMinds]

I was at the casino for the first time the other day. I was playing very good and was up 500bb. I started getting a headache and realized that I didn't eat dinner. I took a break to eat. I came back and the table was broken. I got my chips and sat at another table, (which ended up having much better players). The first hand I made an blunder by misreading the board. I was getting tired after I ate. I got down to 250bb and the table broke again. Then I quit. This was a big lesson for me. Time flys by so fast on the table, especially when super focused. Next time, I will make sure that I'm taken care of. And if whatever reason, I am tired, I will quit.

[@DonnaKiernan-g4x]

Great advice Jonathan! Great way to stay focus on game.

[@PokerCoaching]

Thanks, Donna!

[@brentpearce3885]

Thank you Jonathan! You are awesome and inspiring. Man you’re a great guy! Going to follow closely your advice and coaching. Excited for the journey and success! Thank you again brother.

[@PokerCoaching]

Thank you for saying so Brent! Good luck with your poker journey 🚀

[@Notimp0rtant523]

Hello sir. I have been playing cards for a lifetime but am taking Holdem seriously for the first time. Every time I watch one of your videos, I immediately play better. This is only universally true if your videos, no other poker KZbinr has this effect. Thanks for all the fantastic advice

[@PokerCoaching]

That's amazing!! Glad you are finding them useful. Keep crushing 👊

[@8766Danial]

this wasn't much about the game of poker itself but one of your best videos coach; for life and poker.

[@conorm2524]

I give myself a really hard time if I play badly or make a bad call. When others get lucky with their draws against me I'm usually fine.

[@GLNDALE52]

I love to hear your thoughts and common sense on the game of life, as it relates to the game of poker. Generally, I do all the intangibles well, but I play poker to socialize mainly. I do keep track of the wins, and losses. And my 3 main diversions are taking walks, listening to music, and cooking.

[@juliangeorge2026]

practicing mindfulness is super helpful for this

[@wesa.9413]

Absolutely fantastic video seminar, Jonathan! Been in a tough 3 month grind, and your advice has been a ray of light. Keep 'em coming! 👍

[@Beyond-Poker369]

fantastic video johnathan, been watching you and reading you for about 10 years now and you influenced my game alot. many thanks and love u so much.

[@PokerCoaching]

Thanks for that, so glad you've enjoyed my books!

[@wesa.9413]

I make sure to watch this video at least once a month. Such good advice!

[@predwards8941]

This is a super important. One of my weaknesses. I don’t typically go on tilt but I’ll show visible frustration and that’s not great while playing live.

[@damedley75]

13:00 If a cash player isn't trying to "lock up a win" he will naturally see this bigger-wins-than-losses effect. To really simplify, think if your session was 2 60/40 flips for your stack. 36% you win 3 buyins. 24% you lose then rebuy and win to break even. 24% you win then lose -1 buyin net and 16% you lose 2 buyins. More losses than wins. But you want those 60/40s to be for 2 buyins when possible or you are giving up equity to protect your session win. This was my favorite part of the video.

[@ShaneMclane-PrivateEye]

Years ago when I was young, I paid my rent and my bills for over a year playing poker. I started doing drugs and lost my ass almost right away and couldnt win for years because I was a drug addict, which seems obvious now but its kind of a weird thing when your experiencing it at the time. I thought I was just having a horrible run. Years later Im off drugs and its the craziest thing, im making good money playing poker again.. Its easy to think of things in life as seperate. But everything is connected, like a good diet and regular exercise will likely improve not only your poker skills but your life as a whole. Great stuff Jonathan, thanks.

[@lowlyloop]

Great video Jon! Not only great poker advice, but also life advice.

[@DinkritSethi]

Visualisations and Breathwork, those are covered in your tournament master class, which I believe every serious poker player should invest in.

[@G0DofRock]

Great advice. I feel like I should be an amazing poker player. Obsessive nerdy mathematician, gamer, speed cuber, puzzle master. In good shape, always sleep 8-9 hrs, rarely drink, never party, only ever use safe psychedelics which I'm using less and less lately, constantly learning and have been studying for 2 years now. Started with your content. Been a micro grinder at +7bb winrate about 150k+ hands. Left a miserable job in sales to work in a national park at a super chill job where I can study poker half the time. Never been more at peace, have almost $10k saved and starting to move up with 25-50nl. Might move to the city this winter in Canada and try my skills at a casino for live poker. Just happen to live in the poker capital of Canada lol I've never bought a lotto ticket ever, hate sports and other forms of gambling. Rarely get tilted, always watching every player, tagging and noting every chance I get, not missing a single fish. Still feels like I'm missing something, wish I had friends to play with and learn from or take advice from as well.

[@backpacker3421]

I'd disagree with your idea about "reverting back to you base level" or maybe I just think about it differently but agree with you? Not sure. I think skilled play is like muscle memory. You can learn to play better, but it requires significant disciplined thought and consideration UNTIL you have put in enough hours and been in the same situation enough times to develop the muscle memory that aligns with what you've studied and the only thing that requires thought is when you should vary your baseline to exploit a situation - i.e. ignore your baseline to your advantage (hopefully). But I think tilting is when you are emotional enough for whatever reason to actually IGNORE your muscle memory/baseline WITHOUT regard to whether it is advantageous. For me, this most often happens when several bad beats happen in a row against me and all of them involved HORRIBLE play on the other side. Over time, I've gotten tuned into it enough that I can generally feel it happening and I'll walk away from the table for a break... and maybe take several breaks in the same hour. Walking away when I get to the low jack and taking 10 minutes (usually returning in the blinds and avoiding the bad positions). And if I need to do that 2 or 3 times in a row, so be it. The other trigger for me that is happening less and less as I get older is when I run into an extended dry spell with the cards. Drawing nothing but garbage hole cards for 3 hours, and if I do catch a decent draw preflop, never hitting (kind of disastrous at low stakes where people are more likely to call you down with weak hands so bluffing has to be done very selectively). But as I get older, this one effects me less and less. I just weather them out and focus on preserving my stack so when the cards do come I have more potential to earn, and I think of each hand I preserve my stack as a win.

[@267barca]

Great Advice!!! Not just for poker!

[@marclittle497]

Great series! Thanks you.

[@markcummings3146]

Meditation before a planned poker session is my recommendation, also avoid energy drinks they create a wave effect with your focus and energy at the table.

[@stylin40s]

My tilt cure is closing my eyes and doing some deep breathing to recenter my thoughts and take inventory of my mental state, once I am aware of what has caused my tilt I can re-evaluate where I stand and move forward accordingly. I learned in 1995 that tilt is very detrimental to my game and it's not worth the repercussions it has on my remaining bankroll. When someone is playing really bad but they are a super luckbox it's hard to not get frustrated with them.

[@hoseaesp6309]

"always focus on what you can control." "sometimes you can do everything right and still lose, that is part of the game" "focus on the process and not the outcome" These are some life rules.

[@UncleJoeLITE]

On a forced break after the APL Million in Canberra Hospital...great chance to step back & study. I miss the tables already. Cheers all. PS: Tilt for me is depression, total loss of interest. After a walk & an orbit or so of being 'TAF', my interest picks back up nearly always.

[@Jlockjammers217]

I love it! I lack serious focus and mental fortitude when it comes to this game even though I still Have recreational level knowledge I am trying to learn and get better and fitness and mental focus I think is the most important thing to help me educate myself more efficiently and retain more information keep doing more videos like this please 28:07

[@deviongants3724]

Good video thank you thumbs up 👍

[@steveterry5139]

Had a dealer at red rock deal the river before my opponent would act Would of hit straight flush to the queen Cost me the pot and a high hand jackpot of 1100 Folded and left

[@Boom_shoc-a-laka]

B) also, what if you don’t understand the strategy or even your own strategy? I know the science aspect of knowing which hands to fold based on playing, but how do you get better and learning the strategy and art of poker? I understand bluffing, raising 2-3x the pot, and the basics but I don’t understand positions and how it correlates to playing for which hands to play

[@chiprjones]

Too much caffeine and not sleeping well go hand in hand for me. I doubt I will cut the caffeine 100% anytime soon, but no caffeine after dinner has helped. It's much more difficult for me to get titled if I'm well rested and relaxed compared to when I am irritable from a lack of sleep!

[@JorKal4]

1 - it’s MUCH easier to not tilt at something like counting cards in blackjack because there is a specific best strategy that can be identified for each situation. It’s much more difficult to definitively identify the best play in a poker hand because of the unknowns (mostly because opponents react/play unpredictably). So it’s harder to know when you’re playing well and losing vs playing poorly and losing. This is the hardest part of not being results-oriented during poker sessions. 2 - for me personally, I tend to play tighter when I start to feel like I’m tilting because I KNOW I’m going to regret playing a hand poorly later (even if I get lucky and win the hand)

[@michaelmadari1104]

Excellent 👏👏

[@rambhavanyadav1102]

Listening my favorite songs

[@allengiacchetti5567]

Making sports bets while playing $1/2 & $1/3....I feel attacked. Lol. Great video I'm a bit tilty now down 4 buy ins my last 2 sessions which should obviously not tilt me it's part of the game. Also the caffeine portion great info.

[@tengchuanhuang877]

Hi five to HS BG!

[@caramelized_onion]

My biggest tilt is ME playing poorly 😂😂

[@sjwgenius7347]

i get tilted when players or dealers dont know what they are doing and the game slows down for no reason. I played a session where the dealer is completely new and the flow of the game just becomes really bad because she doesnt know the basics stuff and always misread hands. Or when players dont know wt they are doing and messing up the flow of the game like betting out of turn, arguing string bets, wrong raising size etc. I really dont know what can I do in these situations.

[@cronut6033]

"One long session" - I agree in general, but not when stacks get very deep. Even if you are good at deep-stacked play, you are playing for a larger percentage of your bankroll for those hands where the effective stack is bigger. This makes the variance higher for those hands. For example, if you have 30 BI for 1/3, and go up by 4 BIs, you now have 14% of your bankroll on the table, rather than 3%. Playing with 14% of your bankroll would not be recommended in the bankroll bible. So I think that standing up when you're very deep (effective) is OK, especially towards the end of a scheduled session.

[@emmanuel7690]

I use tilt to exploit people trying to exploit me while I'm on 'tilt'. I do tilt but usually until the next playable hand.

[@MrJackOfAllTraits]

Went to the casino super late after a long days work and not a lot of sleep. Doubled my stack in an hour. Then blundered a third of my profit before I realized I'm sleep deprived after only 2 hours last night and called it there. Hindsight probably shouldn't have even gone to the casino. I got lucky in that first hour.

[@kettenbach]

I get tilted if I don’t win a hand in the first ten minutes of sitting down. I need to work on that.

[@StormCentral1998]

I like to bring headphones specifically to help calm myself if tilted

[@mikaelvuorenala9461]

mintute 3.5 asian asiaan!

[@michaela2706]

My tilt is from people taking too long with a decision, especially preflop. You should know Your preflop range and this should be quick. I feel they're doing it intentionally to annoy other players

[@herokillerinc]

Don't be a mark, be supple, rise above.... I'll try to too...😉

[@acescracked4395]

I need a substance to play the games I play. Otherwise- completely unbearable

[@mot1vat1on]

Skill issue

[@duckavic4411]

i would always smoke before i play and use confirmation bias to perpetuate this bad habit. once you stop you’ll play better

[@nobeeyes7568]

Ya'll are goin broke😂