Saturday, August 2, 2014

Mental Game of Poker - Client Questionnaire

Below is a LOT of text.  If you actually read it, that's awesome.  :)

One of the steps the book has you take is filling out this Client Questionnaire.  I think that when the actual guy who does this for a living (Jared Tendler) starts with his clients, he makes them fill out these same questions.  The process is as follows:

First do the questions that come easy to you.  If something is difficult or not relevant, skip it.  Mark these answers with 1st.

Next, go back and do the ones you skipped.  Mark those answers with 2nd.

Finally, 3 to 5 days after completing the questionnaire, read through each of your answers and only add anything new that comes to mind.  Begin these answers with the notation 3rd.

That's it.  So I went through, copied down all of the questions into Evernote, and over the next week eventually got through them all.  I have to come back 5 days later and do the 3rd section.

It was actually really good and enlightening.  It's great to have these questions asked to yourself and take some time to think about them and fill out honest answers.  I came up with some good stuff and I think it's going to help guide my game progression.  In the book, there is some additional analysis you do on the answers after the 5 day thing is complete, so I'm looking forward to that.

Below are the questions and my answers.  Enjoy.
1. First share a bit about yourself (education, interests, family, etc).
1st - I graduated college with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science.  I have one sister and my family all lives in Detroit.  I’m not super close with my family, but we get along.  As far as interests, I’m interested in poker (obviously) and it varies pretty wildly from there depending on the day.  Lately I’m mostly interested in just going out and partying and drinking.  But some other interests would be computer programming, foosball, video games, and music (DJing / playing keyboard).  I have a hard time devoting the time to those things though.

2. Briefly describe your poker history.  How would you characterize your progress? What games/limits do you play?
1st - I started playing back around 2003.  I got into it because my friends from foosball were playing, some live and some online.  I got really into it and played a lot online (although I wasn’t super successful).  We eventually decided to try to move out to Las Vegas to play poker professionally, but after about 9 months we had to bail and get real jobs.

As far as progress, I think I made a lot more progress early in my poker “career”.  I read a lot of books and really cared about getting better.  I would go to lunch every day and read and really try to take it to heart and work on my game.  After we quit playing for a living, my progress has been pretty slow or non-existent.  I have ups and downs but eventually end up at the same place usually.  Nowadays I am playing primarily 1/2 NL and 2/5 NL.

3. What are your goals in poker? Short and long term.
1st - Right now, my short term goal is to just try to work on my game, play well, and get hours in.  Hopefully if I can do all 3 of those things I will be able to really start making progress.  I don’t have any set goals as far as hours or anything, but I want to set them.

Long term I have more dreams than goals and they are not well defined.  Sometimes I think I want to give professional poker a shot.  I also have goals of moving up stakes to 5/10 NL and 10/20 NL eventually.  

4. What personal goals does poker support?
2nd - Right now I’d say poker doesn’t support any of my personal goals, or I’m not doing a good enough job at poker to let it support my personal goals.  However, if I play serious and start making progress, I absolutely have some goals poker could support.  First is independence / freedom.  I want to be able to live my life in any way I see fit.  I want to have adventures.  I want to be able to change course whenever I want.  If I get good enough at poker to where I could sustain my family solely on poker income if needed, that opens a lot of doors for me.  I could quit my job if needed.  If we wanted to move to a new city (assuming it had poker there, like LA) we could potentially just pick up and move without having jobs lined up.  

I also have had the dream to go back to playing professionally.  I basically have two dreams that are similar.  One, be confident that I could support myself 100% using poker as my primary income.  Second, actually take the plunge, quit my job, and give poker another shot.  That is a very exciting dream for me.  I haven’t done a good job of pursuing that dream over the last 8 years, and for a large portion of that time, it was not my dream.  But I have been thinking about it a lot more lately.

5. List and describe the problems in your mental game.  List them in order of importance to you or by severity.  Give as much information as you can including the triggers, signs, and what you think are the causes.

1st - Lack of focus is another problem.  It’s hard for me to focus 100% when I’m at the table.  I know I should be doing things like paying attention intently even when I’m not in the hand, but I rarely do it.  Triggers here would be games that I think are “below me” like if I’m playing 2/4 or 3/6 limit, or 1/2 NL.  Another big trigger is if the game is “boring” meaning that there haven’t been a ton of big pots lately, or if I’m not getting any hands.  A sign that I’m not focusing is that I’ll keep going back to my phone over and over to play games or read email, even if I’m not that interested in it.  The cause is probably that I’m not playing with the right things in mind.  I should be playing poker at any limit as well as I can, paying attention, trying to learn and get better.  But if I’m playing a game that in my mind should be easy, I can just sit down and expect to win without having to put any effort in.  So I won’t focus or pay attention.  This can lead to worse things too like playing too loose or some of my other mental problems like being jealous, feeling like I’m entitled to win, etc.

Jealousy is a problem.  I get jealous of others at the table and it can put me on tilt when others are winning.  A trigger is that if I’m not winning and I see someone else raking it in, especially if they win over and over and don’t deserve it in my mind.  Or if my wife or a friend is winning a lot, it can set me off.  It’s definitely a 2 part trigger - first is either I’m losing or just not winning enough, and second is some idiot winning a lot or my wife/friend winning a lot.  The signs are a little hard to tell - I might start playing looser in spots where I would fold earlier in the session.  I might say something about one of the winning players - “This fucking guy hitting more hands, unreal, he is getting hit with the deck” or “That guy is getting so lucky tonight”.  I might also physically feel hot, like my face can get hot if I start going on tilt.  As far as the cause, I think it’s from a sense of pride.  I feel like I should be the best player at the table and that I should be winning.  When someone else is winning a lot, I feel like I’m inadequate or that I’m not good enough and that makes me upset.  If my wife is winning a lot and I’m not, I can feel embarrassed and want to prove to her that I’m a good poker player.  So I guess the cause is a mix of pride and wanting to prove that I’m a good player.

Entitlement is somewhat tied to jealousy.  Even if I don’t say it, I think that if I play a lot, I expect that I’m going to win and if I don’t make progress as quickly as I’d like, I get frustrated.  This can cause me to go on tilt and play bad (or play aggressive trying to make things happen).  It can cause me to change my strategy - for example if I’m not winning much I might think “I just need to play more aggressive” and I’ll start playing more reckless and aggressive even if it’s not necessarily the right thing to do.  As far as triggers, it can be playing a long session (or not even THAT long) and getting to a point where I think I should be winning more.  Or if I see others winning and get jealous, I think I should be winning too.  The signs of this are the same as the jealousy signs - I will play looser, make looser calls, call more with draws, play more aggressive without it necessarily being the best approach for the situation, etc.  I might also get grumpy and complain about how I’m not winning or how someone else is winning, or how the game sucks, stuff like that.  As far as what causes this, I probably think that poker should come easy to me and that if I play a lot, I should just win.  I don’t take into consideration the variance that will of course affect how much you win/lose over the course of a week or month (or longer).  I also don’t take into consideration that if I want to be a solid winner, I really need to put more effort into the game.  Everyone is trying to win even if I think they don’t deserve it, and other people are studying and putting effort into the game too.  If I’m not constantly trying to improve my game, I’m either not going to win or I’m going to win less.

Lack of motivation off of the table (studying, etc) is another problem.  Even if I know I should be studying the game and no matter how much I think, talk, blog about how badly I want to be a hugely successful poker player, I still won’t put the time in.  I don’t know if this is a triggered thing or if it’s just a general problem.  I think lack of success causes this to go into a downward spiral though.  If I’m not winning a lot, it makes me frustrated and less motivated to even want to think about poker, so any studying/reading I might do just goes out of the window.  The signs are that I might start to read a poker book but won’t finish it.  Or I’ll think about analyzing a hand I played live, but won’t follow through.  Or I’ll start reading a book and just give up and start playing games on my phone or whatever. The cause is probably just a general lack of focus and laziness.  Why study when you can just hang out or party?  Also if I think I’m just good enough to win, maybe I feel like I don’t have to study and that I just need to play more and I’ll just win.  Probably I need a reality check because obviously, people are playing a lot of poker and a lot of them are probably working really hard and studying the game to get better.  Even people that I hate at the poker table that seem like jackasses are probably working on their game a lot.  I need to realize that and stay a step ahead of them by studying a lot myself.  


6. What have you tried to do to fix any of these issues? What level of success have you had?
2nd - I haven’t done a lot to address these.  As far as the entitlement/jealousy aspects, I have done nothing.  I did start reading The Mental Game of Poker a while back, and I remember it helping a lot with the jealousy part.  However, I did not follow through and eventually lost any skills I temporarily gained.  Lack of focus at the table - I haven’t tried to address that at all besides the work I’m doing recently, including this stuff I’m typing right now.  As far as lack of motivation off of the table, it comes and goes but I haven’t tried to specifically address it and get myself motivated.  So overall, until very recently I have done almost nothing.

7. Do factors outside of poker ever affect your play? If yes, how? Does poker ever negatively impact your life? If so, how?
2nd - Factors outside of poker do affect my play.  I think they can affect my focus.  My job affects my focus because I will check emails and reply to emails while I’m playing.  Also I might take poker less seriously than I can simply because I know I don’t need it to support me.  So although I want to be this great player, I haven’t been forced into making that happen.  I can keep playing decent or terrible and it makes no difference in my life overall.  

I think poker does negatively impact my life sometimes.  I can put a lot of emphasis on poker and drown out other good things that I could be putting effort into.  I have other interests and when poker gets started, it can overwhelm those interests.  However, I don’t know if this is a bad thing or not.  Poker does give me focus and can make me very happy when I’m totally into it and playing well.  It gives me something to focus on that can make me happy and positive.  I think overall if I’m putting effort in and trying to improve and play my best, it can be a positive influence.  If I’m just playing drunk and not improving, it can make me feel sad and have a negative influence.

8. Why do you play poker?  What motivates you to play, why do you love it, what do you get out of it?
1st - I play poker because I love competition, and I also love the prospect of being able to win a ton of money.  I’m very money driven when it comes to poker.  I love the feeling of beating other people, and I love being able to win a giant amount of money at the casino.  It makes me feel like a total baller if I’m sitting there with stacks and stacks of chips.  It just makes me feel good about myself and successful.  I also love poker because when I’m running good, it can be a ton of fun.  Some of my most fun nights have been at the poker table, drinking and running super hot and winning a ton of money.  

9. List your three to five biggest distractions while playing. Describe why these are a problem.
1st
Drinking.  I tend to go out and gamble with my wife, and we’ll go play poker and get super drunk.  It makes it impossible to pay attention and I can end up losing a lot of money and just playing really bad.  

My phone.  It’s a problem because instead of paying attention to the game, I’m playing a game or reading Facebook or emails.  It distracts me and I’m unable to focus, so often times I don’t really know how others at the table are playing.  I just have to guess instead of knowing from paying attention.  

My wife or friends.  If I’m at the table with my wife, I will talk to her or be on my phone.  Same problems as above.  It’s just hard to focus when I know she isn’t focused 100% on the game and we are just talking and hanging out.  It can be fun but it’s also distracting from the game.

10. How do you decide when to play? Do you have a set schedule or is it flexible or random?
1st - This is very flexible and random based on what else I have going on.  If we are drinking a lot, I won’t play much poker at all and when I do, I’m drunk.  If I’m doing good on a diet, I won’t drink much which typically gives me more free time to play.  I basically just play when I have free time and don’t have other things I want to do with my wife.  So I might play after work during the week as well as on the weekend depending on what is going on.  The time I play the most is when we are not drinking, because I have a lot more free time and it’s easy to devote a lot of time to poker.

11. Describe what you do before you play.  How do you warm up, if you do?
1st - Before, I would do next to nothing.  I might give myself a short pep talk in the car if I was by myself, talk through a couple things or just say “Let’s play really good today”, that type of thing.  Now I’m trying to work on a more structured warm up routine as described earlier in the book.  I go over my weaknesses and how to combat them, think about how long I’m going to play, set a schedule for breaks, set some goals for the session (or reuse goals for some period of time - they probably don’t need to change daily).  Now it’s a 3 minute or so process to go over that.

12. What is your average session length? How many sessions do you play per day?  How many hours do you play per month on average? Are any of these shorter than your goal? If so, in what ways are the questions in #5 related?
1st - I’d say my average session length is about 4 hours.  Maybe shorter.  A lot of my sessions are after work, so I don’t have a ton of time to play.  My spreadsheet says the average is 2.3 hours, but it is going to be a little longer because I’ll have multiple “sessions” for one night of poker - like I start at the 1/2 table, move to 2/5, that’s two sessions recorded but in my mind it’s really only one.  I play 1 session per day max (that question probably makes more sense to online players).  Per month it varies wildly.  Lately the numbers have been pretty low.  Maybe 20 hours / month?  No way more than 30.  In the past when I was playing a lot (but for a short duration, like a couple months) the average was more like 80 hours/month.  

Overall it’s definitely less than my goal, although I don’t have a hard and fast goal set.  I think several of the items in #5 are related. If I feel entitled to win and I’m not winning, it makes me want to play less.  My lack of focus / motivation definitely makes it harder for me to put the hours in even when I want to do other things, or do nothing at all and just hang out.  

13. What are the reasons you would quit a session prematurely? Are the problems listed in #5 related?

1st - If I’m losing a lot (especially if I’m drinking) I might quit a session early.  I won’t usually quit if the game is too tough, even though that’s something I probably should consider.  Even if I’m not playing well I will typically keep going as long as I thought I was going to play when I started.  

I don’t think the things in #5 are related, although I don’t quit prematurely very often either.

14. Describe your work ethic. Is procrastination or burnout ever a problem?
1st - Procrastination and burnout are definitely problems.  Burnout is the bigger problem.  Typically if I get in the swing of playing a lot of poker and I’m winning, all I want to do is play and I will fit in a ton of hours doing it.  If I start breaking even and losing, I will tend to get upset and play a lot less poker.  I might take weeks or months off and basically set poker aside for that time.  Procrastination can be a factor as well but it’s smaller.  I might do things like say I’m going to play, but decide I’d rather hang out at home or just delay going to play because I’m watching TV or something.  

15. Describe what you do away from the table to improve technically as a player.
1st - I have been writing a blog for quite a while.  It helps me think back to hands I played recently and analyze them deeper if I choose.  I have read books periodically but I haven’t spent anywhere near enough time on it and I usually give up before finishing a book.  I also don’t try to really work hard on things I read and put them into practical use or go through concrete examples on paper or whatever.  I have a new ambition to study though, so I’m working on that now.  I’m loosely tracking hours of studying in case I want to create some solid goals for it.  

16. Do you ever act without thinking in a way that's negative? If yes, why? What is the typical situation when that happens?
1st - Absolutely.  I think that if I’m on tilt and especially if I have lost some pots, I’ll quickly call a big bet with a draw or keep firing buffs even if I haven’t thought about what the other guy’s motivation is, what his range is, do I think this has a good chance of working, etc.  I think this is due to my lack of focus.  If I was 100% focused, I would probably be thinking through decisions before making them quickly.

17. Describe your mindset when you are playing your best.
1st - I am fully engaged in all hands I’m playing.  I think about what other people have and I take my time making decisions.  I have a rough idea of how much is in the pot and I apply that information to my decision.  I am excited about the game and am really focused on playing my best and putting full effort in.

18. Do you ever get down about your ability as a player? If so can it happen after one bad session?
1st - Yes and yes it can happen after one bad session.  If I play a huge pot and lose (where I didn’t get in as a huge favorite), I will often question that decision.  It can lead to me wonder - why am I even playing, I’ll never be good enough to crush these games, and so on.  Although the latter probably doesn’t happen after a single bad session.

19. How well do you typically handle pressure situations in poker or elsewhere (if different than poker)?  Describe.
1st - This depends.  I think I handled competition pressure better when I was very focused on foosball tournaments.  Lately I tend to get more frustrated and can lose focus.  At work I tend to handle pressure OK, but I can definitely lose it sometimes which manifests itself by me saying things I shouldn’t.  I think sometimes in poker when the pot gets really big and I’m facing bets, I might tend to continue with a hand when I shouldn’t if I have put a lot of money in.  I’ve seen myself do that in 2/5 games when I first move up from 1/2.  I think lately I am better about this.

20. Do you have any specific memories in poker that you still think about or that pop into your head randomly? (Bad hands, tournament bust outs, etc.)
1st - Yes, a ton of them.  The biggest hand I ever won was with K9s, flop was K9x, I was against a guy I had been waiting all night to try to bust, ace hits the turn and I check raise, we get all in for a lot (maybe 1k each), river is an ace, he had a draw and I win with a king, no kicker.  That hand happened literally 9 years ago.  There are lots of other hands too that I’ll periodically think about.  Not all bad beats though, some are tough beats, some are great hands where I won a lot and I was excited about it.  

21. Does thinking about poker ever keep you up at night, or prevent you from enjoying your life? If so, what are you thinking about? Do you ever get stuck thinking about mistakes?
1st - This doesn’t happen often but I can stay up at night thinking about poker.  Mostly it’s dreaming about playing for a living and thinking about all of the possibilities that come along with that.  That happened a few weeks ago.  I don’t think poker is preventing me from enjoying my life at this point.  It hasn’t played a super substantial role in my life over the last 7 years.  Every once in a while I’ll have 1-3 months where I play a TON, but other than that poker is always present but in the background.  I will sometimes think about mistakes, but I don’t think I obsess too much about them.  Maybe sometimes a little too much, but nothing crazy.

22. Hypothetical question : you have the ability to make any of the issues in question 5 disappear.  Which one would you choose? Why? What do you think your game would be like without it?
2nd - I’m glad I put this off to answer later because I have been thinking about it.  I think the best thing would be getting rid of any motivation problems off of the table.  While I could be more focused at the table, I don’t think that’s my biggest problem and that could improve.  The jealousy/entitlement things are lesser issues that could be pretty easily dealt with.  Putting hours of studying in off the table, figuring out what my weaknesses are and improving them, and improving my best and making it even better is a lot of work.  I think that if I could gain motivation there, I could truly become a great player.  

What makes me really happy to say that is that I think I am taking steps to make that happen as we speak.  Over the last few weeks is the most I have studied in a long time.  I also am taking the right approach to it by doing things like filling out the questions in this book.  I am excited for the future of poker for me right now.

23. List and/or describe your mental strengths.
2nd - I think that at my best, I am very driven and persistent.  I tend to lock onto things and have an addictive personality, but I think that can be a strength when talking about improving your poker game and pushing to be your best.  

I think that I’m smart.  This means that I am capable of intelligently analyzing situations and applying the right factors to make the right decision.  I think that given my background (college educated, Computer Science degree, worked in that field for years) I can be very analytical and I have good problem solving skills.  That will absolutely help me analyze the games I’m in if I work hard enough and figure out how to win.

24. Do you take notes on your game after a session? If yes, describe.
1st - I take notes during a session, but rarely after.  I’ll write in my blog but directly after a session I usually don’t write much, unless I had one or two hands to record before I go home.

25. How much is your evaluation of your ability as a player influenced by results? Describe.
1st - I think it has a lot to do with results.  If I’m winning a lot, I tend to think I’m playing great (even if I also know I’m running hot) and I’m really happy.  If I am losing, I can stick with it for a while but eventually I wonder if I’m not playing good enough, which makes me wonder if I can ever really improve to the point where I can beat the games at my level and higher levels.  

26. Do you exercise? If yes on average how often and generally what do you do?
1st - I periodically do and it is typically running.  Earlier in the year I was running 4x / week.  Now I’m down to 1 or 2 times per week on average max.  

27. How much do you sleep on average per night? Is sleep ever an issue?  If so, describe. What, if anything, do you notice about your play on days where you don't sleep well or long enough?
1st - It depends but I think I get around 6-7 hours per night.  Sometimes more.  I don’t think sleep is an issue for me.  I don’t typically play if I’m really tired either, because there is no motivation for me to do so - I don’t need to make money from poker so I can just play again another day.  I think if I do play tired, I tend to be irritable and won’t play my best game.  That is a situation where entitlement comes in.

28. Do you eat or drink anything while playing? If so,  describe what is typical.
1st - Yes, I will tend to drink sometimes when I’m playing on the weekend with my wife.  We will get really drunk.  Shots and hard alcohol.

29. Do you smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, or use any other drugs while playing? If yes, what and how much on average? What effect, positive or negative, do you think it has on your game?
1st - Yes, I will drink while I play sometimes.  Usually when I’m “not in serious poker mode”.  A lot, like as many drinks as we can handle.  It clearly has a negative effect on my game.  When we are playing tournaments I’ve been able to play somewhat effectively but I know it’s an overall negative effect.  In cash games it’s much worse.  I’ll play super aggressive and loose and not very smart.

30. Do you have any medical illnesses at this time? If yes, how does it affect any of the issues in question 5?
1st - No.

31. Do you have any current psychological issues that have been diagnosed by a doctor or someone in the psychological field? If yes, what, if anything, is your current treatment and how do you think it affects the issues in question 5?
1st - No.

32. Estimate the amount lost per month as a result of the problems you want to address. Also estimate the percentage of the time you play your A game.
1st - I think the biggest loss is the opportunity cost of not playing at all.  When I’m fully into poker and playing a lot, I will put a ton of hours in.  If I pair that up with playing serious poker, I can definitely be a winning player.  For that reason I’m losing money.  I’d estimate it at around $1000-$2000 a month in lost money at this point.

Drinking is another huge factor that has cost me a ton of money in cash games.  I think that on average, I’m probably losing $30/hour or more playing cash when I’m drunk.  I’ve just had some huge losses that I don’t think I would have had when I’m playing sober.  Per month it’s hard to say, but I could easily lose $500/month by just drinking while playing.

As far as my A game, I think this breaks down into two categories.  When I’m drinking, I am basically never playing my A game.  Maybe in some tournaments.  So I’d say when I’m drinking, it’s 5% my A game.  When I’m not drinking and trying to play serious, I might be playing my A game 70% of the time.  I can get started OK, but beats or other things can tilt me and make me play less optimally.  It might even be less than 70%, I don’t know.

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