I’m working on a new mental game book for traders. If you like the video, please help me out by filling out my two trading surveys: Part 1 and Part 2.
Here are the files I mentioned in the webinar:
Emotions Tracker
Anger Profile
Fear Profile
Focus Profile
Enjoy and post any questions you have in the comments.
I’m excited to announce I’m writing a new book. I’m switching it up this time, however, and it’s not about poker – it’s The Mental Game of Trading.
Sorry to disappoint fans of The Mental Game of Poker books who were hoping for The Mental Game of Poker 3. But I do think some of you will enjoy the trading book because it will incorporate material I’ve been developing over the last five years to increase the speed and ease of solving even the toughest mental game problems.
For The Mental Game of Trading to be as hard-hitting as the poker books have been, I need your help.
The Ask: If you’re a trader, please take five minutes to complete this survey. If you’re not, please forward it on to any traders you know who might be willing to fill it out.
The Benefit: Not only will your feedback help the book address the problems that are holding you back, I’m also offering a free webinar in February 2019 for anyone who completes the survey.
The Why: My first two books, The Mental Game of Poker 1 and 2, were successful because I had the unique opportunity to interact with thousands of poker players beyond my 1:1 clients through forum posts, online Q&A’s, and coaching videos. This allowed me to make sure that I was crafting my books in a way that fit what poker players needed and spoke their language. Like the poker books, The Mental Game of Trading will provide traders with a roadmap to identify and correct the most common, and often pervasive, mental game issues. For maximum impact I need to make sure the examples and language really resonate.
Beyond my personal work with individual traders and institutional clients, the attached survey is part of a targeted research effort to ensure the book is as tailored as possible to the concerns and lingo of the broad trading community. The more traders who are willing to share their perspectives, the better I will be at using language and examples that resonate with you.
Please be sure to take the survey by January 31st so I can get cranking on the book and so you can participate in the seminar.
I’m really excited to announce that in partnership with 888 Poker, I’ve released a 15 chapter blog series/mini mental game book. The material is all brand new, so if you’re a fan of The Mental Game of Poker 1 & 2 there’s a lot here for you.
The content builds upon and simplifies areas of the mental game that I’ve talked about before. Plus, there’s a video for each chapter where I go deeper into each topic, so it’s even easier to improve.
And if you’re not very familiar with my books or the mental game this is a great introduction. I really worked hard to make it valuable for you.
In the series/book I cover a range of topics, for example “why you make bad decisions”, “how to cure your addiction to soul reads”, “why you shouldn’t trust your gut”, and “how to end the endless distractions.” I also have a chapter specifically on the one thing I would change about The Mental Game of Poker. Here’s a link to check the whole thing out. Let me know what you think:
If you are yet to read my books, don’t forget you can get them for free on audiobook here. Poker players in particular have found it helpful to listen to them while they play.
I’m often in high demand at the start of a new year, when ambition and inspiration is high. But I’ve learned over the years working with top performers of all stripes that New Years is not the optimal time to start setting big annual goals. You have too much enthusiasm which can cloud your judgment, set your sights too high, and inevitably when the first obstacle arrives the plan can get derailed. You need a more measured and realistic (but still ambitious) approach.
Rather than waiting until January 2nd, 2019, why not start thinking about what you want to achieve next year, now? Now is a great time to start making, and adjusting, those big 2019 goals with a cool head and plenty of time to really decide what you want to get out of next year. You’ll have breathing room to really plan out what you want to do, rather than rush it all out in January.
It might even help you close out whatever goals you currently have for the rest of this year. Having something to look forward to, as well as a way of taking stock on how this year has gone, might be that spark of inspiration you need to steady the ship for the next few months.
If you’ve had a productive/successful year it’s easy to start sliding by saying to yourself that you’ll start working hard again next year. But what you do now, can actually help make next year a level better. Or perhaps your 2018 goals are not going to happen. Start thinking about how you can set yourself up for a better 2019 now, and still make the rest of this year more productive.
I have some big things in the pipeline and have struggled managing all of it, when my client work has never been busier. It’s a juggling act that I’m going to work harder on the rest of this year, see what I can learn and find a way to make 2019 an even better year.
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Jared is not a fan of creating short-term fixes. While he admits there is a lot of great advice out there, if that advice does not translate to a fundamental change in the way you think about the game, learning, and yourself, then you will have to constantly come up with new tricks and solutions. Think of short term solutions as bandaids. Sure they can be good for a short period of time, but having to apply and reapply bandaids over and over again is not a viable long-term solution. To put it in Jared’s words, the difference between the two is like “the difference between pulling out a weed by its roots, and just pulling it out at the surface level only to have it grow back.” To read more, click here.
In the last few years I have spent a lot more time thinking about attention and focus, both as a mental game coach and as a parent. More and more my clients are coming to me with struggles related to the fact they, like many people, are addicted to their phones and social media.
Then I read articles like this which make me realize we could be in a national epidemic of tech addiction. Silicon Valley bosses prohibit their children from using the very tech that they produce, because they know what it is doing to all of us. This is becoming the smoking of our time, but thankfully we are waking up to it. If you want to see how deep the rabbit hole goes, check out this interview with Tristan Harris.
There are many problems with tech addiction, but one of the specific ones I deal with is something I call ‘Bloated Brain’, which I cover in The Mental Game of Poker 2. In both my books I make constant comparisons between the brain and your muscles, for good reason. Bloated Brain, however, is a bit more like your stomach. When we absorb too much information it has a similar impact on our brain as too much food does in our stomach. We feel slow, and tired, and we are unable to take any more information in. (Homer Simpson knows all about this)
If you are playing poker or trading you are already exposing yourself to thousands upon thousands of data points every day and using a lot of your cognitive resources. Then you have to spend your entire day avoiding thousands upon thousands of marketing messages wherever you go. Then there is email, your friends Facebook posts and tons and tons of clickbait. A lot of my clients try and relax with video games, but unfortunately, that’s just absorbing more data.
Now more than ever you need breaks from all that information. Go for walks with no tech, go to the gym, listen to calming music, take one day off from work and tech every week, meditate if that works for you. I also advise my clients to journal, it’s a good way to get that information out of your brain and help your brain to digest data. It really helps them clear their head and a side benefit is that they tend to sleep better.
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One of the most fun and fascinating aspects of my work has been having the opportunity to work with top performers in a variety of fields. I have worked with pro golfers, professional poker players, traders and esports professionals to name a few.
However different each profession is, there are far more similarities. For example, traders and poker players have to deal with more uncertainty than do players in esports and golf, but each one has their own version of ‘Tilt’ and related issues.
Another field that has popped up recently as well is sports betting. I now have clients who are professionals in horse betting and live sports betting, so it was cool to get a chance to do an interview in that space when I was on “The Business of Betting Podcast.” Naturally it’s aimed at that market, but I’m certain poker players and traders can get a ton out of it as well.
Some of you may not know, but for the past 5 years I have been the mental game coach of Team Liquid – the biggest esports organization in the world – and I was recently featured in one of their videos about the work I did to help the League of Legends team quality for the World Champions in Korea next month. It’s a cool look into my work with them and you’ll notice similar themes to things I talk about in poker, trading and golf.
Over the years I’ve done a lot of work with staking groups. I’ve seen the good and the bad. We only tend to hear about the bad side of staking when the deal itself becomes a topic of controversy, what we hear much less about is the way being staked can actually hurt your game.
It is true that staking can take the pressure off, but that is not necessarily a good thing. Last week I wrote a column for PokerStrategy.com which highlighted how staking can help and hurt your game, and what the best deals look like for both parties, from a mindset perspective. Click here to see the full column.
I was invited back to speak with Dave and Dara from the Chip Race Podcast where we discussed mental preparation for a big series like the WSOP or WCOOP. They are also joined by EPT Champion, Ben Willonofsky, take a look at the recent successes and antics of former guest Phil Hellmuth and much more.