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As a Poker Hypnotherapist I get to address issues that players face very day, but typically don’t like to talk about.

Considering the male dominance of the game, that’s not unusual. Improving the mental aspect of poker involves directing your brain to control your emotions. That E word is the conversation stopper in most cases.

Poker can be brutal to the personal ego. It can chew you up and spit you out. It can take a good player out of the game before they have the opportunity to become great. It shows no mercy. Personally, I think high arrogance players like Phil Hellmuth have to build in survival skills. They start out so much more arrogant than the rest of us, it takes more to knock them down. They may not be your favorite type of player, but for the game of poker, their genetic wiring is definitely a benefit.

You’ve seen how losing affects your game as well as your opponents. As poker players we think it’s all about us. We forget everyone goes through the same emotional cycles when they lose. If you frequently play at the same place or on the same site, you’ll see the same people - as long as they’re winning. If you’ve got game, poker goes in ebbs and flows. If the flow changes, they tend to disappear for a while.

Losing at poker shakes your confidence and your belief system on two different levels. First it causes you to question your skill and ability and then you begin to wonder if you’re worthy of winning. If you let this picture of doubt set in, it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy and take you in a downward spiral until you’re broke.

There are some processes you can do to build in some ego protection. It’s a combination of hypnotherapy and NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming). The first process addresses our belief system while the second one helps you maintain your confidence level on-demand.

Our beliefs influence our behavior and how we respond to situations and people in life and at the poker table. Most of our beliefs are formed by the age of seven and are influenced by our parents or similar authority figures. Usually we don’t realize what our beliefs are, however they affect our lives every day. Every belief we have has a structure to it that we can change it if we want to. Beliefs can be expressed as statements. They aren’t factual statements but emotionally held opinions we have reinforced over time. There are 10 basic human beliefs that lead to success. These four will help your poker game.

• Everyone makes the best choice possible with the information they have
o You made the play you thought was best at the time
• There’s no failure, only feedback
o Learn from it and move on
• We already have the resources we need
o Believe this and learn how to tap into every skill and attitude you’ll ever need
• Mind and body are part of the same system
o Listen to your body, it will tell you what your mind needs to know

If you don’t really believe this stuff just act as if you do. You’re brain can’t tell the difference. Look for ways to prove these statements true. Simply put, I’m telling you to ‘fake it till you make it’. The more you fake it, the more you’ll begin to truly believe it. It becomes a habit. Habits are formed from repetition, so do it until it becomes your natural way of thinking.

How do these beliefs make it less painful to lose at the poker table? One belief I have committed to personally is the one on feedback. I can’t express how empowering it is to feel like I’ve learned something of value from a loss rather than failed. If I failed every time I played, it may keep me from trying again. Because I’m learning from the feedback, I feel I have more knowledge for the next time. Knowledge is power. Shifting your beliefs gives you emotional protection and helps toughen your skin.

While shifting your beliefs helps your overall game, anchoring your confidence can get you back on the horse. It doesn’t make a difference if you’re a cash or tournament player. A big loss can take shake you.

An anchor is simply an association between a feeling and something that triggers it. Here are some examples. You hear your favorite song - it lightens your mood, you smell cookies baking – you smile, you see a restaurant commercial – you remember the taste of your favorite food. These are all anchors.

Creating an anchor to use at the poker table is no different. You link a specific sight, sound, or touch to a highly confident moment and use that same sight, sound or touch to trigger the feeling on-demand. It takes some practice but definitely worth the time.

How To Do It

• Choose a movement no one will notice like touching two fingers together or wiggling your toes. This is your Trigger.

• Recall an experience where you felt extremely confident. It doesn’t need to be poker related. It can be from any area of your life; at any age, another sport, some time at work, working on a hobby, etc.

• As you think about it, don’t be an outside observer. Think about the event until you can feel like you are there now. You actually feel like you are inside the event. Keep thinking about the event until you can do this.

• Now, as you continue to think about this event, pay attention to what you see. What colors can you see, are they bright or pale? What type of sounds do you hear? Are they loud, where are they coming from? What are you wearing, does it feel loose or tight? Are you inside or out, can you feel the air? As you continue to breathe naturally you’re able to increase the feeling of being there until it’s strong and enveloping for you. As you do, perform your trigger and keep the trigger in place for as long and only as long as you feel the sensations intensely. You want to fire the trigger when your feeling of confidence is at its peak. When the sensation fades let go of the trigger.

• After you do that, shake yourself and bring yourself back to the present.

• That trigger you used has now become the anchor for your confidence. Repeat the process several times until you know there is a strong connection between the trigger and the feeling.

• Now test it. Think about something else and then fire your trigger precisely the way you did initially. If you did it effectively, you’ll feel the same sense of confidence you felt when you set the anchor. Feel free to practice this as often as necessary, remember its feedback.

Once you feel you can be confident on-demand, think about yourself sitting at the poker table or at your computer. Mentally go through the process of playing. Fire your trigger and feel the confidence move through your body as you play. You can use this anchor as often as you need it. Like all mental processes, repetition increases the response.

The brain is the most powerful computer on the planet. It’s also the most eager to please. All of us have the ability to establish on-demand confidence. When we do we’re already ahead of our opponents. The average number of players who work on their mental game is one out of ten. You could be that one person at the poker table with the mental edge.

Editor's Note: For more information visit www.CatchTheRiver.com to contact Michele Burghardt, Certified Poker Hypnotherapist.

Copyright 2007 Catch The River LLC

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