I'm interested in anything that would help with focusing while playing. Articles, videos, books, or if anyone has anything to share how they have dealt with a similar issue.

Adderall?

I recently ran a webinar on focus with Dr Trica Cardner

The recording will be available later in the year.

Good luck at the tables

I saw some piece of document where the person doubled his mental speed and his errors dropped from some 66 to 99 percentage. he threw some 3 apples or like.Took the test again. Trains the whole brain and i suppose the body at the same time.

But genetally, anything we train will give us fast results in weeks or months, so seems pretty clear to me. Just having a potentiality limitation.

If such extra powers are good or not depend on rest, what other extra or over powers one has. One might need more rest, more this or that type of food, vitamins, eg. poker probably needs extra brain vitamins, b especially, but c and possibly something else also. At least helped me significantly, emotionally and other.

I also dropped the amount of bread and so, not needing so much it when moving less.

Adapting, using potential. Similarly one gets rusty and fatter etc. again,if not doing things just right.

What are you currently doing to increase focus?

As funny as this answer was, this isn't for everyone IMO.

The mental game of poker book. Alternative to ADD drugs: Brain Sync brainwave technology, meditation, exercise, essential oils. Whether these work or not is up in the air.

Hi labteh:

Wouldn't you be better off learning to play poker well?

While focusing can be very important in an athletic sport where you need to know what to do and then you need to use timing and coordination to do it, you don't need timing and coordination to be a good poker player. Thus I believe the need to focus at the very least is way over rated compared to understanding the concepts in poker that govern strategic play.

Best wishes,
Mason

Hi Mason:

Was the conclusion of your findings while writing your new book "Real Poker Psychology", that psychology in poker isn't actually important after all?

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/33...lmuth-1558911/

Best wishes,
Mouldy

Hi Mouldy:

I think that much of the current poker psychology stuff is misguided and of little value.

Best wishes,
Mason

Hi Mason:

Thanks for your response, I've always respected your opinion.

What is it about current poker psychology that is misguided? Is there anybody in particular that I should avoid?

Best wishes
Mr Onions

Hi Onions:

I gave the first book by Jared Tendler, The Mental Game of Poker, a good review and the two books that our company publishes, The Psychology of Poker by Alan Schoonmaker and Inside the Poker Mind by John Feeney I also recommend.

But as part of my research for my project I've read Positive Poker by Patricia Cardner and lets just say it does not have my endorsement.

Best wishes,
Mason

One book in the focus genre that Mason didn't like was Peak Performance Poker by Steffan. Mason disliked it so much he had the B&P thread about it locked and I believe he did not allow them to continue selling it in the 2plus2 Marketplace.

Mason, do you think focusing is more important in NL than limit? To me, I see limit as being more math based than NL and no amount on focusing will tip the scales toward calling or not calling in limit.

Will your new book go into detail what the problems are you have with Positive Poker?

Hi Doc:

After reading my book it will be clear where my issues are with some of the poker psychology stuff, including Cardner.

Best Wishes,
Mason

Will it have been necessary for readers of your book to have read Cardner's book to understand your issues?

One thing I think is funny is both Cardner and Steffan call this area peak perfomance poker with Cardner calling her dissertation that and Steffan calling his book that. Not having read Steffan's book, I don't know if the title was his choice or that of his publisher, Matt Hilger.

Let me correct you on my dissertation title. My dissertation was entitled Peak Poker Performance: A Qualitative Case Study - a descriptive title of its contents. Dissertations are typically titled this way. My doctoral dissertation in my other area of expertise was called: Multicultural Competencies of Probation Officers.

The purpose of my dissertation on poker players was to find a starting point in describing and theorizing how poker players view psychological aspects of the game as well as their ability to succeed.

It is a standard process in the social sciences to start with qualitative research when their is little to no theoretical basis on a topic (as was the case with poker players). The ideal is that one study will get the ball rolling and that others will come afterwards that will refine and expand the area.

There is, however, a wide body of research on a number of areas that could apply to poker players - areas like of sport psychology, positive psychology (which is the science of subjective well-being and not as some have characterized it as the theory of thinking positively), neuro-psychology, behavioral economics, & self-efficacy theory.

Other researchers have studied how these topics/issues apply to musicians, executives, athletes of all sorts (archery, fencing, MMA, tennis, baseball, football, & more). Again, the typical starting point for research is a qualitative process that uses some sort of interview or survey. As theory builds, then assessments are typically developed to assess relevant variables in more detail.

Besides being a researcher, I am a clinician, a teacher and best of all a poker player myself. I enjoy helping players (and I have helped many) succeed in life and in poker.

I am confident that my work has given players things to think about.

As human beings are infinitely varied in so many wonderful ways, what works for one may not work for all. The social sciences are a probabalistic science - although with the rise in imaging technologies that is becoming less so.

With each passing day we are gaining more information on how the brain operates and what is actually going on when we make decisions around money. There is a strong neuropsychological component to self-control, anxiety, fear, depression, risk & it is possible to see the changes in the brain that occur in the face of these threats as well as in response to ameliorative techniques like meditation.

Luckily, psychology is a robust field and some folks are interested in how the field can help them make improvements. Luckily for me, my dissertation chair was amenable to the idea of me doing research on poker players - which is outside the norm for many programs. Most would only want to study aspects related to gambling addiction. My interest was and still is around what makes people excel in any given field.


Best,

Tricia Cardner, PhD, EdD

I will be interested to see what you make of Mason's upcoming book after it is published.

Hi Doc:

I already know the answer to this and let's just say she won't be a fan.

As for my book, here's a small sample from the "It's Not What You Eat" chapter.

Best wishes,
Mason

"When reading some of the poker psychology literature a fair amount of emphasis is put on diet. After all, we are what we eat, and a good healthy diet should also help our poker game? I don’t think so.

To understand this better, let’s take another look at tennis. Suppose you’re a good tennis player, are on the court, and your opponent hits the ball over the net and now it’s your turn to hit it back. What do you do?

I believe that two things happen. First, you instantly know what you want to do. That is you’ll decide what spot on the court you want to hit the ball to, how hard you’ll want to hit it, how much and what kind of spin you’ll want to put on it, and so on. Next you’ll have to do this, and that requires timing, speed, and coordination.

Now let’s look at poker. It’s your turn to act and you have a decision to make. Suppose your opponent has bet and you have to decide whether to fold, call or raise, and if the game is no-limit how much to raise. Of course a good player will know what to do in almost all situations quite quickly, but will he need timing, speed, and coordination to get it done? That answer is no.

Now let’s go back to a good diet. What does it do for you? Well, it should help you live longer and it should also allow you to live a healthier life while you’re alive. And if you participate in sports like tennis that require timing, speed, and coordination, it should help you there as well. But I highly doubt if it helps you at the poker table."

From personal experience, I think you are discounting proper diet. Improper diet can lead to a lack of energy and a decrease in mental focus. Yes, you don't need the energy level of a tennis player, but playing with low, or no, energy can cause problems as can playing if you are mentally distracted.

On the other hand, not sure proper diet is a psychological topic.

Hi Doc:

I'm sure you're right when it comes to no energy, but if that was the case you wouldn't be at a poker table. The point is that if you're a good poker player you'll play your hands the same if you're tired or not.

I agree with you but it's in Cardner's book and other places, so I address it. I think the argument is something along the lines that eating affects how your brain works and therefore it's get's included in the poker psychology stuff, and I have no issue with that.

Best wishes,
Mason

Hi Doc:

I think there's a difference between focusing and paying attention, and in poker you do need to pay attention. For instance, in a heads up pot if you thought you were first to act when in reality you were second to act, that would be an error, and it would be a larger error in no-limit hold 'em since position is more important in that game than in limit.

Best wishes,
Mason

I shouldn't have said no, or little, energy since I meant no energy as in someone saying, "Man, I have no energy today."

Given we are not machines, I do not see how humans can't help but being impacted by being tired whatever the activity.

Needing to learn to play poker well first is a thought both you and Patricia Carder share. She says [paraphrasing] that all the psychological tricks won't help if a person doesn't have the mechanics down solidly.

Again, this is something you and Patricia Carder agree on because when she talks about focus at the beginning of her book, she seems to be talking about paying attention.