Hey,

Yeah I eventually got what you meant, and in that sense you're right. As humans we are inherently biased, and much of that is involved with the reality that the only true perspective we are directly privy to is our own, and we are both consciously and unconsciously motivated to feel good about ourselves, and to see consistency with our worldview.

I can give you a general tip about tilt, and the psychological impact of running bad. The most important thing in my opinion is self-awareness in this respect, as often when things go awry at the table individuals are not able to notice that they are tilting, are not able to admit to themselves that they are on tilt, or simply are not able to get up even though they are conscious (or "pre-conscious") of that fact. PM me and I wouldn't mind throwing you a bone w/ a tip that I want to save for the book in this regard, ;-).

There are a lot of things that you can do but it's multifaceted, and much of what you need to do in order to control issues of tilt and sub-optimal play during bad runs is outside of the poker room/website. Nevertheless, once you are able to recognize when you're on tilt and know that you need to take action, generally speaking what needs to be done involves stepping away and removing yourself in a way in which you can reconcile your mindset or make the decision to quit.

I can elaborate on this stuff for days, so I'm gonna save some for the book -

Thanks for chiming in Mason, glad to hear from you.

I couldn't agree more with you in regards to the state of poker psychology literature, and glad that we share a disdain for their pseudo self-help "therapists" who take advantage of those in need of help to the detriment of their finances.

My partner for this project (who is also a Personality/Social Psychologist, albeit one who is certainly farther along the academic journey than myself) will certainly keep your potential interest in a book that is up to your standards in mind. Things will probably be clearer once it is completed, in regards to whether 2p2 would be a good fit, but regardless I appreciate the feedback.

As for the Feeney book, my recollection was that it was more sound than most others in terms of not being based on anecdotal self-help type woo-woo as much of the psychology of poker books are, in my opinion. I did feel that it was wanting in the sense that it didn't address a great deal of topics that I feel are critical in terms of what I would see as a comprehensive Psychology of Poker book. Doesn't mean it has to be advanced, it should be palpable for the psychology layperson - what I mean is that there are areas to cover, and approaches to take that have largely if not fully ignored. I certainly want to take another look as it's been a while since I read the book, and I certainly will take a look at the more advanced iteration.

Best,
Stan

As a poker player and a clinical psychologist, I see "psychological processes" as being most important in being able to handle one's own emotions and behaviors as pertaining to tilt control, game selection, bankroll management, etc. Consequently, there are already a number of books that address these issues.

Trying to use knowledge of personality and cognitive processes to make decisions during a hand seems way less important than being skilled in poker math, understanding our own frequencies, and how to exploit opponents' poor play.

Hi Stan:

Just curious but are you aware that I've written a book on poker psychology?

Best wishes,
Mason
Mason

I didn't actually... until yesterday , I'll have to give it a look.

Thanks again for the input.

Best,
Stan
.

I'm not going to disagree with you on that fundamentals and GTO play are not more important than having a strong grasp of the psychosocial aspects of the game.

However, given that there are really no books that address this, you may be surprised at the value that it may have. If you're in a tournament and push/folding then there is not much psychology involved. However, if you're playing heads up 200bb deep it's huge IMO. As long as you're playing against a human that is.