Poker & Life. The Missing Links Revealed!

On my recent trip to Bali for a 2 week holiday, I was sitting reading the latest edition of Men's Health, which I find the magazine a great, informative read on all things, well, Men's Health. Funny about that:)

As I generally purchase the magazine to look at the healthy eating habits as well as looking for any new training programs or exercises, I found an article on Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks. I like to use my holdiay's in Bali as a great opportunity for me to explore how I am living my life, physically, mentally and spiritually. Bali is such a fantastic place for me to do this as the Balinese people are so happy, which I find amazing seeing that they live life in such a modest way. They truly appreciate everything they have and seem to ignore everything they dont have, amazing people to learn from!!

I am also a fan of reading articles on successful people in all walk's of life and the article on Howard Schultz gave me another great insight into how these successful individual's use their minds. The article had 5 rules for a Billionaire CEO, but there was some other foot note information that I found extremely interesting and related to a poker player's life and can have a dramatic impact on them as both player's and people.

I feel that whether you are a Professional Athlete, Billionaire CEO or a serious Poker Player, that the process of becoming the best you can be and the mindset needed to achieve success are closely linked.

There were 5 different foot notes and I feel each one had a connection to helping you becoming a better poker player. The foot note's where about being a workaholic, which I find too many poker don't think about the negative impact their large volume can have on them. These foot notes were actually created from behavioural scientist, Stevan Hobfoll from Rush University Medical Center.

The 5 foot note's are-

1. Not Enough Exercise.
They discussed that a good workout isn't only about physical fitness, but puts you in a state of mind where by you are focused more on solutions and not problems. Poker is full of solving problems and I have found over the past 4 years working with poker players, that working out, even low intensity workouts, help players to begin their sessions with a more empowering mindset.

2. Not Enough Sleep.
We know that lack of sleep is extremely damaging to both your health and your mind's ability to function at a high level, both of which you need to be successful as a poker player. If you can create a consistant routine when it is sleep time, your body will begin to learn that this pattern means sleep, and will help you to reach a deeper sleep sooner. Whether it is reading a book, doing a cross word or implementing some night time visualisation, consistency will help you to improve your sleeping patterns.

3.Not Enough Social Life.
The research found Social Isolation as one of the biggest contributors to depression and anxiety disorders. There has been a lot of poker player's that I have worked with through the year's that have experienced these conditions and once they have implemented something weekly that falls into the catergory of social, there anxiety and feelings of depression subside dramatically.

4. Not Enough Me Time.
They talk about the negative impact, not allowing yourself some "ME" time or indulging in some guilty pleasures can have on your emotional state. The importance of balancing some time for yourself and the pursuits of success are enormous, over time you can begin to focus on the small picture things and lose sight of some of the important bigger picture things, like your health. Add a little "ME" time each week and begin to see your productivity soar, all with an emotional balance of a buddhist monk:)

5. Not Enough Time For Her.
Having a partner and focusing on balancing time spent with and on them, can really improve your mindset and emotional balance. Focusing on doing things for your partner, or if you dont have a partner, focus on doing something for a loved one, will really begin to help you put things in perspective and enjoy what truly is the most important aspect of life, family and friends!!

If you can begin to make some modification in regards to these areas, I believe you will begin to take control over the emotional impact that being a poker player has on you and as I have seen in the past with other clients, the impact this has on the quality of your play, and more importantly your life, is probably one of the biggest +EV spots you will find in the game!!

                                         A photo of Jackstar and I on our recent trip to Bali:)