Why You Should Make Meditation a Daily Practice as a Poker Player
Hi guys,
Do you, like a lot of poker players, find yourself:
Feeling stressed at different times during your poker sessions;
“Getting involved” with unwanted or negative thoughts or self-talk;
Playing on autopilot;
Being easily distracted while playing?
In this newsletter, we will look at why you should make meditation a daily practice as a poker player.
When you listen to podcasts and interviews with top poker players, one of the habits most of them have is regular meditation practice. This regular mindfulness practice enables these players to access focus, awareness, and composure. It also helps them to be more relaxed while playing and improve their sleep.
Many poker players try meditation for a very short period and then conclude that it’s very difficult for them, and they stop. If you find it challenging, it’s even more reason to practice it.
Here are 8 reasons why you need to meditate as a poker player:
Meditation brings awareness of emotions & feelings in the body
A lot of people are aware of how meditation enhances your awareness. This is especially beneficial in the poker world as an awareness of emotions and feelings in your body can help you identify things holding you back from playing your best poker.
So if your awareness isn’t great, you may not notice that when you are being 3 bet by the same player, you are being triggered by something which causes you to feel anxiety or anger at those times. Having that awareness to notice what happens means you are in a position to start working on the issue.
Awareness is the key starting point to working through an issue. If you’re unaware of something, it’s very difficult to change it.
Meditation reduces stress
Just enough stress can be beneficial to get you in the right mental mindset; too much of it can cause problems for your brain, causing you to lose focus.
Reducing stress is a key part of optimal performance. Studies have shown results of meditation are associated with reduced stress levels as well as reduced levels of stress cortisol. Being relaxed helps you increase focus and concentration and keep calm under pressure.
Meditation improves levels of self-control and emotional stability
Studies have shown that the brain’s physical structure is altered through mindfulness meditation, resulting in more rational and emotionally-free functioning. These alterations take place fairly quickly and can be very powerful with regular meditation practice.
Improving self-control and emotional stability is helpful to those who suffer from tilt or other emotional issues.
Meditation improves sleep
We all know how important sleep is to reduce attention lapses, improve cognition and reactions, etc. It has been shown that meditation can help relieve feelings of stress and anxiety, which means less chance of you being kept awake at night.
Studies have shown that those who meditate experience fewer insomnia symptoms and less daytime fatigue.
Meditation improves attention and focus
As a poker player, you don’t want to be playing on autopilot where you’re not present and unable to concentrate as well as you could. Studies show meditators can focus on what’s in front of them with greater attention and for longer lengths of time. This is hugely beneficial for poker players when playing and studying poker.
Meditation stops you from getting involved in unwanted or negative thoughts
Having a meditation practice means you learn to notice when your mind wanders and be able to bring it back to the present moment. This will be beneficial while playing poker because you can recognise when you’re either thinking about past hands or your mind is thinking about future possibilities when you should focus on the present hand.
Meditation brings the ability to deal with negative self-talk
Being aware of your negative self-talk is another reason to meditate. Negative self-talk can limit your capacity to fulfill your potential and have faith in your own abilities. As with thoughts, you need to be able to identify negative self-talk. This means you will then be able to work on it, making sure you replace it with more positive and balanced self-talk.
Meditation is used for pre-session and post-session routines
Meditation is a great tool to use for both pre and post-session routines. Meditating as part of your pre-session routine is a great way to get you from your everyday life into a performance state. It will help you remove distractions and separate any general stress, emotions, worries, etc. It will also prepare your mind to be in the best state regarding focus and attention.
Using meditation as part of your post-session routine allows you to go from the performance state back to a more relaxed general state. It enables you to get closure on the session, so you don’t carry any emotions from the session with you.
Have you tried meditating? If you have been sceptical about it, you need to remember - everyone can do meditation. Give it a try, and let me know how it goes.
I hope this helps.
Catch up soon,
Alex
If you would like to find out more about 1-1 coaching, book your free consultation call with me via the link below (please select the “Free Pre-booking Consultation” option) :
https://go.oncehub.com/alexmorgan