Crush Mental Leaks with These Top 3 Poker Mottos

28 Apr 2025

Intermediate

This material is for medium-skilled players

This is Sky with Smart Poker Study. Today, I’m going to help you overcome your biggest mental game hangup today. 

First, think about what your biggest mental game issue is. Is it that you can’t fold overpairs, no matter what happens in the hand? Or maybe you get angry when you see a fish win three buy-ins with hands like   offsuit or   offsuit? Or perhaps, when you make a big mistake, that anger starts building up: you make even more mistakes trying to win back the money, and eventually go on tilt, losing four buy-ins?

Whatever your mental game problem is, keep it in mind right now — and let's get into it. Yeah, it’s big brain time! The first thing I want you to do is take that mental game issue you’re thinking about and turn it into a true sentence about yourself. For example, if you just can't fold overpairs, your sentence might be: "I can't fold overpairs no matter the board when facing less-than-pot-sized bets".

Now grab a piece of paper, and write down your true sentence about your mental game issue. I want to give you three mottos that can help you move past it. A motto is a short sentence or phrase that expresses a guiding principle — and these are three of my favorites.

First up: Perception is reality. I truly believe in this motto. Here’s the thing: if I believe you're trying to cheat me — whether it’s true or not — my behavior toward you will change.

Maybe we’re poker buddies playing in a home game. But if I start noticing you doing strange things with the cards or chips that make me think you're cheating, I’ll start acting as if you are cheating. I’ll stop playing poker with you. I won’t talk to you. I won't trust anything you say — even if you aren’t actually cheating. My perception of our relationship becomes our reality.

Mark Twain once said: "Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter". If you believe you can't overcome your mental game issue, you won’t.

You probably know this one — and you’ve likely lived it quite a few times. I certainly have. For example, public speaking is one of the most common fears — second only to death for a lot of people.

If you have to give a speech but you're terrified, you fake the confidence. You prepare like your life depends on it. Prepare your speech. Rewrite it dozens of times. Practice it in front of the mirror. Practice it in front of your loved ones. Get so familiar with it that you know your speech like the back of your hand — you could even recite it in your sleep.

When it's time, go on stage and fake that confidence. Strut out there like you own the place. Grab that mic like you know exactly what you're doing. Then deliver your prepared — even overly prepared — speech. Let all that preparation carry you through the event.

As you do this more and more, real confidence will start to build naturally through your experience with public speaking. At first, you fake it and rely on preparation, but over time, it turns into true skills and real confidence.

Now, it’s time to put this all together — and create the new mental game version of you. Earlier, you wrote a true sentence about how you currently are when it comes to your mental game issue.

For example, you might have written: "I can't fold overpairs, no matter the board, versus less-than-pot-sized bets". Now, let's create a new sentence — the version of you that you want to become, related to this issue.

Here’s how I would rewrite that into a new mental game me sentence: "I can fold overpairs on the flop, turn, and river because I pay attention to my opponent's actions and the board. I arrange the information and find the fold when I know I’m beat".

This is your new mental game me sentence. This is the version of you that you’re going to start living from now on. Now, let’s use the three mottos to help get you there:

1. Perception is reality:
   Believe it and live it. Over time, it will become your reality.
2. Mind over matter:
   You’ve probably built up this habit of not folding overpairs, over years of playing poker. It’s a bad habit, and you’ll need to work hard to break it. But believe that you can overcome this. Mind over matter is real.
3. Fake it till you make it:
   When you keep living out your new mental game sentence — day after day — and act as the player you want to be, it will eventually become natural. This will become the new you.

This is it for today. Tell us what your number one mental game issue is, and then leave it in the comments below. Good luck, have a productive poker week, and we'll see you in the next one!