Hello Everyone,
I hope you are having a wonderful time this Christmas with your loved ones.
Life zooms by too fast, but this time of year, I like to take a bit of pause and remind myself what’s truly important and capture those moments, especially when it’s hard to do. So don’t miss out on what matters most by letting your mind take you away from the here and now. Being present IS the ultimate present (holidays or otherwise).
As the year winds down, there’s an incredible opportunity to reflect and set the stage for what’s to come. This season isn’t just about giving to others—it’s also a chance to invest in yourself and the skills that will carry you forward.
I’m very excited as my client, WPT Champion Chris Moorman, had a brilliant success last week.
Last year, Chris made the final table at the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas. It’s the final and biggest professional poker tournament of the year, and he came fourth, winning over $1 million.
This year, he’s made the final table again— a consecutive record no other player has reached. So, history has already been made.
I can guarantee you that getting into this tournament is an incredible battle, Beast Games looks like child’s play in comparison! 2,392 players paid $10,400 to enter, and only six remain.
Once you reach the final in a poker tournament, the rest is mainly out of your control because the cards speak a language few can understand. They convey a purity that plastic chips will never match.
Chris knows this. The cards will speak to him when they are ready and not before. In his interview with Jeff Walsh on worldpokertour.com, Chris expressed, “…you just take it one hand at a time, try not to get ahead of yourself…. Obviously, you’ve got a lot of people wishing you good luck but there’s just so much poker… so you just try and play your best. There’s going to be setbacks along the way and you just have to recover from them and just try to do your best…find some little exploits here and there. Just keep in the moment.”
Elite professional players certainly understand that being “in the zone” or “keeping in the moment” is a necissity to win. To achieve that, I advise stepping off the rollercoaster. Aiming for neutral emotion during play. Neither too high nor too low. This will help you stay in the zone at the table.
However you are spending hours at the table, so what else do you do to stay fit, healthy, and happy?
Invest in yourself, your most precious asset. In my book, Poker Genius, Chris tells us, “Creating your own happiness outside of poker will ultimately have a huge effect on your mentality whilst playing. If I’m not happy with myself at a certain point in time (say I’ve not worked out and eaten unhealthily for a period of time) then I will find that one or two losing sessions of poker in a row can start to alter my mindset completely.”
During the early part of our journey together, Chris and I spent a lot of time working on breathing techniques and meditation. Chris found HeartMath useful because he could see the computer print out in front of him.
Most of our work is now hardwired, so our conversations before a big tournament are a bit like a pilot going through a checklist to ensure that we haven’t forgotten anything.
For more tips for improving your mindset to play professional poker, I recommend listening to my podcast, Poker Genius on Goodpods.
If you’re reading this, I appreciate you for taking an interest in my work, watching my videos, reading emails and newsletters, and allowing me to share my passion. This means so much because I know what it can do for people. I’ve seen the results through countless stories our customers shared over a decade.
If you have yet to experience my mindset coaching, it would be my honor to be YOUR brain coach to help you maximize your mind and memory to be unstoppable in 2025. The slots are fast filling in, so write to me today if you’d interested. I look forward to hearing from you!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Doc Steve
