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Jared Tendler is one of poker’s most prolific mental coaches. Over the course of the last decade, Tendler has written The Mental Game of Poker 1 and 2, and coached more than 500 poker players, day traders, golfers and esports players.

Today on this podcast, Tendler gives us new insights into the mental game of esports and provides you with the ultimate mental game primer for the WSOP Main Event.

  • 2:20 – Jared Tendler diving into Esports, providing mental coaching to Team Nazgul.
  • 4:40 – Team Nazgul won The International, collecting nearly $12 million for the team.
  • 08:03 – The financials of winning in Esports, and the room for growth in mental coaching for Esports players.
  • 12:05 – Comparing Esports to poker from a mental game perspective, and how team construction and coaching apply to Esports.
  • 17:00 – Esports live events, prize pools, comparing it to the WSOP Main Event, and looking at the future of Esports.
  • 23:02 – Pivoting to the World Series of Poker Main Event: How do the changes of the Main Event format affect the mental game, mental coaching and approach?
  • 28:45 – Why is it so common for Main Event chip leaders to blow up on Day 7, as the final table is in sight? Jared provides a mental game analysis, and how to notice that you’re approaching a blow-up?
  • 33:26 – What are trigger warnings that can lead to a blow up in big poker tournaments, and how to stay calm throughout? Jared shares crucial tips to maintain focus during the event.
  • 37:36 – Jared Tendler’s Top 3 tips for mental focus and strength during a big tournament.
  • 41:04 – How to deal with a player that’s belligerent, aggressive and trying to throw you off your game during a big event such as the Main Event?
  • 43:40 – How to practice getting better at focusing at the table for extended periods of time? How to put your phone down, lock in and think about what matters at your table.
  • 48:22 – Starting your day strong in the WSOP Main Event: What’s the best approach?
  • 53:22 – Jared Tendler gives you the tools to refocus and get over the hump after taking a bad beat, losing half your stack or playing a hand poorly, and why you shouldn’t get discouraged or frustrated when this happens.
  • 57:26 – Dinner break! How to approach this in the Main Event, when you have a lot of important hours left to play upon returning. Jared shares some quick tips on staying focused and not relaxing too much.
  • 1:01:09 – Goal setting in the WSOP Main Event.
  • 1:04:55 – How to deal with fatigue in the later stages of the day or the tournament?
  • 1:07:30 – Jared Tendler’s tips for final table preparation.
  • 1:13:15 – How does poker’s evolution towards GTO play affect the importance of mental coaching?
  • 1:15:12 – The finishing touches: What to focus on in the days leading up to a big event.
  • 1:17:00 – Jared Tendler’s new course about focus, and other things he’s working on.


Watch the World Series of Poker Main Event on PokerGO and ESPN starting on Monday, July 2nd. Subscribe right now to PokerGO and never miss another big showdown. PokerGO provides more than 100 days of live poker every year, on top of an extensive on-demand library that includes the WSOP Main Event from 2011 through 2017, and every Poker After Dark episode every published.

2018 WSOP Main Event, Jared Tendler, Mental Coaching