Poker News Categories

Poker Shrink

• 

  Poker Shrink Vol. 55: Interference

  Monday, April 13, 2009, Dr. Tim Lavalli

  Interference has to do with recalling previously known information. There are events that can and do interfere with our ability to have an accurate recall. In poker, this is often a problem when we try to remember how a particular opponent ...more
• 

  Poker Shrink Vol. 54: Successive Approximations

  Monday, April 6, 2009, Dr. Tim Lavalli

  I was playing poker the other evening and after losing yet another hand, the young player next to me mumbled: "Man, I just can't put that old guy onto a hand." I was a bit surprised because the gentlemen he was referring to had played and ...more
• 

  The Poker Shrink, Vol. 53: The Just-World Phenomenon

  Monday, March 30, 2009, Dr. Tim Lavalli

  The just-world phenomenon is the psychological tendency for people to believe that the world is just or fair and that people therefore get what they deserve. We all hold this belief to some extent, so when something good happens to you, you...more
• 

  The Poker Shrink, Vol. 52: The Butterfly Effect

  Monday, March 23, 2009, Dr. Tim Lavalli

  Psychology is, at least in part, about teaching us how to effectively cope when life deals us setbacks. There are many ways to deal with life's little problems. One particularly effective way is perspective. Putting your problem in the prop...more
• 

  The Poker Shrink, Vol. 51: Implosion

  Monday, March 16, 2009, Dr. Tim Lavalli

  Last week I wrote about reherseal and suggested that rehearsing particularly difficult decisions at the table would make those decisions easier, with less chance of a player giving off any physical tells. I heard from one of my old psycholo...more