The vast majority of players dedicate all their working hours, both playing and studying, to perfecting their skills. Sometimes it seems to be the only goal and the only thing that matters in a player’s career. But, according to many specialists, there are two other elements that also form a crucial part in the development of a professional: mindset and financial situation. These two pillars, combined with skill, make up the three fundamental pieces of any successful player.
When we talk about skill, we generally refer to the level of knowledge you have about ranges, ICM, adjustments, and the arsenal of strategies and tactics you can execute at the table. On the other hand, mindset refers to emotional regulation, the level of focus, and the ability to handle pressure. It is what defines whether your skill level can be executed to the fullest in each session. Finally, the financial situation is the bankroll, but it also includes your life outside the tables: rent, obligations, whether the money you earn in your sessions is important for other things in your life.
Generally, players treat these three pillars separately. But, in reality, each one directly modifies the other two.
Logically, it is much easier to see when a skill error impacts the other two pillars. A leak in our game makes us lose money directly, affecting our bankroll, but it can also cause us emotional damage, since if we make mistakes in situations we don’t understand, we will start to doubt all our decisions.
It also happens in some situations that players look for solutions in mindset when they do not fully understand that their errors come from the technical side. They work on improving their routine, diet, rest, when many times they simply have to stop playing certain hands, or play them differently.
On the other hand, mental work also impacts the other two elements. Poker is a game that constantly puts us in pressure situations. Absolutely all players have to deal with it. What really makes the difference is the ability to make decisions under pressure that each one has, and that is where the mental part becomes crucial.
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A bad mindset can cause both skill and financial errors. Playing in a mediocre mental state can make us make mistakes that, later, reviewing the hand with a different mindset, we will probably identify easily. Likewise, a bad mindset can lead to financial failures, such as playing out of bankroll, playing too many tables or accepting staking deals that are not convenient. All this comes from mindset errors and affects our entire game.
The financial pillar is the least discussed. Perhaps because no one wants to expose their financial situation or because of the discomfort that revealing the real numbers of each player generates. But it is as important as the other three and is often the one that causes the most damage.
When a player has no money, they do not play the same. A financial problem does not pause when you are playing. Part of your mental energy is still dedicated to worrying about it, even when you are doing something unrelated.
Generally, players affected by a situation like this take one of two paths. Either they play fearfully, passively, trying not to lose the little they have left. Or they play too much, trying to force a win that will not come just by playing more tournaments or higher stakes tables. This causes damage to skill level, but also sharpens our mindset crisis.
We must understand two things about all this. On one hand, that the pillar in the worst condition is the one that conditions everything. A player with great skill who does not rest well will not be able to play at a high level if they do not solve their mindset problem. On the other hand, we must understand that one pillar is not fixed by working on one of the other two. We will not improve our financial problems by studying more nor will we improve our skill with a better diet.
The important thing is to identify where the biggest problems lie and decide which aspect to work on to improve in order. Only in this way can we achieve a state of harmony among the three fundamental pillars for the development of every professional player.
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