This lesson hit me exhausting years in the past, deep in a second-chance match on the Horseshoe On line casino in Tunica, Mississippi. I glanced at crimson Aces, and with out pondering, I routinely snapped my playing cards again to the desk.
Half the gamers whipped their heads towards me. I had simply “advised” the entire desk I had a premium hand. That was a lesson discovered! Now I coach gamers to make use of that breath, that pause. It makes all of the distinction.
Right here’s what I train now: Wait to have a look at your playing cards till it’s your flip to behave. Keep impartial. Observe. Pause. Then say your two playing cards to your self 3 times earlier than reacting, which builds psychological house, slows your power, and reduces emotional tells.
Most gamers put together for the World Sequence of Poker with hand charts and poker research teams. However there’s one other type of prep that may make it easier to run deeper and win extra typically.
Enter Katlyn Slone: A $27 Poker Dream
Not too long ago I met with Katlyn Slone, a newcomer to the World Sequence of Poker scene. She received her entry into the 2025 WSOP Essential Occasion via a $27 satellite tv for pc in a web based poker membership I’m part of. We crossed paths in mini-tournaments, and I shortly realized that she was a participant to be cautious of.
Katlyn is a mother of two toddlers. She works full-time as a philanthropy director for a nonprofit that’s devoted to ending loneliness via real human connection, with a particular concentrate on youth.
She’s tall, intentional, and deeply self-aware. New to the poker stage, however as a mom, spouse, housekeeper, and a grant author with deadlines, Katlyn is well-acquainted with strain.
Katlyn shared a narrative with me that strengthened the concept that she might have abilities she didn’t know she had: she’s extra conscious, extra prepared to be taught, and extra open to vary. “Right here in Washington state, we solely have fastened restrict poker, and with a modest bankroll of $100 for money play, I typically really feel like I’m donating the cash to the desk,” she advised me.
Once I first discovered to play 7-card stud restrict in 1996, it was simply earlier than no-limit Texas Maintain’em turned standard. Restrict pots develop slowly, home rake siphons revenue, and large wins take persistence. Hundreds and a great deal of persistence.
The Poker Edge Gained By means of Reflection
Poker and life each require constructing persistence via practiced self-awareness. That’s why I shared the Three-Query After-Motion course of with Katlyn that I exploit on a regular basis.
What did I do effectively?What would possibly I’ve carried out in a different way?What can I do now to be simpler?
I exploit it throughout breaks, after periods, and even in the midst of a hand when wanted. Taking just a few moments to pause and replicate may be life-changing in each enterprise and relationships. This sort of suggestions loop identifies what’s working, the place the eye is required, and accelerates progress.
Being unconsciously aware and conscious is the gold customary each on and off the felt.
That’s the place we started. From there, I shared along with her the instruments I’ve discovered over time. The teachings that come from enjoying, teaching, and sure, reinventing my very own sport.
Profitable Poker: Mindset First, Playing cards Second
After we met for Katlyn’s pre-WSOP session, technique wasn’t the main target. We began with mindset, and the inner tales we inform ourselves lengthy earlier than sitting down and listening to these iconic phrases, “Shuffle up and deal!”
Katlyn brazenly shared her questions: “Why me?” “Am I adequate?” “Will my children be okay with out me?”
Our phrases matter. All of us slip into limiting tales. As a substitute of claiming “I’m dangerous at studying gamers,” attempt: “I struggled with studying gamers till not too long ago.”
That small phrase — “till not too long ago” — rewrites your story in actual time.
As we explored these instruments, I watched Katlyn mild up. Her background in private improvement gave her a robust basis, however she had by no means earlier than utilized these instruments to poker. Now she does.
Once I ran the Poker Pure & Easy program for eight years, we began each group teaching session this fashion:
First, it’s about YOU.Then, it’s concerning the OTHER PLAYERS.Solely then is it concerning the CARDS.
Katlyn advised me, “Folding feels oddly highly effective. Not weak. Not passive. Good. I don’t really feel FOMO for as soon as. I really feel peace.”
Play Quietly, Win Loudly!
After our session, a good friend referred to as and requested Katlyn to play throughout lunch. So, she went to an area lunch sport along with her $100 poker bankroll and left with $389!
That didn’t sound earth-shattering at first till I remembered how exhausting it was to win large in $1/$2 Restrict Maintain’em!
Katlyn didn’t play many arms that day. She turned a participant extra within the zone. She mastered the tempo with out reacting on the desk.
That type of win in a restrict sport, practically 4X your bankroll? It’s greater than a heater. It’s a shift. Katlyn didn’t chase the motion; she claimed stillness. She reported again to me, “I left feeling extra like an actual poker participant than I had in months.”
That’s not a brag; that’s a breakthrough.
Poker Mother Parlays $27 to a $10K WSOP Essential Occasion Seat, after which…
Might this be the following Moneymaker second, however this time, from a lady?
Each time I see that quantity, I pause. $27. Is it time once more? Time for an additional sudden win to rock the poker world?
Katlyn got here to work with me as a first-time participant forward of the WSOP Essential Occasion. She left one thing extra, as a lady who may declare house at any desk. By the tip of our name, her power was totally different. She sat taller.
Teaching girls like Katlyn is why I’m stepping absolutely again into this sport, not simply as a participant, however as a information.
I felt that fact land when her voice steadied, and he or she declared, “I’m carried out proving I belong. I now know I do.”
Katlyn Slone is able to play the sport on her phrases.
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