by Kate
16. July 2010 10:41
Former FBI agent, Joe Navarro, and mind-set coach, Sam Chauhan were part of a team of poker and mind-set coaches all giving seminars in the WSOP Academy, a poker training academy that took place prior to this year’s WSOP. While neither of these 2 men are poker pros they are both experts in poker-relevant fields; Navarro in body language and Chauhan in mind power.
Navarro has 25 years experience as a federal agent working in counterintelligence and looking for various tells in people. Tells are mostly unconscious indications of what a person is really thinking. Navarro is an expert at picking up his students’ tells and making them aware of them so that they can change them.
Chauhan, on the other hand, coaches students on how to internally clear themselves of the anxiety and self-doubt that is often what separates a good player from the best.
"If we know what we're looking for, those behaviours can very accurately predict what a person is thinking, what they're feeling, what their desires are and what their intentions are," Navarro has said. Navarro also adds that a consistent signal of a player holding a strong hand is when a player holds his/her cards with fingers pressed together upward. Players will hold onto the cards of a good hand as if they are precious and conversely, if they are holding cards "as if it were a dirty diaper," it is generally an indicator of a bad hand.
Navarro has identified over 200 tells. Many of the tells are in the face or hands but some are in less obvious places like the chest or the feet.
Chauhan takes a bit more of an esoteric stance: "You may not be able to control what other people do, but what you can do is not be someone who is sabotaging yourself and that you know you are capable of doing anything as long as you put your mind to it." Learning how to maintain this mind-set in the highly stressful environment of the WSOP are what Chauhan’s seminars are structured to assist with.
Poker pro, Gavin Smith, is one of Chauhan’s clients. Smith says of Chauhan: "What Sam did was make me look at how good I really had it, especially when you consider what other people are going through," and "You can say that one of things he is, is a cheerleader. He helps me visualize where I want to go, what I have to do to get there, and be more grateful for what I have." Smith went on to win a Canadian tournament for over $188,000 this year as well as also taking a mixed hold’em event for over $268,000 with his first title bracelet.
So it seems in order to really get ahead in this game you need to learn how to control your irrational thoughts and emotions that promote self-doubt.