Poker players are obsessed with studying hands, ranges, and solvers. We will spend hours memorizing charts or breaking down spots, yet tilt and self-sabotage can undo weeks of technical study in a single bad session.
Early in my career, I realized my biggest leaks were not in my ranges; they were in my head. That is when I picked up Jared Tendler’s The Mental Game of Poker, and it became one of the most important books I have ever read.
Why this book matters
Tendler does not promise magic tricks or mindset fluff. Instead, he treats mental game leaks the same way a coach would treat technical leaks: identify patterns, diagnose root causes, and build structured strategies to correct them. That framing alone was a breakthrough for me.
I had always thought tilt was something to control in the moment, like holding your breath and hoping it passes. Tendler convinced me tilt, fear, and loss of confidence were not emotions to suppress, they were signals pointing to underlying flaws in my approach. Just like a misplayed hand, they could be studied and fixed.
The practical tools that changed my game
One of the book’s most powerful concepts is mapping tilt. Instead of lumping all frustration together, Tendler breaks it into distinct types:
- Injustice tilt (when you cannot stand bad beats)
- Entitlement tilt (when you feel you 'deserve' to win)
- Revenge tilt (when you target a specific player)
When I mapped my tilt patterns, I realized I was falling into entitlement tilt, believing hard work or 'superior play' guaranteed results. Recognizing that specific trap let me prepare for it, catch myself earlier, and redirect my focus back to the process of making good decisions. This analysis was my favorite part of the book, by far.
Another game-changer was the inchworm concept. Tendler explains how players improve like an inchworm crawling forward: your best game stretches ahead, your worst game lags behind. Progress requires dragging that back end forward.
For me, this redefined what studying poker meant. It was not just about expanding the top of my game with solver work. It was also about tightening up the bottom, reducing costly blunders when tired, tilted, or unfocused.
The impact beyond poker
The surprising thing about this book is how much of it translates off the felt. The same tools I use to reset after a bad beat also help me handle commentary nerves, business swings, or the day-to-day frustrations of travel. Tilt is not limited to poker. It is human.
Every poker player talks about mental game, but few actually train it with the same rigor they give to c-bet sizing or ICM spots. The Mental Game of Poker gives you a framework to do exactly that.
It is not about feeling good. It is about having a practical system to keep your A-game in play more often. For me, this book was the missing piece between knowing strategy and consistently executing it.
In poker, that gap is everything.
Ashley Frank, AKA Pokerface Ash, is a major influencer in the poker community, talented poker commentator, and prominent YouTube poker vlogger. She captivates an Instagram audience of 21,000+ followers showing the day to day life of a poker pro. And with nearly 40,000 subscribers on YouTube, Ashley’s engaging content and insightful vlogs, which feature a lot of GTO Poker analysis and relatable teaching, have captivated a wide audience.
