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Poker Shrink

Dr. Tim Lavalli, a doctor of research psychology shares his thoughts on the psychological side of poker. From gameplay issues, to problems away from the table, if its in a poker player's head - you'll find it here.

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		The Poker Shrink, Vol 44 -- Gall's Law June 08, 2007		A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work. You have to start over with a working simple... more


		The Poker Shrink, Vol 43 -- Anecdotal Evidence June 01, 2007		Anecdotal evidence is information you obtain from a subjective report, an observation, or some kind of example that may or may not be reliable. In addition, anecdotal evidence is not scientifically valid or representative of testable... more


		The Poker Shrink, Vol 42 -- The Pareto Principle and the Ninety-Ninety Rule May 25, 2007		There is a somewhat humorous but all too true rule in business often called the 'Ninety-Ninety Rule.' There are literally hundreds of variations of the Ninety-Ninety Rule in business and other creative endeavors. In computer... more


		The Poker Shrink, Vol 41 - Cognitive Dissonance: Learning from the Bad Beat May 18, 2007		Can you really learn from a bad beat? I mean, can you learn something other than the guy in the three seat is a donkey and the poker gods hate you?... more


		The Poker Shrink, Vol 40 - The Titanic Syndrome May 11, 2007		I guess this article should be called "Teddy and the Titanic Syndrome" but let's not get ahead of the story. Teddy is a poker playing buddy of mine. Last week he asked me if I had heard of the Titanic Syndrome.... more


		The Poker Shrink, Vol 39 - Is There Psychology in the Poker Chip Trick? May 04, 2007		Why do players do chip tricks? The easy answer, of course, is that they are bored and they have chips available. Being creatures with opposable thumbs we tend to twirl pencils, click pens and basically do anything with our hands... more


		The Poker Shrink, Vol 38 - Reading a Player with Clusters April 27, 2007		Everyone wants to be able to read an opponent at the table but what does it mean when he riffles his chips? Why did she smile when she made that bet on the turn? Is that nervous twitch really a tell and if it is does it mean he has a good hand... more


		The Poker Shrink, Vol 37 - The Strategy of Tension April 20, 2007		We often read crossover articles between poker and business, poker and stock trading, poker and other sports, even poker and relationships. You know the titles I mean: 'Bluffing the Boss: Asking for that Big Raise.' ... more


		The Poker Shrink, Vol 36 - Regression Toward the Mean April 13, 2007		Regression toward the mean is the tendency for any series mathematical events to average out. This simply means that events like extreme tests scores or terrible river suckouts or 'holes-in-one' tend to happen... more


		The Poker Shrink, Vol 35 - Selective Attention April 06, 2007		Selective attention is purposely focusing your conscious awareness onto a specific stimulus. Now that sounds an awful lot like just plain old paying attention. But take this test with me. Keep looking at the words on your computer... more


		The Poker Shrink, Vol 34 - The Yerkes-Dodson Law of Arousal March 30, 2007		Arousal. See, now I have your attention. The Yerkes-Dodson psychological theorem states that an organism's performance can be improved if that organism is aroused in some manner. Yes, this concept was first explained during experiments.... more


		The Poker Shrink, Vol 33 - Accommodation and Assimilation March 23, 2007		I want to be very precise today with the psychological concepts of accommodation and assimilation. These are similar terms that refer to learning and adjustment. These are very similar concepts, but not the same concept... more


		The Poker Shrink, Vol 32 - Luck or Variance? Magic or Math? March 16, 2007		Just how much luck is there is poker? I have stood with some of the biggest names in poker and heard them toss out numbers like 50% or 10%. More complicated answers often sound like '90% short term but only 5% long term.... more


		The Poker Shrink - Vol 31 - Absolute Threshold and Signal Detection Theory March 09, 2007		Absolute threshold is a very specific psychological and sensory term. Absolute threshold refers to the smallest intensity of a stimulus that has to be present for the stimulus to be detected. The most common example of this involves sensitivity to heat... more


		The Poker Shrink, Vol 30 - There is Psychology and then there is Psychology March 02, 2007		Sometimes its better to make your point very quietly and other times you will be a lot more successful making a whole lot of noise. Last weekend I got a very interesting lesson in psychology at the poker table... more


		The Poker Shrink, Vol 29 - Psychological Aspects of Table Talk: Part One February 23, 2007		There are literally a dozen potential articles on the psychology of table talk. Today I want to deal with table talk and floor calls. Remember that a good poker player will be paying attention to everything... more


		The Poker Shrink, Vol 28 - The Fundamental Attribution Error February 16, 2007		When any researcher studies human beings, they are attempting to discover 'why' something happens (or perhaps 'why' something doesn't happen). Therefore, it is important to discover the source of the behavior... more


		The Poker Shrink, Vol 27 - Problem Poker: VII: Some Final Thoughts February 09, 2007		Over the past six articles I have attempted to outline some of the issues, facts and treatment alternatives for those poker players who are dealing with the spectrum of consequences of Problem Poker.... more


		The Poker Shrink, Vol 26 - Problem Poker: Part VI: The Professionals February 02, 2007		In the last five weeks I have talked about the various aspects of Problem Poker and from response I have received it seems many of you want to know just how big a problem this is among the poker professionals. more


		The Poker Shrink, Vol 25 - Problem Poker: Part V: Treatment Options January 26, 2007		You have heard it said a thousand times: If you can't spot the fish at your table in the first ten minutes, then the fish is probably you. Let's look at that another way.... more

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