Mental
Mental game represents 80% of poker performance. The Mental section of Poker Toolkit helps you develop essential psychological skills: bankroll management, goal setting, concentration, self-assessment, and mental leak tracking. Combined with AI Coaching, these features form a complete mental development system.
A tool to reflect
The Mental section is a tool to reflect on your game, not psychological, medical or therapeutic support, nor financial advice. It opens with the line "A tool to reflect on your game, not psychological support or financial advice. If gambling becomes a problem: find help", which links to the site's "Responsible gambling" page, with the help services of each country (in France: Joueurs Info Service, 09 74 75 13 13, free and anonymous).
Why Work on Your Mental Game in Poker?
Poker is a game of imperfection where bad decisions are inevitable, even for the best players. For an in-depth look at mental game fundamentals, check out our mental poker guide. The difference between a winning player and a losing player often lies in:
- Discipline: Following your strategy even when it doesn't work in the short term
- Resilience: Recovering quickly after a bad beat or downswing
- Self-awareness: Recognizing when you're playing your C-Game and knowing when to stop
- Concentration: Maintaining focus during long sessions
- Pressure management: Managing your emotions when facing financial stakes
Poker Toolkit gives you the tools to identify, measure, and improve each of these aspects.
The 5 Pillars of Mental
The Mental section of Poker Toolkit consists of 5 interconnected modules:
1. Bankroll Management (BRM)
Bankroll calculator
Find your target in buy-ins like the « Bankroll management » concept: comfort (100, 125 or 150 buy-ins to play without thinking about money) + the swings of your formats (+50, +75 or +100), adjusted by how fast you want to move up, between 150 and 250 buy-ins. An occasional player needs no BRM.
Enter your bankroll and average buy-in: you see your buy-ins held, how high your average buy-in can go and below which amount to lower it. Your bankroll must never impact your life.
2. Goals
Goal structuring and tracking
Define SMART goals with:
- Title: goal name
- High goal: ambitious target
- Low goal: conservative target
- Reason: why this goal matters to you
- Dates: start and target end date
- Steps: concrete actions to check off
- Obstacles: anticipated difficulties to monitor
Examples:
- "Reach €5000 bankroll in 3 months"
- "Play 10,000 hands this month while staying in my ranges"
- "Master the 6 preflop positions"
3. Focus
Concentration self-assessment
10-question questionnaire to understand your concentration patterns:
Focus during session:
- Under what conditions are you focused?
- At what times of day?
- How long do you maintain focus?
Loss of focus:
- How do you recognize you're losing concentration?
- At what moments does this happen?
Distractions:
- What are your main distractions?
- Where do they come from (internal vs external)?
Zone (flow state):
- How do you recognize being "in the zone"?
- How do you enter this state?
- What pulls you out of it?
4. Levels (A/B/C Game)
Define your game based on your mental state
You don't always play at the same level. The A/B/C Game tool helps you define your own characteristics for each level:
- A-Game: your best poker (when everything is going well)
- B-Game: decent game but not optimal (first signs of fatigue/distraction)
- C-Game: danger, you're losing money (alarm signals to know)
Usefulness: During a session, you can quickly identify your current level and decide to continue or stop. C-Game detected = immediate stop.
5. Mental Leaks
Structured tracking of limiting beliefs
Identify and resolve your mental leaks (false beliefs that trigger tilt) with a 3-step framework:
1. Leak description:
- Title (e.g., "AA vs 22 expectation tilt")
- Full description
2. Logical analysis (problem definition):
- Behavior: what logic/belief exists?
- Origin: why is this logic in your head?
- False reasoning: why is it wrong?
3. Solutions (problem resolution):
- Temporary fix: immediate injection (true phrases to repeat)
- Long-term fix: deep mental change to develop
- Why it works: explanation of the fix's effectiveness
Tracking:
- Tracking entries with date, note, and severity (1-5)
- Status: active or resolved
- Archive when permanently fixed
Example leak:
- Title: "AA vs 22 expectation tilt"
- Behavior: I rage when my AA loses to a small pair
- Origin: I expect to win 80%+ with AA
- Why it's wrong: 80% doesn't mean 100%, and losing 1/5 times is normal
- Temporary fix: "It's just one of the 5 times I lose with AA. The other 4 times I win."
- Long-term fix: Accept variance as an integral part of the game
How the 5 Pillars Work Together
The 5 modules are designed to complement each other:
BRM (Target in buy-ins)
↓
Establishes your risk tolerance and situation
↓
Goals (What to aim for?)
↓
Defines where you want to go
↓ ← → (interdependent)
Focus (How to stay concentrated?)
↓ ← → (interdependent)
Levels (Where am I now?)
↓ ← → (interdependent)
Leaks (What patterns are holding me back?)
↓
AI Coaching (Integrates everything for personalized advice)Example of complete workflow:
- BRM: target of 200 buy-ins, €3000 bankroll → average buy-in up to €15
- Goals: "Reach €5000 bankroll in 3 months" (currently at €3000)
- Focus: "I lose concentration after 3 hours of play"
- Levels: "My C-Game: I gamble preflop after bad beats"
- Leaks: "AA vs 22 expectation tilt" (active, tracking in progress)
- Coaching:
- Coach knows your target and bankroll → recommends caution
- Coach sees your goal → calculates you need +€2000 in 3 months
- Coach knows you lose focus after 3h → recommends 2h30 sessions
- Coach detects C-Game triggers → proposes protocol for managing bad beats
- Coach tracks your AA leak → reminds injection when necessary
Integration with AI Coaching
AI Coaching has access to all your mental data:
What the coach can do:
With your goals:
- Suggest realistic goals based on your profile
- Track your progress and adjust steps
- Remind you why this goal matters when you're demotivated
With your focus:
- Recommend session protocols adapted to your concentration duration
- Identify optimal conditions for playing
- Suggest breaks before you lose focus
With your levels:
- Help you quickly recognize if you're in A, B, or C-Game
- Propose personalized alarm signals
- Recommend stopping when C-Game signs appear
With your leaks:
- Create structured leaks by discussing with you
- Remind you of the temporary injection when the leak is triggered
- Track evolution and declare the leak resolved when appropriate
Coach quick actions
The coach offers quick actions related to mental:
- "Summarize my mental progress this month"
- "Help me define a new goal"
- "Analyze my last tilt session"
- "Review my active leaks"
- "Give me focus tips for today"
Quick Access
- BRM: Calculate my bankroll
- Goals: View my goals
- Focus: Evaluate my concentration
- Levels: Define my A/B/C Game
- Leaks: Track my mental leaks
- Coaching: Chat with the AI coach
Related Pages
- AI Coaching: AI chat interface that uses all your mental data
- Ranges: Work on your ranges with the grid system
- Subscription: See pricing and subscription options
Usage Tips
Recommended order to get started:
- Start with BRM: it's free and quick (5 minutes)
- Set 1-2 goals: start simple (e.g., "Play 5000 hands this month")
- Complete Focus: take time to think about the 10 questions
- Identify your Levels: be honest about your A/B/C Game
- Create your first leaks: start with the most obvious (tilt after bad beat, etc.)
- Use Coaching: the coach will have all the data to advise you effectively
Regular maintenance:
- Each month: update your goals and check your steps
- After each difficult session: add a tracking entry to your active leaks
- Every 3 months: update your bankroll and target if your situation has changed
Integration with coaching:
- Regularly discuss your mental state with the coach
- Use quick actions for targeted advice
- Let the coach suggest goals and identify leaks
- Follow their session protocol recommendations based on your focus
Mental game isn't a "nice to have", it's the decisive advantage between two players of similar technical level. Poker Toolkit gives you the tools to transform your mental game into a performance weapon.
Explore our mental coach poker for personalized guidance in your mental development.