The real gut check

There are always reasons.

I always found the old Doug Polk videos funny where he would say something like –

“I can see reasons for all three options here: call, raise and fold”

The more poker you play, the more insane stuff you end up seeing. Hero calling with K high correctly. Folding the nut flush to the 1 combo of a straight flush. Bluffs with such little money behind that you would never think they should work, but then they do.

Everything happens.

And everything works…sometimes…

With deep stacks and multiple streets of betting, there are endless options for how to play hands.

But the thing your gut says you want to do the most?

There’s only 1 of those.

And it doesn’t come from figuring it out.

That signal only comes when you’re completely present with everything going on inside you. When you don’t need anything to be different, and you’re completely OK whether you win or lose the hand you’re playing. That’s the place where thoughts arise, and your intuition is clear.

Most people have had that experience at least a couple times

Something about the hand just feels off, but you can’t exactly explain why.

Then you correctly find the call.

To me, there’s no better feeling in poker.

Except that experience isn’t something you have to stumble into. You can train presence, and your ability to accept all your emotions as they happen, so that when the big spot comes up, you’re completely ready for it.

In my experience, that’s the highest level of performance.

And it’s something not many are doing.

So you can either stay stuck in your head, bouncing between reasons, or you can get present and find the one thing your gut actually wants to do.

All my best hands came from the latter.

I’m guessing yours did too.

If you want more of those moments, hit me up here: