Poker psychology and work ethics expert Stanislovas
Strategy lessons are not enough to give students a well-rounded, high-quality education. The psychology of the player is one of the cornerstones of maximizing performance. To ensure this, every week students have the opportunity to participate in group psychology lectures, led by SM High-stakes coach, work ethic and poker psychology specialist Stanislovas!
How did you become a Spin & Go high-stakes player?
I have been playing Spin&Go since 2012. In order to reach and crush the then highest limit (250s), I focused a lot on studying poker. To become the best, you have to know everything – strategy, psychology, work ethic – and try to balance everything. It’s not easy: lots of books, many hours of analyzing yourself and others, constantly applying your knowledge in a real-life environment. Continuous learning and development, that’s my driving force, and that’s what has allowed me to achieve high results.
A complementary area of training is poker psychology. How did you get into coaching?
I had gained a lot of experience and knowledge that I wanted to further develop. One of the ways was to become a coach for other players. Having gone all the way from the lowest to the highest limits, I was able to share what I had already learned. And at the same time, it allowed me to further deepen my knowledge in player psychology. I have now been a coach for 5 years, during which time I have been working on teaching strategy, analyzing the psychology of the players, identifying the problems and finding solutions to put them into practice.
What can a student expect from you?
I have students whose have gone up to the 100s+ stakes. My goal is to produce good grinders and strong players. Therefore, I require them to follow a work process that is put together. Although I am friendly, I always maintain professionalism. Both in communication with each other and in teaching methodological material. This is how the current students respond. We work together on both strategy and psychology, so that with those who are willing and able to change, we achieve high results and strong victories.
Can you tell us about your coaching methodology?
The process is the most important part. First I get to know the student, find out about their skills, knowledge, mindset and experience. Sometimes the student has enough strategic knowledge, but for some reason the results don’t come. That’s where my role comes in – to be able to look at things from the side, to assess the weaknesses of the player, which are the most worrying and frustrating. I ask them to keep track of their emotions and experiences, to write comments about them, to put them in one document. I read them, analyze them and provide the student with solutions and further refer to selected literature sources. This is very important so that we take all the problems seriously, so that we prevent them from developing further, so that they do not affect their future games.
What do you like most about playing poker?
The fact that development in poker is closely linked to personal development. At the same time, you are not only growing as a poker player, but also as a person who is able to react quickly and make decisions or manage strong emotions. The work skills and discipline you learn are useful in other areas of your life. It’s all connected, so poker is not just about the game, it’s about you.
What advice would you give to a poker enthusiast?
From the very beginning, pay attention not only to the game, but also to the psychology. Even though these may seem like small problems at the moment, as the limits increase, so will the problems. Identify and address them as early as possible.
