Jared Tendler is the foremost expert on poker psychology and has been credited with improving the games of some of pokers most talented individuals.
He is a coach, and author of two of the greatest poker books to ever hit the shelves, The Mental Game of Poker and The Mental Game of Poker 2, and if you suffer from tilt this is the man you call to get it under control.
So where did this talent come from?
Tendler’s journey started on the golf course and it’s the sand bunkers and driving ranges that helped shaped a most wonderfully rewarding career.
Here is Jared Tendler talking about his work in the golf industry.
Tell me a little bit about the journey leading up to your Masters Degree in psychology.
“I wanted to play pro golf and realized in my Freshman year in college that I needed to get my head in gear if I wanted to achieve this. So I started looking at traditional sport and golf psychology for some answers – and it helped to a point. It made me a better golfer 95% of the time, except under the most extreme stress, or pressure, which is where I had the problem to begin with.
“So it helped everywhere except for the place I needed solving. I then realized that I couldn’t be the only player with these problems. If I could find the right answers I could have a career on my hands, or better still, be able to play pro golf.
“So I started to shift my focus in college from a business degree to a psychology degree and then went for my Masters Degree. Originally I thought of specialized golf psychology and had this idea to do golf therapy, where I would take people out to the golf course to do therapy with them. Not necessarily golfers, but we would use the golf environment to talk about issues and see how they would act in certain situations, on the golf course, as evidence of some issues that they may have.
“I had this kid I was working with in grad school who had anger problems. He was 16 years old and kept getting into trouble. He hit this ball behind a tree and without even thinking he was about the grab the club and smack it through the tree.
“The whole incident was metaphoric of what his problems were. He would get into trouble, not realize he was in trouble and just proceed as if nothing had happened. So we made him aware that he was actually in trouble to begin with. So having that place to talk about an esoteric or non-centered thing in life – whilst on the golf course – was very powerful.
“That got me into the Masters program but then when I got out of the program the golf therapy idea seemed like a long shot, so I went down the golf psychology route.”
When did your dreams of becoming a professional golfer die?
“Probably five years ago. I was pursuing pro golf right to the point I met Dusty Schmidt (my first poker client). I was getting revved up for my first run at pro golf, but I knew it would cost me a couple hundred grand to give it a real shot over three years and I couldn’t afford it.
“It was at this time I started to see that I was getting good at what I do when it came to coaching people. Pro golf is a hard life. If you make it to the elite it’s an amazing life, but I had been working with golfers for many years, and this gave me a good close look at what it would take to make it on the pro tour.
“It was a long hard grind, of which prior to that I was always wiling to do, but it would have meant sacrificing my quality of life. I think I would have been selfish. I wouldn’t have impacted anyone else’s life. It felt like a selfish pursuit – and what I do now – I get to talk to people and help them perform better and live a happier and healthier life. So it was a choice made on many different levels and not an easy one.”
Like so many people, money was a big factor in your decision to stop pursuing your dream?
“It certainly was. When I was making the decision to go into poker, or pursue golf, I was making enough to get by, but I was not making a ton of money. So to pursue that goal I would have to find investors, prove to people that I could make it, work hard and play every evening. It was a challenge.”
The two sports seem very alike: poker and golf?
“Players who play Mini Tour golf are ridiculously similar to tournament poker players. You have an entry fee; if you make the cut you make something, and the deeper you go the more you make. In tournament golf there is also a rake, so it’s remarkably similar.
“The people are also very similar. They travel around, in cheap hotels sharing with other players to reduce costs because it’s a really expensive lifestyle. They just want to practice, play and make as much money as they can.”
What were the main problems you were being employed to solve with golfers?
“A lot of pressure problems. Some confident issues although not as prevalent. Not nearly as much anger as you find in poker. So more pressure and anxiety issues.”
Was there good money to be made coaching mental game issues in golf?
“There is. The difficulty is the money is there but I was young and there was a lot of competition. So being 25-27, trying to make a name for myself was difficult as I wasn’t that experienced. Looking back now I thought I was better than I was and I thought what I was talking about was more unique than it was.
“Today, I know that I create unique value, but back then I was a little too inexperienced, and over confident, to provide it.”
Have you ever thought of expanding your practice to cover golf now you have gained more experience?
“I have thought about it. I have learned to love poker but I grew up playing golf. So it’s exciting for me to think I could go back, and I have a lot of ideas, but it’s all about timing.
“I have always thought I could help Day Traders. I am a pitching wedge away from the New York Stock Exchange, so the idea of living here and not getting into that feels like a big mistake. I have worked with a handful of them and that’s another avenue I could explore.
“I like to be a specialist. So I don’t like the idea of being a sports psychologist per se. I think golf and trading are the two other areas I could specialize in.”
Do you believe that failing to make the grade as a pro golfer was needed to take you to a greater place with what you do now, or does it still irk you that you never made it?
“I think at this point I think I have resolved a lot of the golf itch. I would be lying if I said I resolved all of it because I still had dreams to win the US Open and have a career in golf. But I am really happy now. I have a wonderful personal life and great career. I am proud that I created it from scratch, that it’s unique and entirely mine. I don’t think I would ever have been able to say that with golf. The ability to impact other people’s lives is special. I don’t think that would ever happen in golf; so I guess it’s a little bit of both to be honest.”
