Improving Your Poker Game With a Growth Mindset

Developing a Growth Mindset in Poker: What You’ll Learn

• Grasping Growth Mindset Basics: Delve into the understanding of growth mindset, and discover its significant role in advancing your poker skills and strategies.

• Fostering Your Growth Mindset: Gain practical advice and tips on how to nurture a growth mindset, promoting cycle of continuous learning and self-improvement in poker.

• Reaping the Benefits: Learn about the long-term benefits of having a growth mindset in poker, including increased resilience, adaptability, and overall performance improvement.

Have you ever wondered why some poker players seem to improve effortlessly and continuously while others struggle to break through plateaus?

The difference isn’t just intelligence, natural talent, or even the number of hands played. The real differentiator is whether a player has a growth mindset or a fixed mindset.

Developing a growth mindset in poker isn’t just about thinking positively; it’s about actively reshaping how you approach learning and setbacks.

In this article, I’ll show you what a growth mindset looks like, how to recognize fixed mindset patterns, and most importantly, how to shift your thinking so you can become a stronger, more resilient player.

What is a Growth Mindset in Poker?

Simply stated, a growth mindset is the belief that your skills, intelligence, and abilities can be developed through consistent effort, study, and persistence. A person with a fixed mindset has the belief that these traits are set in stone; that is, you either have them or you don’t.

The concept of a growth mindset comes from the work of psychologist Dr. Carol Dweck, who found that people approach challenges in two fundamentally different ways. Those with a fixed mindset believe that intelligence and ability are static (you either have what it takes, or you don’t).

Those with a growth mindset, however, see skills as something that can be developed through effort, learning, and persistence.

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Players who have a growth mindset understand that improvement isn’t about having natural talent or getting lucky; it’s about making the best possible decisions and learning from every experience.

In poker, this difference can determine your long-term success in a number of ways. For example, players with a fixed mindset tend to avoid difficult study topics, get frustrated by mistakes, and focus too much on short-term results.

Those with a growth mindset do the opposite by embracing learning, analyzing their mistakes objectively, and understanding that improvement comes from consistent effort. For these reasons, they don’t get fixated on short-term results.

Consider two players facing a downswing:

• The fixed mindset player thinks, “I’m not smart enough to win at this game,” and reacts by playing recklessly, avoiding study, or even quitting altogether.

• The growth mindset player thinks, “This is a challenge I can work through by studying my leaks and refining my strategy.” Instead of being paralyzed by losses, they carefully study their hands and look for ways to improve.

You can see the key difference. One sees failure as evidence of their limitations, while the other sees it as an opportunity to learn and improve.

In poker, developing a growth mindset requires shifting your focus from short-term results to long-term improvement. You must embrace challenges, study difficult spots, and recognize that every hand offers a chance to refine your poker skills.

When you make this mental shift, you’ll start seeing progress in ways that go beyond just your bankroll.

Signs You Have a Fixed Mindset in Poker

Before you can develop a growth mindset, you need to recognize the signs of a fixed mindset that might be holding you back. Many poker players who feel stuck or frustrated unknowingly fall into fixed mindset patterns that limit their improvement.

Here are some common signs of a fixed mindset in poker:

• You blame variance instead of analyzing your play. After a tough session, do you immediately think, “I just run bad,” or do you ask, “Did I make the best decisions possible?” A fixed mindset focuses on luck, while a growth mindset focuses on learning.
  
  
• You avoid studying difficult concepts. If you find yourself saying, “GTO is too complicated for me” or “I’ll never understand solver work,” that’s a sign of a fixed mindset. Thinking that topics are beyond your ability and therefore unlearnable is holding you back.
  
  
• You compare yourself to others and feel discouraged. Instead of seeing better players as examples you can learn from, you feel inferior and assume they have something you don’t. Growth-minded players focus on what they can learn from stronger players.
  
  
• You get stuck in your ways and resist change. If you play the same way regardless of the situation, believing “This is just my style,” rather than trying new strategies, you may be limiting your own progress.
  
  
• You focus more on short-term results than on long-term improvement. A fixed mindset player gets discouraged after a losing session and assumes they’re doing something wrong. A growth mindset player focuses on making good choices, trusting that results will even out over time.

If you recognize yourself in any of these patterns, don’t worry. There is good evidence that mindset is flexible and you can train yourself to think differently. The next section will show you exactly how to shift from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.

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How to Develop a Growth Mindset in Poker

Shifting from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset doesn’t happen overnight. It takes conscious effort, a willingness to challenge your current beliefs, and a commitment to continuous learning, but it can be developed if you use the right poker strategies.

Here are five key steps to help you build a growth mindset in poker, along with actionable ways to implement each one:

1. Reframe Mistakes as Learning Opportunities

One of the biggest differences between players with a fixed mindset and those with a growth mindset is how they respond to poker mistakes. Players with a fixed mindset see mistakes as proof that they aren’t good enough, while players with a growth mindset see mistakes as improvement opportunities.

Example:
After a session, a fixed mindset player might say, “I’m terrible at playing on the river, and I always make the wrong decision.” A growth mindset player would say, “I struggled with a few river decisions today. I need to review those spots and learn what I can do better next time.”

Action Steps:

• Adopt the “What Can I Learn?” Approach – After every session, pick one hand where you made a mistake or were unsure of your play. Ask yourself: “What could I have done differently? What factors did I overlook?”

• Keep a Poker Improvement Journal – Write down mistakes and what you learned from them. Over time, you’ll start to see patterns and recognize areas for improvement.

• Detach Emotion from Mistakes – They are data points, not personal failures. Mistakes are necessary for improvement because correcting them helps you level up your game.

2. Think Process & Not Results

Poker is a long-term game, and short-term results don’t always reflect skill level. A player with a fixed mindset is obsessed with winning every session, while a player with a growth mindset focuses on making the best decisions possible.

For example, a fixed mindset player thinks, “I lost money today, so I must have played badly.” A growth mindset player thinks, “Did I make solid decisions? If so, the results don’t matter in the short run.”

Action Steps:

• Shift from Outcome-Based Goals to Performance-Based Goals
  • Instead of saying, “I want to win $500 this week,” say, “I will focus on playing my A-game and making strong decisions in every hand.”
  • Instead of “I want to move up in stakes quickly,” say, “I will study and improve so I’m fully prepared when I take my next shot.”

• Track Decision Quality, Not Just Profits – After a session, rate yourself on how well you stuck to your strategy, controlled your emotions, and stayed focused irrespective of your results.

• Celebrate Small Wins – Improvement tends to happen incrementally. Recognizing progress (like successfully folding a hand you would’ve called before) reinforces a growth mindset.

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3. Challenge Yourself to Improve

Growth happens when you push yourself outside of your comfort zone. If you always avoid studying difficult topics or only play in easy games, you’re limiting your potential. A growth mindset thrives on challenges.

For example, a fixed mindset player avoids studying advanced poker concepts, saying, “I’ll never understand solver work—it’s too complicated.” Whereas a growth mindset player embraces the challenge, saying, “I don’t understand it yet, but I can learn step by step.”

Action Steps:

• Create a Structured Study Plan
  • Pick one skill per week to improve (e.g., c-betting, check-raising, bluff catching).
• • Study using a format that works best for you (videos, books, solvers, or coaching).
  • Apply what you learn at the table and review to see where you still have gaps.

• Play in Lineups That Challenge You – While game selection is important, occasionally playing in tougher games forces you to adapt and improve.

• Use the ‘Yet’ Technique – Anytime you catch yourself saying, “I’m not good at this,” reframe it: “I’m not good at this yet.”

4. Manage Tilt with a Growth Mindset

Tilt often stems from a fixed mindset reaction to variance. If you believe that bad beats and coolers mean you’re unlucky or cursed, you’ll struggle to stay composed and avoid tilt. A growth mindset allows you to accept variance and detach from emotions while staying focused on playing well.

While a fixed mindset player thinks, “I always get rivered in big pots. This game is rigged,”  a growth mindset player thinks, “Variance is part of poker. I made the right play, and that’s all I can control.”

Action Steps:

• Reframe Negative Thoughts
  • Instead of “I can’t believe I lost that hand,” say “I executed my strategy correctly, and that’s what matters.”
  • Instead of “I run so bad,” say “Variance affects everyone, and my long-term results will reflect my skill.”

• Use a Tilt Trigger Journal – Track what sets you off (bad beats, tough opponents, distractions) so you can be aware and prepare some coping strategies in advance.

• Practice the 6-2-7 Breathing Technique – Whenever you feel tilted, inhale deeply for 6 seconds, hold for 2 seconds, exhale for 7 seconds to calm down quickly.

5. Surround Yourself with Growth-Oriented Players

The people you surround yourself with have a big influence on your mindset. If you spend time with players who constantly complain about variance and blame bad luck, you’ll adopt the same negative outlook. Instead, seek out players who focus on learning and improvement.

Example:
Avoid players who engage in endless bad beat stories. A growth mindset player should spend time with players who discuss strategy, review hands, and challenge each other to improve.

Action Steps:

• Find a Poker Study Group – Join a community where players are focused on learning. If you don’t have one, start one with like-minded players.

• Follow the Right Poker Content – Consume materials from players and poker coaches who emphasize skill development and mental toughness.

• Be Open to Feedback – Instead of getting defensive when someone critiques your play, ask yourself, “How can I use this feedback to improve?”

I hope you can see that a growth mindset isn’t just a pop psychology concept. It’s a practical approach to long-term poker success. It can help you to handle losses with resilience, approach study with curiosity, and continually evolve as a player.

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Your Mindset Dictates Your Poker Future

We all know that poker is a game of skill, strategy, and mental resilience. But no matter how much technical knowledge you acquire, your mindset determines how far you’ll go. If you’re stuck in a fixed mindset (fearing mistakes, resisting change, or obsessing over short-term results) then you’re holding yourself back.

But if you embrace a growth mindset, you can open the door to continuous improvement and long-term success.

The best poker players aren’t the ones who never struggle. They’re the ones who learn from their mistakes, focus on quality decisions, push themselves to improve, and manage their emotions effectively.

By shifting your mindset, you’ll be able to handle variance better, continuously improve your skills, and develop the mental toughness you need to thrive.

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