If you are exactly 25 years old today, you have 16,425 days until you’re 70, the average age on Earth where most people die. If you are 30, you have 14,600 days. If you are 35, you have 12,775 days. If you’re 40, you have 10,950 days. If you’re 45, you have 9,125 days. If you’re 50, you have 7,300 days.

When I first read those numbers, it triggered something in me. I realized my time isn’t infinite. I’d never actually counted the days. I’m grateful to have thousands, but when age is an abstract concept in your mind, it doesn’t seem real.

If there’s one thing I have learned from playing No Limit Hold’em to feed myself for most of my life, it’s that you need to get value from your bets. There needs to be a purpose to why you’re playing. You have to go in with the right mindset and crush, as opposed to grinding without focus.

In recent years, I’ve watched many European regulars in my game become some of the best players. Many of them have only been playing poker for one or two years, but play much better than some grinders I know who have been playing for seven years.

Are these Euro grinders geniuses? Not usually, but they’re smart in another way. Every one of them I know studies constantly. They review hands with friends who play poker, coaches, or in a new forum dedicated to discussing poker in their language. This way, they are not just wasting their time with thousands of standard hands every time they make time to learn. They are focusing on what is hindering them specifically.

If you want to learn how to play the piano, you don’t just play a song you know. You play new songs. You play harder songs. You play the exact part of the new song you have trouble with. You do it again and again. It feels awkward at first. It’s dispiriting. Soon, your dexterity in all of music improves as you continually challenge yourself. All sorts of good things happen.

I know many of you are just glazing over this. No one thinks they have to study. They think poker is like sex: you’re either born with talent or you’re not.

Nothing could be further from the truth. When I think of the students of mine who are the most demanding, they are the all-stars. One is ranked in the top ten in the world. Another just made $200,000+ the other week winning a PokerStarsWCOOP event and the 888 Poker major. Another was playing $10 tournaments when I met him a year ago. Now, he has 10 players playing for him and he’s recognized as a solid high-stakes reg.

What did all of these guys have in common? They got value from their hands. Mindlessly grinding will get you nowhere if you’re not learning from the hands you misplayed. It’s like blindly stabbing cadavers and telling someone you want to be a surgeon. You need a road map. You need to analyze your mistakes.

When you play, get value from the hands you botched. Mark them. Make a point to look at them later. If you don’t understand what you did wrong, ask more experienced friends what works for them. Study the statistics side of the game to see if a mathematical analysis will give you an answer. Watch training videos on the topic. Whatever you do, just don’t go back to the tables the next day having not thought about it.

The quality of your study is what reaps rewards. You and your buddies sitting around talking hands is one thing, but oftentimes this breaks down into “I feel this move works more.” Well, prove it. Sit down and mathematically prove it. Check your answer with someone who has been successful for years. Then, check it with another person because that guy could be wrong.

If you can’t prove your play is correct, why is that? This is supposed to be a serious endeavor of yours right? Learn how often your bets need to succeed in order to be profitable. Learn how to crunch ranges more effectively with Flopzilla. Get out there and make this happen.

This extends to the rest of life as well. I used to live a very typical life of a grinder. I was high all the time and playing tournaments. At some point, I wasn’t getting value from my days and that bored me. I was tired all the time and was just at the computer like a rat hitting a button for his food pellet. I knew I didn’t want to live that way.

I got sober to get more out of my life. I wanted to be up, awake, alert, crazy, working on things, and laughing because I really felt it.

Every day there is something to improve. I eat, a lot – all day, every day. I’ve struggled with my weight at several points in my life. I’m in shape now, but to control myself, I always make sure I have fruits in my refrigerator, but no unhealthy snack foods. I end up munching on apples constantly and feel full and energized. I don’t eat crap food that slows me down. This doesn’t mean I’m smart or have self-control. I just put myself in a spot where I can’t mess up.

I like coffee in the mornings. I got one of the best ones on Earth from Costa Rica. It’s rocket fuel and feels great in your stomach. When I lived in Seattle, I’d drink whatever was in this nasty pot at a Greek restaurant in the mornings. It felt like it was scorching my stomach lining and filling me with bull’s blood. Such a simple thing, coffee, but we can get so much from it as well.

Do you ever feel at a loss during the day as to what to do next? Do you feel like it’s easy to drift off? Make an office. Turn off Skype, YouTube, instant messenger, the TV, everything. Don’t let yourself leave that office until you’re done with the work you want to get done. I never can understand how poker players have their work life next to all of their personal stuff. Sequester yourself, get a whiteboard, write down what you want to get done, and cross your goals off.

Read Part 2.

Alexander AssassinatoFitzgerald has been a professional poker player since he was 18. A large winner in cash games, SNGs, and tournaments, Alex has amassed $3,000,000+ in tournament earnings alone. Alex is an instructor at PocketFives Trainingand can be reached for private lessons at Assassinatocoaching@gmail.com. You can also follow his Twitter@TheAssassinato or his blog at Pokerheadrush.com. He currently resides in his suburban home in Costa Rica with his girlfriend and poodle.

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