The Best Poker and Life Advice from Phil Galfond

Learn to Use Envy For Good

At the start of his career, Phil often felt envious of other players, his friends especially:

“My friend achieved something big – something I wanted, and I couldn’t be happy for him because I was busy feeling envious. Obviously, I kept it to myself. I felt terrible about the thoughts going through my head. I felt like a horrible friend.”

Phil started a long journey of questioning and re-examining his envy, drawing a few interesting conclusions:

1. It’s easy to be happy for your friend when their big score makes them 1/3^rd as successful as you are.
2. Envy isn’t about them. It’s about you.
3. The envied success just brings out your own self-disappointment because you do not have something that you want.

Without direction, envy can turn destructive. However, envy can also be used for personal growth — if you harness it the right way.

Firstly, follow your envy to find what you’re really yearning for, or as Galfond puts it: “This is the time to get clear on your vision of your ideal future and work backwards from it to goals, milestones, and first steps.”

Secondly, make a plan to reach that goal: “If it’s so important to you, what steps are you going to take to reach the next level in your career? Or to get in great shape? How will you make your priorities a priority?”

Finally, use your envy as motivation: “It’s one thing to know you want something; it’s another to make a plan, and it’s yet another to actually get off your ass and start working towards it.

There are many reasons we struggle to move towards the things we want (another topic for another day), but when we lack that motivation to push through the friction that lies ahead, envy can be our friend. Use it! Feel that envy. Let it give you the energy to push through the inertia.”

If you find the right way to manage your envy, very soon it will transform into inspiration that will drive you to success without toxicity.

Sleep Well to Perform Better

Although the benefits of great sleep are mora than obvious, poker players (along with their bad habits) often take sleep for granted.

Phil was one of these players for a long time, until he discovered the direct connection between sleep quality and performance at the poker table:

“If you’re a poker player — or in any line of work that requires “performance” (intense focus, high-level decision-making) — I’d argue that sleep is probably as impactful to your bottom line as any preparation or study you can do. Probably” because you can’t just sleep perfectly for years and never learn the rules of the game, just as you can’t study 24/7 and never sleep. Neither will lead to success in isolation. I’m assuming a more reasonable balance to your existing life.”

If you need to improve your sleep habits better, Galfond recommends implementing some (or even all) of these simple habits into your daily routine:

• Consistent waking hours (yes, including weekends)
• No alcohol
• Five or more minutes outside in the morning sunlight
• No caffeine after ____ o’clock (depends on your schedule)
• No binge eating before bed
• No blue light before bed

For adults above the age of 35, Galfond also has extra-advice — reduce the amount of fluid consumed before bed: “Once you’re ~35+, you also can limit liquids before bed to avoid waking up to pee during the night and risking not falling back to sleep.”

Do Not Avoid Discomfort

Having a stress-free life is something we all strive for, no sane person would argue against it. However, if you’re dependent on your comfort so much that important life decisions take a back seat to it, then you’ve got a problem. Too much comfort can slow down your personal development and even cause problems in the future.

To describe this problem more clearly, Galfond uses the simple example:

“Taking the stairs is healthier than standing on an escalator. Most of us want to be healthier, can take the stairs without pain, and aren’t afraid to. But how often do we choose the comfortable route anyway?”

It is very true for poker too — avoiding discomfort is one of the greatest mistakes you can make in poker, since it drives a person to repeat /faulty) routine at the table instead of improving their game.

But how to turn the tide and get uncomfortable? Galfond recommends to first develop self-awareness and use it to notice things that make you (un)comfortable at the table:

“To become more self-aware, you have to… checks notes … be more aware of yourself? This means paying attention to your thoughts and feelings. It means looking inward and reflecting. 

What makes you uncomfortable at the poker table? Or, perhaps better yet, what plays feel good and comfortable to make? And what are the opposites of those plays? If you really want to improve, take it further.”

When you realize which environment, spot, line of play make you uncomfortable, you discover possibilities for growth. Once you get this down, you’ll not only get opportunity to correct your mistakes but also become more empathetic, which will in turn give you more of an edge according to Galfond:

“The biggest edges in poker come from knowing what your opponent would do with certain hands better than they do – when your understanding of them exceeds their own self-awareness.  I’ve experienced this many times during my career – playing against someone who’s representing a hand that I know they can’t have. For me, it’s the most fun part of the game.

When you know what makes you uncomfortable at the table, you develop more of an intuition for what makes others feel the same. They won’t be exactly like you, so you’ll need to look at how they play.”

Set Achievable Goals And Pursue Them Right

Another obvious yet underestimated piece of advice for a successful poker career is adequate goal setting. Phil isn’t a fan of popular S.M.A.R.T. Goals framework, so he uses his own “floor and ceiling goals” one:

“The idea is to set a minimum (floor) goal and a higher bar (ceiling) that you hope to clear. This way, you get the chance to aim high without risking the loss of motivation that failure can bring.”

This system makes planning easier, helping to set each goal in three sort of dimensions:

“Minimum should be the least you can accomplish and still consider it a success. It should be realistic and attainable with a reasonable amount of effort. Target is more challenging than the minimum goal and requires consistent effort and dedication. Outrageous is a stretch goal that requires extraordinary effort and perhaps a bit of luck. It pushes you to think beyond your usual limits.”

For example, Phil split his $100,000,000 goal of poker profit on three levels of MTO:

• Minimum — $15,000,000
• Target — $50,000,000
• Outrages — $100,000,000

When you’re done with setting, you need to do the following:

1. Chunking Down — break each level of your goal into pieces, lesser milestones.
2. Tracking — use convenient methods to record and track your progress.
3. Accountability — find a person or people who will hold you accountable on your way to the goal.
4. Find the Meaning — write down your goal and analyze your reasoning behind it. Why do you set this one? What benefits do you expect to have? What would that do for you?

If you notice a tendency to set clearly unachievable goals, it can be helpful to talk with a therapist to find reasons behind it. Some people tend to self-sabotage, others set unachievable goals because they just try to find an excuse to change career. Therapists can help with identifying these issues and help you find the tools to work on them.