Tackle the cleverest of rivals with a profitable set of methods.

Solely two rivals stay on the closing desk within the eleventh hour of gameplay: 22-year-old Welsh poker sensation John Tabatabai, the present chip chief, and this Norwegian woman whom nobody was betting on earlier within the day. It’s standing room solely right here within the disco room on the On line casino on the Empire in central London. Media folks mill about; they need to sense an imminent victory. At stake are a million kilos and, nearly extra gratifying, a coveted World Sequence of Poker bracelet.

Two months prior, “Annette_15” was taking part in on-line nearly completely. She’s performed hundreds of Web poker tournaments, profitable greater than 23 main on-line tournaments and incomes simply shy of $850,000. However at this time, on the eighth day of the World Sequence of Poker Europe inaugural occasion, Annette Obrestad is stay and within the flesh, the calm and picked up thriller woman on the closing desk. Obrestad is holding pocket sevens (7♥ 7♠), and John Tabatabai has a 5 of spades and a six of diamonds (5♠ 6♦). Obrestad raises; Tabatabai calls. After the flop (7♣ 6♣ 5♥), Obrestad has three of a form, and Tabatabai has two pair. Obrestad bets, Tabatabai raises, and Obrestad responds, “I’m all in.”

The seated onlookers stand in unison. Tabatabai removes his glasses. “I name,” he says, smiling however visibly uneasy. Each closing desk rivals are all in. The winner might be determined within the subsequent two playing cards. 

– – –

An integral a part of the sport of poker is finding out every of your challengers, and Annette Obrestad is a scholar of statement. She scans the desk, reads intentions, and picks up what to the layperson is totally indiscernible. She considers each potential play in each distinctive state of affairs. Predicting your rivals’ strikes is close to unimaginable, however in the event you can determine their logos and tendencies, you need to use this data towards them. 

Obrestad discovered the sport on the keyboard, battling a sea of faceless opponents. She assesses her opponents earlier than the primary card is even dealt. “Folks give away ‘tells’ manner too usually,” she says. She’ll usually play together with her playing cards hidden, forcing her to place 100% of her consideration on the opposite gamers on the desk.

It’s roughly 1 / 4 previous midnight. Obrestad clasps her arms collectively and bows her head, thick black glasses concealing her feelings. The flip is the 2 of spades (2♣). Obrestad nonetheless has the lead. Your complete room is on its toes. The river is the queen of hearts (Q♥). Obrestad cracks a smile—the primary “inform” she’s let slip within the final eleven hours. As stacks are counted and the winner is decided, Obrestad sits again in her chair, her eyes welling with the belief that she is now the youngest competitor and the primary feminine participant to win a World Sequence of Poker bracelet. The poker world has topped a brand new champion. Her title is Annette Obrestad, and tomorrow is her nineteenth birthday.

Nervousness is the cleverest of challengers. A masterful opponent, Nervousness research our weaknesses, our vulnerabilities, our wants. It captures our pure responses to menace, exaggerates them, and turns them towards us. It hijacks any softness in our persona traits. It feeds us false data, conveying that sure actions are extra threatening than they really are. And it creates a set of beliefs that causes us to again away to security as a substitute of step ahead into the face of menace. As your challenger, Nervousness is trying to exploit any vulnerability you might need inside these domains. 

Utilizing Annette Obrestad as our mannequin, we have to examine and predict Nervousness’s strikes so we are able to create a profitable set of methods. Are you sport?

Textual content tailored from Stopping the Noise in Your Head: The New Technique to Overcome Nervousness and Fear, HCI Books, 2016.