In chapter 29 of A-Game Poker, Elliot Roe explains where Detrimental Mental Programs come from, why they exist, and how they quietly block you from playing your true A-game.
The Role of the Subconscious Mind
Roe starts by contrasting two parts of the mind:
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Conscious mind
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The part you’re aware of: deliberate thinking, analysis, decision-making.
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Subconscious mind
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The “background operating system” that:
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Controls automatic body functions (moving, breathing, posture, etc.)
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Manages perception, pattern recognition, and fast reactions
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Runs learned mental and emotional habits
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Because life is far too complex to manage consciously, the subconscious builds mental programs to automate behavior and keep you safe.
Key idea:
Your conscious and subconscious are both trying to help you—but they don’t always agree on what is actually good for you, especially once you’re an adult.
When Helpful Programs Become Harmful
Mental programs originally form to:
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Help you survive
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Help you fit in and avoid danger (social, emotional, or physical)
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Reduce cognitive load by turning repeated responses into habits
A program becomes detrimental when:
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The environment it was protecting you from no longer exists
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It was built on bad or incomplete information (misinterpretation, childhood misunderstanding)
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Your subconscious wrongly labels something as “dangerous” that is actually neutral or beneficial
So a program that once felt like protection can later act like a brake on your potential.
Childhood: The Source of Most Programming
Most of your mental programming is laid down when you are young:
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As a child, you have no manual for “how to be human.”
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You absorb beliefs, rules, and patterns from:
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Parents and caregivers
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Teachers and authority figures
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Friends, classmates, and social groups
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In this phase, the subconscious:
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Tries to figure out:
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What is safe vs unsafe
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What is right vs wrong
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What gets approval vs rejection
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Builds programs that help you:
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Stay accepted
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Avoid punishment or pain
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Navigate school, home, and social dynamics
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From the outside, some of the triggering events might look trivial.
But to a child, they can feel huge—and can shape lifelong emotional responses.
Examples of Detrimental Mental Programs in Poker
Roe gives several common poker-related programs to illustrate how this works.
1. “Poker is basically just luck”
If, deep down, you’ve absorbed the belief that poker is nothing more than gambling:
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You won’t treat it as a skill game.
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You won’t feel motivated to study or improve seriously.
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You might play casually “for fun,” like using a slot machine.
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During downswings, you’re more likely to think:
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“Why bother? It’s random anyway.”
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Even if consciously you know poker is skill-based, years of hearing family/friends dismiss the game can bleed into your subconscious and weaken your work ethic.
2. “Money is bad, and rich people are bad”
If you grew up hearing messages like:
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Wealth is immoral
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Rich people are greedy or corrupt
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“People like us” don’t make that kind of money
…your subconscious might:
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Cap what you feel “allowed” to earn
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Make you uncomfortable once winnings surpass what feels normal or acceptable
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Drive subtle self-sabotage:
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You go on heater → then tilt, punt, or lower your standards
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You always seem to end back at a familiar comfort level
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This functions like an internal money thermostat that pulls you back down whenever things go “too well.”
3. “I’m just not the kind of person who’s good at math”
If you heard messages like:
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“Our family isn’t good with numbers.”
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“It’s okay, you’re not a maths type.”
…you may have internalized an identity of “non-math person.”
At the poker table or in study:
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Challenging calculations trigger that identity.
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Instead of:
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“This is tricky, let me work it out,”
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you get:
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“This is not for people like me,” and you give up instantly.
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This becomes a self-fulfilling loop:
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You avoid maths → you stay weak at it → this confirms the belief → you avoid even more.
Given how important probabilities, ranges, and EV are in modern poker, this program is a major barrier to long-term success.
How to Spot a Detrimental Mental Program
Roe links this chapter back to an earlier question:
Why am I not already doing what I know I should be doing?
Any time there is a gap between:
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What you know is required to reach your goals
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And what you actually do consistently
…there’s almost certainly a subconscious program in the way.
Signs of a Detrimental Mental Program:
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You repeatedly avoid or procrastinate on key actions (study, volume, review).
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You limit yourself around money, stakes, or results even when you’re capable of more.
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You adopt fixed identities (“I’m not disciplined,” “I’m bad with numbers,” etc.) that justify inaction.
Core Message of the Chapter
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Your subconscious is not trying to sabotage you—it’s trying to protect you, based on old data.
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Many of these protective programs were formed in childhood, when you were vulnerable and lacked context.
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Those same programs, left unexamined, now block your poker development and life goals.
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Recognizing these patterns is part of the path every true A-Game Player must walk—whether with a coach or on their own.