In chapter 19 of The Mental Game of Poker, Jared Tendler lays out a practical system for turning fear into clarity by using structured thinking and writing to remove the uncertainty that feeds anxiety.
Why Fear Needs Structure
Fear persists because important questions in your mind go unanswered. When those questions stay unresolved, they quietly undermine confidence, decision-making, and focus. Tendler’s core idea is simple:
fear shrinks when uncertainty is turned into workable information.
Writing is the main tool because it moves vague worries out of your head and into something you can analyze and improve.
Step One: Get Fear Out of Your Head
The first move is to write down:
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your fearful thoughts
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the questions behind them
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what you are worried might happen
This externalization clears mental clutter and allows you to think more rationally while playing.
Strategy 1: Playing Out the Fear
This method takes a feared outcome and follows it to its logical end.
You start with:
“What’s the worst that could happen?”
Then keep asking:
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Why is that bad?
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What would that lead to?
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How would I feel?
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What would I do about it?
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What is the best response or solution?
As you continue, fear transforms into a series of practical problems that can be solved. Instead of being paralyzed by vague anxiety, you find specific actions that move you forward. The goal is not to erase fear, but to prevent it from blocking progress.
Strategy 2: Turning Fear Into Answerable Questions
Many fears are based on questions that either:
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cannot be answered yet, or
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are phrased in a way that creates helplessness
So the process is:
1. State the question
For example:
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Am I good enough?
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Will I make it?
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What if this downswing never ends?
2. Reword unanswerable questions
Questions about the future are replaced with ones about what you can control, such as:
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What can I do to handle downswings better?
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What would increase my chances of long-term success?
3. Answer them honestly
These questions are not silly or weak. They are legitimate. When you answer them thoughtfully, you create certainty about your process, even if results remain uncertain.
Why This Works
Poker will always contain risk and unknowns. What creates fear is not uncertainty itself, but having no strategy for dealing with it.
These two writing methods give your mind a framework for responding to uncertainty rather than being overwhelmed by it.
Core Message
Fear is not eliminated by reassurance—it is eliminated by clarity.
By playing out your fears and answering the right questions, you replace anxiety with direction, allowing you to act, improve, and keep moving forward even when outcomes are uncertain.