Esports teams are training on poker: how T1 and Taiwanese rosters do it

T1 were photographed playing poker at their training facility last year, and the coach later said in an interview that it was on the timetable. Two Taiwanese rosters picked it up this year.

The reasoning is blunt: decisions, reads, bankroll. Coaches say it’s the same muscle as ranked play. ’Whether you tilt at 40BB after losing a hand and whether you force a bad fight when you’re 5,000 gold down are the same problem.’

How they play it

Once a week, two hours, fixed stacks, no money. Whoever loses writes up the worst hand of the night and posts it to the team chat.

{"q":"Whether you can stick to the plan after losing a hand. That’s the thing we most want to train.","by":"A team coach"}