Heads Up With Phil Galfond

In Episode 8 of Heads Up With Phil Galfond, Phil coaches Chris Vitch, a three-time WSOP bracelet winner, 20-year poker pro, longtime mixed-game coach, and BTG member, through a problem Chris believes has capped his ceiling for years: wanting to do everything himself.

Have you found success at mid or high stakes, but feel you haven't reached your full potential? Phil's group coaching program, Beyond the Game, may be for you.

Learn more about BTG, and apply to join, here: https://www.joinbtg.com/

What begins as a conversation about hating group projects and struggling to delegate quickly becomes a deeper discussion about control, stubbornness, and the need to be right. Chris opens up about why he has trouble trusting other people with work he could do himself, why losing someone else's money can feel worse than losing his own, and how self-criticism can turn healthy accountability into an attempt to control outcomes that were never fully controllable.

Together, Phil and Chris explore what it actually takes to let go: accepting that someone else may do a job differently, deciding when 80% is enough, and separating the work only you can do from the work that simply consumes your time. They also dig into the hidden tradeoff between freedom and growth — especially when money is no longer the only thing driving your decisions — and why finding the right collaborator may matter more than simply hiring help.

Find Chris at the following links:
Chris's YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/@deathdonkey
Get coached by Chris and use solver app: http://lab.deathdonkey.com
Chris's coaching seminars with Alex Livingston: http://mixedmindspoker.com

Whether it's this call or another, Phil and his guests explore topics including: navigating poker and life professionally, overcoming mindset blocks, improving decision-making under pressure, building healthier relationships with control and uncertainty, and creating the habits needed for long-term success.

Timestamps:
02:10 — Doing Everything Yourself
07:56 — “Confidently Wrong”
12:41 — When Self-Criticism Goes Too Far
17:16 — Why Letting Go Is So Hard
22:01 — Delegating Without Expecting Perfection
31:09 — When a Fun Project Becomes a Job
38:05 — What Control Is Costing You
47:08 — Starting Fresh With a Collaborator
55:12 — What Matters When Money Isn’t the Goal?
1:00:41 — Big Fish in a Small Pond?
1:09:02 — Manager vs. Partner: What Chris Actually Wants
1:19:02 — AI Projects, Too Many Ideas & Finishing What You Start

Find Phil on:
X / Twitter: https://twitter.com/philgalfond
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phil.galfond/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@phil.galfond

Remember to subscribe for more podcast content like this episode, and turn on notifications so you don't miss future poker podcasts, coaching conversations, and live streams.

Producer: Thomas Deming-Henes
Brand Design: Dan Deming-Henes
Creative Specialist: Quentin Cardinal-Juneau

In Episode 6 of Heads Up With Phil Galfond, Phil coaches Daniel G through a challenge many ambitious poker players face but rarely recognize: what happens when you have too many good opportunities.
Have you found success at mid or high stakes, but feel you haven't reached your full potential?
Phil's group coaching program, Beyond the Game, may be for you.
Learn more about BTG, and apply to join, here:
https://www.joinbtg.com/

Welcome to the Heads Up With Phil Galfond Podcast, where we listen in on a coaching call between Phil and a guest. In these episodes, Phil coaches the guest through whatever is holding them back from what they want to achieve.

What begins as a conversation about building a poker career quickly evolves into a deeper discussion about focus, ambition, and the hidden cost of chasing every exciting opportunity. After leaving behind a successful career outside poker, Daniel finds himself pulled in countless directions—live poker, streaming, content creation, studying, entrepreneurship, and more—all while trying to determine what success actually looks like.

Together, Phil and Daniel explore why financial freedom can make decisions harder rather than easier, the importance of defining a meaningful North Star, and how clarity often comes from committing to fewer things instead of more. Along the way, they discuss identity, long-term vision, skill development, creativity, and the tension between maximizing enjoyment and maximizing growth.

Whether you're building a poker career, starting a business, or simply struggling to decide which opportunities deserve your time, this episode offers a practical framework for making better long-term decisions without losing sight of what matters most.

Phil and his guests explore topics including: navigating poker and life professionally, building long-term focus, overcoming mindset blocks, improving decision-making under uncertainty, and creating the habits needed for lasting success.

Timestamps:
00:00 Shiny Objects & Avoiding Friction
01:03 Episode Intro
02:39 Daniel’s Return to Poker
06:44 Why Online Poker Doesn’t Motivate Him
10:27 The Appeal of High-Stakes Live Streams
13:11 Twitch as a Poker Improvement Tool
15:05 Building a Poker Lifestyle Business
18:50 What Does the Ideal Poker Career Look Like?
23:56 Finding a North Star
29:11 Does Building an Audience Matter?
33:24 Too Many Irons in the Fire
40:34 Does Daniel Even Need to Play Online?
47:28 What If Money Were the Only Goal?
54:37 The Private Game Could Be the Answer
59:46 Turning the Private Game Into a Real Project
1:04:40 Shiny Objects Can Be an Escape From Friction
1:09:40 Which Activities Actually Support the Goal?
1:13:20 Optimize What’s Working Before Moving On
1:17:59 Final Thoughts: Focus on Mostly One Thing

Remember to subscribe for more podcast content like this episode, and turn on notifications so you don't miss future poker podcasts, coaching conversations, and live streams.

Producer: Thomas Deming-Henes
Brand Design: Dan Deming-Henes
Creative Specialist: Quentin Cardinal-Juneau

In Episode 6 of Heads Up With Phil Galfond, Phil coaches Daniel G through a challenge many ambitious poker players face but rarely recognize: what happens when you have too many good opportunities.
Have you found success at mid or high stakes, but feel you haven't reached your full potential?

Phil's group coaching program, Beyond the Game, may be for you.
Learn more about BTG, and apply to join, here:
https://www.joinbtg.com/

Welcome to the Heads Up With Phil Galfond Podcast, where we listen in on a coaching call between Phil and a guest. In these episodes, Phil coaches the guest through whatever is holding them back from what they want to achieve.

What begins as a conversation about building a poker career quickly evolves into a deeper discussion about focus, ambition, and the hidden cost of chasing every exciting opportunity. After leaving behind a successful career outside poker, Daniel finds himself pulled in countless directions—live poker, streaming, content creation, studying, entrepreneurship, and more—all while trying to determine what success actually looks like.

Together, Phil and Daniel explore why financial freedom can make decisions harder rather than easier, the importance of defining a meaningful North Star, and how clarity often comes from committing to fewer things instead of more. Along the way, they discuss identity, long-term vision, skill development, creativity, and the tension between maximizing enjoyment and maximizing growth.

Whether you're building a poker career, starting a business, or simply struggling to decide which opportunities deserve your time, this episode offers a practical framework for making better long-term decisions without losing sight of what matters most.

Phil and his guests explore topics including: navigating poker and life professionally, building long-term focus, overcoming mindset blocks, improving decision-making under uncertainty, and creating the habits needed for lasting success.

Timestamps:
00:00 Shiny Objects & Avoiding Friction
01:03 Episode Intro
02:39 Daniel’s Return to Poker
06:44 Why Online Poker Doesn’t Motivate Him
10:27 The Appeal of High-Stakes Live Streams
13:11 Twitch as a Poker Improvement Tool
15:05 Building a Poker Lifestyle Business
18:50 What Does the Ideal Poker Career Look Like?
23:56 Finding a North Star
29:11 Does Building an Audience Matter?
33:24 Too Many Irons in the Fire
40:34 Does Daniel Even Need to Play Online?
47:28 What If Money Were the Only Goal?
54:37 The Private Game Could Be the Answer
59:46 Turning the Private Game Into a Real Project
1:04:40 Shiny Objects Can Be an Escape From Friction
1:09:40 Which Activities Actually Support the Goal?
1:13:20 Optimize What’s Working Before Moving On
1:17:59 Final Thoughts: Focus on Mostly One Thing

Remember to subscribe for more podcast content like this episode, and turn on notifications so you don't miss future poker podcasts, coaching conversations, and live streams.

Producer: Thomas Deming-Henes
Brand Design: Dan Deming-Henes
Creative Specialist: Quentin Cardinal-Juneau

In Episode 6 of Heads Up With Phil Galfond, Phil coaches Jason P., a mid-to-high stakes online no-limit pro, on building a coaching career around the work he actually wants to do - and confronting the fear of judgment that can make putting yourself out there feel harder than the work itself.

Have you found success at mid or high stakes, but feel you haven't reached your full potential? Phil's group coaching program, Beyond the Game, may be for you.
Learn more about BTG, and apply to join, here: https://www.joinbtg.com/

What begins as a conversation about poker coaching quickly becomes a broader discussion about career design, marketing, discomfort, and choosing a path that leads somewhere you actually want to go. Phil and Jason explore the difference between avoiding work because it is misaligned and avoiding it because it feels uncomfortable, including the temptation to use technical poker coaching as an easier entry point into the kind of coaching Jason really wants to do. Along the way, Phil opens up about his own resistance to self-promotion, the fear of being judged for marketing yourself, and why simply letting your work speak for itself can hold you back. They also examine vulnerability in coaching, learning from your own struggles, and the value of asking a deceptively simple question before committing to a path: if you became wildly successful at this, would you actually want the life it creates?

Whether you're building a coaching business, considering a new career direction, or trying to separate genuine misalignment from the discomfort of putting yourself out there, this episode explores how to build toward work that fits you without letting fear quietly make the decisions.

Welcome to the Heads Up With Phil Galfond Podcast, where we listen in on a coaching call between Phil and a guest. In these episodes, Phil coaches the guest through whatever is holding them back from what they want to achieve. Whether it's this call or another, Phil and his guests explore topics including: navigating poker and life professionally, overcoming mindset blocks, improving decision-making under pressure, and building the habits needed for long-term success.

Timestamps:
00:00 Episode Start
04:00 Jason’s Poker Journey
07:15 Building a Life Beyond Poker
09:41 “The World Doesn’t Need Another Poker Coach”
13:52 Poker Improvement Is More Than Strategy
18:12 Finding the Work You Actually Want to Do
24:25 Would You Want This Path If You Succeeded?
28:28 The Brutal Reality of Creating Content
31:35 Building Without Urgency
36:37 Discomfort vs. Actually Not Wanting It
39:11 Fear of Judgment & Marketing Yourself
43:36 Are You Doing People a Disservice?
58:27 Can a Coach Admit They’re Still Struggling?

Find Phil on:
X / Twitter: https://twitter.com/philgalfond
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phil.galfond/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@phil.galfond

Remember to subscribe for more podcast content like this episode, and turn on notifications so you don't miss future poker podcasts, coaching conversations, and live streams. Producer: Thomas Deming-Henes Brand Design: Dan Deming-Henes Creative Specialist: Quentin Cardinal-Juneau

In Episode 5 of Heads Up With Phil Galfond, Phil coaches Diego through a problem few poker players ever expect to face: what happens after a life-changing win.

Have you found success at mid or high stakes, but feel you haven't reached your full potential? Phil's group coaching program, Beyond the Game, may be for you.

Learn more about BTG, and apply to join, here:
https://www.joinbtg.com/

Welcome to the Heads Up With Phil Galfond Podcast, where we listen in on a coaching call between Phil and a guest. In these episodes, Phil coaches the guest through whatever is holding them back from what they want to achieve.

After turning his very first Spin & Go into a $500,000 score, Diego suddenly found himself navigating six-figure bankroll swings, a massive Bitcoin position, and the pressure of deciding what to do with financial freedom he hadn't planned for. What begins as a conversation about bankroll management quickly becomes something much deeper.

Together, Phil and Diego explore the difference between building wealth and building a poker career, why financial freedom can be easier to lose than to appreciate, and how chasing additional upside can quietly put your greatest asset at risk. Along the way, they discuss identity, ambition, fear of missing out, and the surprising realization that the skill generating your income may be far more valuable than any investment.

Whether you've experienced a big score, struggle with bankroll decisions, or simply wonder when enough is enough, this episode offers a thoughtful framework for balancing ambition with long-term security—without sacrificing the goals that matter most.

Phil and his guests explore topics including: navigating poker and life professionally, making difficult financial decisions, overcoming mindset blocks, improving decision-making under pressure, and building the habits needed for long-term success.

Timestamps:
00:00 Episode Preview
00:37 From Micro Stakes to a $500,000 Spin & Go
05:49 The Decisions That Changed Everything
08:18 Losing Poker, Bitcoin & Almost Losing His Father
10:45 Why Skill Matters More Than Bankroll
14:05 Should Bitcoin Count as Your Bankroll?
19:34 "You've Already Won the Game"
28:20 Why Your Biggest Investment Should Be Your Poker Career
35:45 When Investing Starts Hurting Your Game
40:34 Your Greatest Asset Isn't Bitcoin
47:50 The Cost of Risking Financial Freedom
54:15 Making a Commitment
1:03:01 Beyond EV: The Real Question
1:08:47 The Writing Exercise That Could Change Everything
1:10:02 Final Thoughts

Find Phil on:

X / Twitter: https://twitter.com/philgalfond

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phil.galfond/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@phil.galfond

Remember to subscribe for more podcast content like this episode, and turn on notifications so you don't miss future poker podcasts, coaching conversations, and live streams.

Producer: Thomas Deming-Henes

Brand Design: Dan Deming-Henes

Creative Specialist: Quentin Cardinal-Juneau