Joined: Dec '14
Location: Canada
Age: 55 (M)
Posts: 104
Hey folks. Just a point of curiosity here. I have heard a lot of people tell me that they play better poker if they have been drinking as opposed to being sober. I found that hard to believe as alcohol is known to impair judgement. Now I asked a couple of them why they think they play better after drinking and have gotten some pretty interesting ( and possibly true) responses. One friend of mine said that it helps him to relax his body more and it is harder to get a read from him. This made me pause a little to reflect on this... as we all know, only about 20% of all communication is verbal and the other 80% is body language and facial expression. So I guess in that aspect it may be a good thing as long as the judgement aspect is not impaired. As I said I did get some other interesting responses but we will stick with just this one for today. So give me your thoughts on alcohol and poker being mixed. Does it make you a better player or does it hinder your play?
Joined: Mar '09
Location: Canada
Age: 36 (M)
Posts: 3207
Nope stay clear. Poker's a skill game and i may have many skills after some beer that i didnt have before, pole dancing, singing, peeing off balconys ect. But poker aint one of them.
Some people claim to better drivers after a drink or two. I doubt it. Furthermore ,it will be hard to measure, because it's difficult to do a double blind test, in order to prove it, as subjects notice the effects of alcohol. Your question can't be answered here because all you can possible get is some anecdotal evidence. People may believe it has an effect on them (be it positive or negative), but that does not make it so.
Joined: Oct '14
Location: Germany
Age: 41 (M)
Posts: 429
Some people claim that, but in my opinion this is total nonsense. If they are playing better poker when they have been drinking as opposed to being sober, then there poker skills can not be very sophisticated.
Joined: Mar '09
Location: Greece
Age: 47 (F)
Posts: 14136
Probably you are talking about live play. Having this in mind, i think that a drink can really relax you a bit. But you have to have the will to stop drinking as we all know one drink brings another If you fail to do so, then you are going downhill. Been there while playing online
Joined: Mar '14
Location: Slovenia
Age: 41 (M)
Posts: 255
Posted by GtodaM001: Hey folks. Just a point of curiosity here. I have heard a lot of people tell me that they play better poker if they have been drinking as opposed to being sober. I found that hard to believe as alcohol is known to impair judgement. Now I asked a couple of them why they think they play better after drinking and have gotten some pretty interesting ( and possibly true) responses. One friend of mine said that it helps him to relax his body more and it is harder to get a read from him. This made me pause a little to reflect on this... as we all know, only about 20% of all communication is verbal and the other 80% is body language and facial expression. So I guess in that aspect it may be a good thing as long as the judgement aspect is not impaired. As I said I did get some other interesting responses but we will stick with just this one for today. So give me your thoughts on alcohol and poker being mixed. Does it make you a better player or does it hinder your play?
I play best when i have some good skunk to smoke, keep my mind up via coffee, especially on longer turneys it helps me like nothing else, can just lay back and fold fold fold fold fold play fold fold fold fold fold fold play otherwise i go more like play play play fold play fold play play play finished...
can play "by the book" only if i smoke some, otherwise i dont rly bother with positions and such
Joined: Mar '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 45 (F)
Posts: 2261
I don't think drinking makes your poker skills better but it might relax you and give you some dutch courage.If you can play well after a drink then obviously you could play just as well or maybe better if you are stone cold sober.Alcohol alters your brain chemistry so decision making is going to be affected,it is a fine line between being relaxed and making bad decisions. Saying all that,a bottle of red during breaks never did me any harm.
Joined: Dec '14
Location: Canada
Age: 55 (M)
Posts: 104
Too true too true. As far as the people that think that a little alcohol makes them better drivers I can say without a doubt that that is an imossibility. Just so you know I am a member of Mannville Fire and Rescue. I have seen the effects of alcohol on a driver and unfortunately the effects of the others involved in those incidents. I have had to cut vehicles away from bodies far too many times and a lot of the times the driver pretty much walks away. I have had many tell me that the booze was no factor in the collision but I beg to differ. Please think of everyone else on the road if you have been drinking there are so many options other than getting behind the wheel yourself. Sorry dude about this tangent... but I get very passionate about this subject. I will hush now.
Joined: Jan '13
Location: Canada
Age: 45 (M)
Posts: 1066
I work a job that requires drug testing however my consumption anymore is limited but I find smoking a joint really helps to keep me calm and at peace as long as I am not high as hell to the point I cant think. I find I get into a zone after a couple puffs and am relaxed with a clear mind....
if I break out the beer, I have to rely on luck but not too often I play when drinking!
Joined: Jan '12
Location: Tunisia
Age: 31 (M)
Posts: 664
Drinking alcohol isn't a great idea while playing poker especially when you take it seriously or grinding for living since the level of your concentration will decrease which will affect your play and thus playing stupid. Indeed after drinking alcohol you will have less control of your emotions which mean a high probability of tilt and giving more damage to the bankroll.
Joined: Mar '14
Location: Japan
Age: 50 (M)
Posts: 8946
Feeling good, better, sexy, fearless, or even invincible under the influence of alcohol or narcotics (relative level of intoxication and the tolerance level/degree to those substances greatly vary among individuals) does not automatically make one a better poker player, especially online when no one in the world gives a f*ck about it.
Edited by Tony_MON7ANA (07 December 2014 @ 06:51 GMT)
Joined: Oct '12
Location: Ukraine
Age: 58 (M)
Posts: 296
Hi, everybody.
As clever people "Tell poker as well as the woman doesn't love strongly drunk". And if it is serious, I played at a table with two Swedes and two British probably the strongly drunk. It was чтото unimaginable.
Joined: Mar '14
Location: Slovenia
Age: 41 (M)
Posts: 255
Posted by host85: the all thing is that with alchool you feel like superman , but is just a sensation . poker should be played without alchool and drugs .
and why should it be?
I have a stressfull life smoking pot helps me keep my mind on the game and really gets me to play way better than when i am stressed. Everyone should play the way they get better results in the end. If its a girl between legs pleasing them or playing with one eye closed or jumping on one leg, its the end result that matters.
Here in local pubs private rooms we smoke pot / drink alchocol almost everyone at tables, some do coke.
Joined: Jan '13
Location: Canada
Age: 45 (M)
Posts: 1066
POT HELPS me save the lives of the donks at the other end of the table. If it was not for pot i would have probably been charged with murder by now !!!
Joined: Aug '14
Location: Germany
Age: 43 (M)
Posts: 766
Hey folks, I have to tell you that I am quite drunk at the moment. I know I should not play poker in that condition, but somehow I can not resist. And I can tell you that things are going pretty good so far. Lets see.
Joined: Oct '11
Location: Sweden
Age: 32 (M)
Posts: 1410
In my opinion, the people saying they play better poker if they've been drinking are absolutely correct, at least from their own point of view. It's all in their own heads. As have been pointed out before, people get a lot of different abilities after having a few drinks but poker just isn't one of them.
The only way you would become a better player is if you get ultra aggressive and in the long run, the aggressive style can be profitable.
Joined: Mar '14
Location: Japan
Age: 50 (M)
Posts: 8946
People care much less about spending (or throwing away) money when they are under the influence. Plus, they will not satisfied with pitiful amount of profit and eventually take unnecessary risks seeking continuous adrenaline rush, which most of the time would lead to self-destructive downward spiral followed by utter emptiness. Never good enough for some people! I have been there hundreds of times and am still alive! LMFAO.
Edited by Tony_MON7ANA (16 December 2014 @ 12:18 GMT)
