Joined: Nov '09
Location: Canada
Age: 55 (M)
Posts: 2387
September means back to school, back to work and vacation time is over, so recently I started to get back into a routine with my poker playing. I am currently working on my multitable grinding, and I find that after a while I have to pay attention not to get into some bad habits. My question today is: How do you maintain or regain your focus during a long session? Do you take a break every hour? Have a smoke? Have a coffee? Lately I find just mentally thinking about the hands I want to be playing and in what position helps me to get back on track. Let me know!
The best thing to do is take breaks when you play cash games I think. When you never stop playing for like 3 hours or more your brain slows down and you don't pay as much attention to small details wich can really make the difference IMO...
Joined: Mar '11
Location: Croatia
Age: 43 (M)
Posts: 1738
for me its more of a question on how to gain focus to start with than having to regain it after . seriously now, a 5 minutes break on a mtt means a cig break in my dictionary. during that time i replay all major plays i just made and try to correct what i think start to go wrong. doesn't always work but proved effective on many occasions to stop doing it (and yes, i have tried it without the cig and its not the same thing, all i think about is the cig i could be having lol). dont take me wrong thou, i was a very active smoker till 2 years ago. from then on i managed to cut down to 2, 3 cigs a day tops... even thou those i can't let go
Joined: Mar '11
Location: Germany
Age: 55 (M)
Posts: 1242
@Jibberish: Interesting idea, I guess I will try this one. Normally I try to make regulary short breaks. For smokers - like me - you can combine the necessary braek with smoking a cigarette.
Joined: Apr '09
Location: Portugal
Age: 44 (M)
Posts: 4827
First two hours are the easiest period. You entered what you intended to be a long tourney, which means you dont expect to leave early, and if things are running well, its all about interest in the game. After the first two hours many things can happen: either you go look at the ranking and you find yourself on 1000th position with a 3000 field and prizes for the first 250 and you start to tilt because you are still too far away from the objectif, although its still possible to get there, or you start getting ungry, wanting to go to WC, thinking about whats on TV, looking for a site not-poker related so you can keep focused and things can be bad here. The best is to be able to stand up, move the chair away from the PC, playing on foot, get some new concentration and appetite to continue playing. For those who start playing laying down on sofa, most of times happens that they fall asleep after three hours playing. Keep focused by anyway!
Joined: Feb '11
Location: Ireland
Age: 51 (M)
Posts: 476
i try to take regular breaks with regular cups of coffee to substitute for the cigs as i gave them up,if that fails then just do what dozno suggests lol
Joined: May '09
Location: India
Age: 37 (M)
Posts: 4873
i dont play long sessions usually but when i have time to do so, i take lots of breaks and take coffee/chocolate during them. and play some nice music in background
Joined: Mar '09
Location: Greece
Age: 47 (F)
Posts: 14136
If its ring games i take breaks every now and then by sitting out for about 10 mins. Clears the mind and sometimes changes the variation In tournies the 5 min break is a time to pour some drink and make a small walk around
Joined: Apr '11
Location: Romania
Age: 35 (M)
Posts: 6669
Nothing special here really, i never had this kind of problems during a session but again i'm a cash games player so i never play longer sessions than 2 hours or so...
I know on mtt players a long session can mean up to 24 hours and i must admit i don't think i can play at 100% for such a long period of time...
Joined: May '11
Location: Canada
Age: 34 (M)
Posts: 979
Posted by Moesie-what: I always get a big stack in the beginning but cant hold the pressure too long so i fall and lose everything at the end try to work at that
sounds like your a type of person to push all in first hand with any 2... and keep doing it
Obviously taking a break is the best solution... that is keeping yourself away from the computer screen for a while (For how long? Its up to you...) To do what? Once again its up to you, it can just be a walk outside, prepare something to eat etc...
Joined: Nov '09
Location: Canada
Age: 55 (M)
Posts: 2387
Alright! Some interesting responses so far: having a wank, kicking a cat... Have to say that so far simply thinking about the hands I want to play and in what position is working for me. Often after a couple of hours I start to play too loose and get impatient, especially when donks call monster raises with AA and I get them cracked by K4 (almost had them cracked by 2-6o after raising 12bb and the flp comes 2-6-8 rainbow, luckily another 8 on the river saved that one). Anyways, just focusing on going back to playing the way I want to play is helping. GL
Joined: Mar '09
Location: Greece
Age: 47 (F)
Posts: 14136
The funny things with cats is when you step on their tail by accident, they freak out, they freak you out, and then is when you want to kick them but at that time they are long gone lol
Joined: Feb '11
Location: Canada
Age: 39 (M)
Posts: 1660
Ha ha, definitely rub one out. It's always been my sure fire cure for a bad beat. followed by a warm shower and you'll be relaxed, refreshed, and ready to take the money. Cat's are a hassle they never last more than a few kicks.
Nothing special for me neither... I think keeping focus and composure is mental thougness basicly. And people who win in poker are mentally though and structured.
When you lose a nice chunk of your stack, don't think about the loss it won't help at all. Just play your best with the stack you have to get back up and never forget poker is all about timing!
