Everyone I know can play pretty solidly even if then are really tired and have been eating fast food all day. On the other hand, I will play terribly unless I'm very well rested, am in a good mood, and I've been eating well for the past day or two. Is there a way to minimise the impact of these factors or do you think this could be the placebo affect?

Why not just eat well, get enough sleep and stay positive?

Alternatively, read pp. 266-269 from The Poker Mindset, because the only thing you can't easily control is your mood What I mean to say is that the "mood" part of your game requires some serious forethought.

I've been reading "The Mental Game of Poker" which is probably the most helpful poker psychology book ive seen thus far. It has some great approaches to help you play you're A-game more often and your C, D, and F game much less often.

Ideally though, you would be practicing both good mental control AND good sleeping, eating, and excercising routines. It's pretty unanimous that a healthy body leads to a healthy mind.

Sleeping and eating properly as well as exercise will definitely help with emotional issues at the table; of course, a strong conceptual understanding of variance is crucial too.

Big fan of Tendler The Poker Mindset reinforces much of The Mental Game. I mentioned it because I'd just read a section on "emotional separation" toward the end of the book.

Sometimes you might be eating and sleeping right, exercising as you should, but still be "moody" at the table. In these cases, it's because non-poker issues (i.e. important stuff) are on your mind, so, generally, if you can't "separate" this stuff from your game, then you shouldn't be playing This is pretty much what Tendler calls "accumulated emotion". Best not to learn the hard way.

You probably just don't notice their mistakes as often as you notice your own. Some are better at this than others obviously and you may be worse than most but it effects everybody.

When I learned poker in the 1960s and 70s, playing extended sessions (72 hours or more with only a few power naps) was considered an essential experience for a top player. There are parts of your brain you can reach by sleep deprivation that are not accessible in normal functioning. It is a tool for many forms of intense learning, as well as brainwashing. Playing under other forms of stress also helped you develop your game. These experiences help you know yourself, which is necessary to be even a competent poker player, and knowing yourself is the key to knowing others.

I believe these things are still true. So if your goal is to use poker to solve your emotional issues, it's expensive therapy. If your goal is to avoid letting stress and emotion degrade your game, only play when you are rested, relaxed and centered. But if your goal is to become the best poker player you can be, you should exploit stress, including lack of sleep, worries, distractions and other things to build up your game. The payoff is not only becoming a better poker player, but self-knowledge and other-knowledge.

^ I wish I'd learnt poker in the 1960s. Sounds like a lot of fun. Pre HUD.

But, seriously, 72hr sessions making you a better player? Curious.

Poker affords one of those "unhealthy" lifestyles. It is difficult at best to try and maintain a healthy lifestyle when you are sitting the majority of the day and often eating junk food on the road. Conditioning your body to operate under these circumstances takes experience, and you should also try to set aside time for exercise and rest.

I try to exercise at least 4 times a week and force myself to sleep at least 6 hours a night, but it is sometimes difficult. You also need to strive for balance in your life, whether home, work, personal to assist with mood and emotional equilibrium.

Not having the proper balance will catch up with you and your game, maybe not right away, but will start to factor into your decisions. You may not notice it immediately, however, it is just another form of tilt that can occur. Many people will tell you from personal experience that if you struggle to find this balance, playing your A game will be difficult.

Read books like "The Poker Mindset" and "Poker, Your Worst Enemy", and "Poker, Your Best Friend" to get additional tips on this. Hopefully you can find a way to balance these important aspects, something I'm still working on as well.

I agree. Like anything, what You do to the extreme. It increases your self knowledge, but you have also to pay a price for this knowledge. Price for sleep deprivation is very high. I pay the price (depression), but I still do not regret my longer sessions.

Poker was more fun in those days, but I was younger, lots of things were more fun. Overall, I'm happier in my 50s, more wisdom (I hope), more comfort, more contentment, less fear. But less fun, for sure.

72 hour sessions improve your game in three ways. First, if you can't survive them, you get out of poker and save yourself a lot of time and money. Second, playing under any sort of stress forces you to dig down deeper and develop extra skills (if you're too tired to remember and compute, you'll have to rely more on psychology and table feel). You will be surprised at how much talent you possess that you never knew you had, and also how many glaring weaknesses you conceal when you're rested and strong. Finally, the brain wires differently when deprived of sleep. Building those circuits for effective poker playing gives you a source of unconscious insight you can use all the time.

There are trade-offs, as lapka says. The training can be unpleasant and have unhealthy side effects. Also, if you train your mind for poker, you're not training it for other things. There are good and bad things about poker players. Perhaps most important, your training will be heavily influenced by people around you. If you train for poker among losers, crooks and cheaters, you may be left with skills that undermine you among good people.

I am only just coming to terms with the discipline involved in this game after playing for a few years

I have always lived a very unhealthy lifestyle and i know it has a detrimental effect on my overall game,how much i do not know

I may find out soon though as i am seriously thinking about using the 30 day exclusion feature on pokerstars so i can work on my physical and mental well being by getting into the routine of exercising daily and completely changing my diet,possibly starting with some detox program

I have used the self exclusion feature on pokerstars many times,normally for short periods of time up to 7 days

They must have had some good coke back in the 70's . . .

^ Stu Ungar can attest to that.

For me, everything OP mentioned I try to optimize the best I could. Im trying to convince myself that these factors are a placebo but Im finding myself taking it somewhat seriously over time. Because, it generally does feel like it makes a difference with how I feel at the table, and how I do at the tables.

food- I dont not want to eat any food inside the casino, unless im mid session and up a bunch. I dont want any garbage food like burritos and ramen noodles, I dont want anything that will take all my energy to digest and leave me groggy and drunk feeling, or anything that will run through me. I definitely dont want to be drinking or drunk. One or two drinks at the table is ok for me but its not something I do too much.

rest- as long as I havent pulled an all-nighter drinking and being out im fine. The 65 mile drive takes a bit out of me getting there and if im tired im just not into the game at all.

diet- for the most part, I do eat somewhat healthy/normal. I dont really drink soda, I dont eat fast food too much, I cook my own food on the stovetop or grill. I eat a lot of lean meat and cook with a lot of vegetables. I am an active outdoor person with cycling, road and occasional BMX style when i feel like it, even taking the old skateboard out for a while going to the skate park to mess around, thats just a bit of outdoor activites i take part in. Also having a job that requires actual physical work so I count that as good exercise as well.

Im 25 years old so Im thinking im in my peak right now but who knows. I feel like im slowing down.


I try to be clear headed, calm, aware, ready, I like to eat an hour or two before I leave (65 mile drive) if I feel like Im going to win I usually do, if I dont then I will usually be card dead and just float the night.

It may sound very cliche but I always get these gut feelings like Im not winning tonight or tonight feels good. It usually holds up. Maybe im setting myself up here i do not know.

This 72 hr session has made me curious though

Do you sit at the table literally for 72 hours? no breaks? no sleep? no shower? how much money should you take? how many rebuys? what was your preparation list for this undertaking?

Basically, doing the "right" thing will rarely if ever have negative results.

It's hard to quantify just how much it helps, but it does.