I'm very ADD and have a tough time focusing on just one thing. I play 50nl on Bovada, use hud, etc, 4 table, but still find myself browsing reddit, facebook, etc during my sessions, having a podcast on in the background, or constantly multitasking, only REALLY focusing when I'm involved in playing or reviewing a hand.

Part of this is because so many players tendencies at these stakes on Bovada are the same, and I've convinced myself I don't need to focus on every little detail as I can be profitable on pretty much auto pilot for the most part. I'm sure as I get into higher stakes this will have to be eliminated and sure its probably a good thing I kick the habit now, but curious how many of you do the same?

I may start with shorter sessions, but I usually convince myself that a table is too good, or there's a fish I don't want to leave to be able to take a break and get kicked from the table from missing too many bbs.

play more tables?

4 tables is the max Bovada allows unfortunately

I only play live in a casino, but I'm not one of those guys that watches movies on his tablet or surfs the web or anything. At most I listen to a little bit of music, but even then, I only have one ear bud in since I like to know whats going on in the game.

When I'm playing, I'm only playing and listening to music. All the time waster sites like Reddit and Facebook are good between sessions to wind down, but doing it during a session is -EV. You can really get away with playing an ABC style at the micros, but you're never gonna win a reg battle while multi tasking.

Also, studies have proven over and over that humans do way worse when multi tasking compared to just concentrating on one task.

i generally just have some chill house music playing....kygo, klingande etc etc...pretty calming type music playing in background...

sometimes end up listening to chicagojoey podcasts, but really its just background noise so that I dont get too bored between hands or whatever..usually am not really focused on listening to what hes saying while grinding

I used to listen to music and read articles here on 2+2 while playing,since I learned I wasn't supposed to multi task every time I feel the need of doing something that isn't focusing on the current hand then It's time to take a break.

I try to play as focused as I can,if I can't then I don't play at all and go do something else. (Usually related to poker)

Interesting. I'm ADHD, which means that if I have more than one thing going at a time I will get lost. I never ever do anything else while I'm grinding because I know all too well what the inevitable outcome will be. Even listening to certain types of music is risky for me because I find myself getting too caught up in it and daydreaming. So all in all, for me multitasking isn't an option if I want to make any money. On the plus side, I deleted my facebook awhile back and don't really visit any time-waster sites except this one now, so there's not much out there to distract me.

WildBilly~ I'm "ADHD" as well and the issues you're describing resonate with me to he utmost degree.
Despite what it does to my appetite and my overall mood, Adderall is a staple for me when playing poker. Without it my mind will most certainly wander.

Over the past four years I have underwent a radical change to my diet ie: eating clean, drinking only H2o and tea, exercising more frequently as well as adding yoga/mediation/breathing exercises into my daily routine.
Throughout the transformation, I have noticed a huge difference in my overall energy levels and ability to focus.

I strongly recommend you look into some of the above methods as they have helped me immensely both with life and my ROI.

Best of luck tackling the beast that is true flow!

I only play live poker, and sometimes I'll listen to my music(but it's never really loud) and aside from that, it's grind, grind, grind.

If there's such a thing as being too focused, that might actually be me---I watch EVERY hand and all of their body language, as well. I just find it fascinating how people act and react to things and I just don't wanna miss out on any of it. Sometimes someone will try to start a conversation with me and I'm actually tuning them out without even realizing it because I'm overly focused on the hand that's being played(and thats when I'm not even in the hand). I think it's OCD.

Absolutely. I actually used to be prescribed Adderall back in college and although it did help me snap into beast mode for getting things done, it destroyed my appetite and sleep so I eventually got off it. There's no doubt it would help me focus immensely while grinding, though.

I smoke cigarettes while I play. It's not a good thing, but I do it. If I get really bored I'll get food and just chill out and eat until the action picks up. A casino with a good deli is like a really big side benefit for me.

I'm not the type to play video games/listen to music/surf the web/watch porn/program software/paint/read a book/order antiques/etc whatever while also playing poker.

It's not irregular for me to pull a 24+ hour session either though so our attention capacities are probably way different.

true, however i'm primarily talking about online grinding which i think is a bit different than live play when it comes to distractions

I'm at that same point, I found subbing the adderrall for a clean and healthy diet plus lots of exercises and meditation completely erased my need for the addies. Smart move getting off it. It is designed to help establish the routines needed and then get off. Too many are dependent like I used to be.

I like listening to music and podscast while grinding, I find it a great way to put up longer sessions without quitting and I feel it doesnt affect my game that much.

When Im down to 3-4 tables (I play 12-15 at peak hours) Ill open YouTube and watch videos while finishing them, is just pointless to stare at 3 SNGs and dont do much else, I easily get bored.

I do think podcasts are more distracting than music, but I still listen to them when Im upswinging or on a easy sess, I love how they keep me company while grinding.

When it comes to music while grinding. Much research has shown that video game soundtracks or music of that nature is great for staying focused. As, the music is meant to keep you focused so you can complete the next level of the video game and advance to the next stage, etc...

I have found that video game music or purely instrumental music works very well while grinding.

I have to agree with Ramabranch in that podcasts are more distracting given the dialogue aspect of the cast. It is best to play these at the when on an easy session or upswinging as mentioned above.

Music distracts me to much, because I relax too much then and it is too much of the automatism, no learning - forget to include the stakes, betting patterns and stuff, I basicly play like computer program preflop, but the problem is, I play like that when listening to music also postflop, and this doesn't bring a lot of profit. It still may because of good preflop play, but it is not worth.

I did smoke a lot when playing. Gosh, I picked up a habbit when I couldn't play without smoking a joint before every session of 1 hour being played. I got paranoid, avoidant, panic, and I stopped smoking. I also did smoke cigarettes not long ago, but even for this I realized I relax too much, or better said, around 20% of the brain is used for this - watching where I'm putting it, how I "puff" out of the window so the room doesn't smell (perfectionism at its best), plus the cold coming from the open window. I still do sometimes, but not so much, because I'm trying to play best possible ROI when I do play.

EDIT: Cerebral, good idea about nature songs. Maybe some "zen" music would fit, too, or something similar without lyrics ... so that the music just "is". And the poker just is. And the decisions just are. And emotions just are. And time doesn't exist. And yeah, as if only it would be that easy.