Hi eenvis:
My comments are below.
best wishes,
Mason
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Originally Posted by eenvis
It feels like lately I can't focus at all when playing. There's no awareness, no clarity, and I feel like I have to overthink even the simplest spots and still can't come to a decision.
I could be wrong, but I suspect that what is happening here is that you have moved to learning/memorizing a very large an unmanageable number of situations. Thus you feel over whelmed.
A better approach is to stick with a smaller and more manageable number of concepts that govern your poker strategy and bring them into play (in your mind) when ever a decision needs to be made.
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Whenever I'm reviewing spots where I had some trouble I can pretty easily come to a conclusion on how to solve it. But it feels like in the moment I just can't focus enough to reach the unconcious competence or data to make the correct decision.
Unconscious competence is garbage. If it was required for playing poker it would mean that you would have no longer than two or three seconds to make a decision. Poker is not the same as having only an instant to hit a fast moving tennis ball.
In fact, this may be where your problem is. By forcing yourself to make instant decisions in situations that can take time to consciously analyze, your mind is not able to bring in the proper concepts and you get nowhere.
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Even though I know I've played a certain spot well 20 times before without thinking twice about it.
I'm using ritalin for my ADD for about 2 years now, even though I'm not really sure if it's still that effective.
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I exercise almost daily but have terrible sleep patterns and even after a good 8 hours sleep I feel groggy when I wake up and feel like sleeping quite often 2 hours after waking up.
There's a big difference between being mentally tired and physically tired. Most good players can still play quite well when physically tired, but if you stay awake for let's say two straight days and become mentally tired, expect your strategic game to deteriorate.
It's also possible that you've played too much poker over a long period of time. For instance, it you were to play poker 40 or 50 hours a week and have done this for a long time without a break, your brain may be getting mentally tired relative to poker. A short vacation should do the trick.
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I saw a video where some pro was talking about Adrenal Fatigue and how that was holding him back for a while and he described some of the things I can relate to. He basically said his adrenals burned out of playing so much poker that they didn't produce enough hormones to focus anymore so he could never play his A-game.
Why wouldn't you always play your A-Game. To not play your A-Game means that you would begin to make plays that you know are wrong. I don't know anyone who does this. Of course, you may enter a state like tilt which can affect your decisions, but that's something different from the A-Game C-Game non-sense most of these poker mental coaches talk about.
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Anyone have experience on "Adrenal Fatigue"? Or any other thoughts on what it could be that could give me trouble focussing?
What does focusing mean? Obviously when playing poker you need to pay attention. And to hit a 95 mile per hour fastball requires intense concentration, sometimes called focus, and unconscious competence. But this is not what happens at a poker table.
Best wishes,
Mason