I have some serious concentration issues when I play and I am working on ways of improving. There really seems to be a variety of opinions on eating bananas while playing and it really has me thinking. Some people say that with bananas they can really zone in and play their A-game while others say it negatively effects them. I have eaten bananas on occasion but never really while playing. The thing that has kept me from doing it more often is that sometimes I really freak out and it sucks.

So my questions are: Do you eat bananas while playing? Does it help or hurt your game? How So? Also, tips on not freaking out would be appreciated as well

they can be neutral EV, or -EV, depending on how good u are and how much ur affected by them....they CANNOT be +EV though, at least PLAYING-WISE...theyre not gonna make u play BETTER per say

HOWEVER, they can be massively +happinessEV which means, saving tilting, not being affected by big hands, basically they regulate ur emotions pretty well, which saves u money........

per say

Blast some Lil Wayne Dedication II when your playing online

if you don't like hip hop try Pink Floyd dark side of the moon

I also smoke cigs (I promise I'm quitting forever after new years but not bananas ldo) so this calms my nerves when I get deeper in a mtt. I'll smoke a cig every 15 minutes if I'm like final three tables and it sounds dumb but it helps my game.

but when I peel bananas i'd say it doesn't help or hurt my game online

but live is a different story. I play at two home cash games (1/2) and these are known as the smokers game. Everyone brings their own bananas and we peel the whole time. after a while everyone is just so laid back and the game becomes pretty tight. I do get in a zone live on bananas and just become a statue while playing. I grin a lot but i'd say it helps my game in the long run.

to prevent freaking out, just have positive thoughts and hopefully you run good so it will keep your mind off things

If you freak out while under the influence, bananas are not going to help your game. If you regularly partake I think they definitely help in keeping you grounded. Basically if you already eat bananas on a daily basis then eat while playing, if you don't eat bananas on a daily basis it's probably not a good idea to start with the intentions of it helping your poker game.

edit: you freak out because you're f***** up. People that argue it helps your game are people who don't get f***** up when they peel bananas because they do it so often it doesn't effect them that much, definitley not enough to freak out, because they regularly partake.

Since I quit regularly eating bananas and playing poker after eating banans (i.e. since leaving Vegas) I am on a six-fig downswing and I have a -75% ROI in online MTTs. Concidence? I think not.

QFBananaLovingT

yeah when u get some bananas next time just take a few light tastes, the reason ur freaking out is cuz ur overconsuming

music + adderol = $$$$

BC bananas are the illest.

I just got this comment on my blog:

"sup Devo your blog always rocks dude been readin it on pokerroad for a couple months…

question.. i think i know a brownie is a hundo but whats a banana? cant think of any of our money bein yellow ‘less its a loonie"

this

You can do them while playing MTT's cause MTT's are pretty easy/there's one obvious optimal play. Cash games are about constantly adjusting and using information from a hand that such and such happened etc. I guess I use it more now for anti-tilt than mandatory because I have to wein myself off it to travel across to different countries sometimes. HIV made a good post imo.

from a cash perspective, eating bananas is both good and bad; I peel at least one daily so I'm used to the feeling but I find that I have to always play less tables, and that I always get ridiculously curious about hands, and so turn into a bit of a station, which depending on the table can be either a terrible or a great thing. sometimes it literally feels like I can see inside people's souls after eating bananas; they always make me excited to play the game, which I guess is a good thing.

I vote bananas.

yeah def this

Eating bananas every day of my life yo.

i'm getting a half o tomorrow, i have been fresh out of bananas for the past 2 days and i did not play a single hand of poker those 2 days.

i'm not sure if it's possible to quit smoking cigs if you're not gonna quit bananas, i mean, nothing like a menthol after you just get done blazin, add in a coffee too, i can't drink coffee without a cig =[

you light banana's on fire?

fyp

Also, since i just had just consumed a banana I did not elaborate my thoughts on the subject on a significant profound level. Had I not been multitbling this wouldve been easier tow rite but w/e. I've been enjoying bananas regularly for about 8 years, and still am. As I've never really played long stretches without having had banana parties, I'm not the one to judge wether or how much +EV they are. All i can say is they make me think about every single hand three times, which is never a bad thing imo.

If you're uncomfortable with eating bananas in any way there will be a risk of major EV loss when freaking out, out prolly minor overall EV loss as well, as you will be thinking of all kinds of other stuff you really don't want to be focusing on at the tables.

will write more when it pops in to my head...

QFT

Conserta is a viable substitute... except that ****'ll keep you up for days.

Trust me.


Also, I have pretty sick ADHD and have a hard time concentrating while only plying 1-4 tables... so when I eat bananas or take aderaol/etc I can concentrate and thus dont' spew.

yea this is true, I started smoking cigs on the reg after weed obv, but imo its easy for me not to smoke weed for weeks but i smoke basically a pack a day now, so for once im going to take my new years resolution serious and stop smoking, been since march 05, need to stooooooooooooop

coffee and cigs ftw

yeah i smoke a pack a day too, i can go weeks without bananas, but i deft feel an urge and crave it when i don't have it....not to the point like cigs where i can't even function or live without a pack.

to those of you saying adderall = win? I'm sorry, maybe it's because I actually have adhd so i get no effect, but concerta? people take recreationally? OMG i remember taking that in school...i hated it, worst feeling ever, no idea how anyone takes adderall and concerta recreationally, pretty bad drugs imo. Much rather pop xanax, percocet, or vicodin, all 3 are farrrrrrrr better.

+1 for the daily 20-pack

Working hard on getting down to 5...

Also, i can go months without bananas, or any kind of fruit really, but not a day without them sticks...