Unless the game has a lot of talkative players, or good action, my brain generally starts to tune out and I want to leave after about 3.5 hours of live play.

I work out, am in great shape, eat fairly well, sleep 8 hours, and even take a handful of supplements that are supposed to be good for the "brain".

I might talk to my doc about possibly getting Adderall, never tried it.

Any other tips ?

Obv if the action sux change tables

Stand up, take frequent breaks and walk around often; sitting on your ass fulltime has negative health impact

People occasionally get annoyed but eff em you're not there to appease random degenerates right?

I'm in terrible shape, barley sleep, and my backs in constant pain making me look like an idiot by sitting in awkward positions and doing weird stretches every 30 minutes.

But for whatever reason I seem to focus really well in live games, and always get distracted online, constantly checking my facebook inbetween hands or whatever.

I like to be social at the table so that helps. You should also pay attention to hands you're not playing in and get good reads on the players betting patterns and how they play top pair, flush draws, etc. That's pretty obvious stuff but if you're tuning out you're likely not watching and missing out on a lot of +EV spots because of it.

I've found that my focus can really start to fade after about 4 hours. I've tried to push longer sessions recently and got to 6 hours of decent play. I really think you have to train your mind for this stuff. The analogy isn't quite right, but u don't go from running 5km to a marathon without some serious in between distances.

Same for poker. You can't expect to go from good focused 4 hour sessions to food focused 12 hour sessions. You've got to try and work up to it.

Also when you're feeling the focus fading go get something to eat or even go take a short nap in your car. I haven't done that yet, but just writing that now makes me want to do it.

1. Practice. It's just like any other discipline. You have to teach yourself how to do it.

2. Take breaks. Take lots of breaks. Set an alarm and get up when it goes off.

3. Do NOT start taking Adderall just to focus at the table more. That's not what it's for.

Bingo.

Work your way up to it. You will be surprised when you can play 10 hrs solid poker no problem.

Really comes down to how much you want it though like a lot of things.

Also eat. That's huge. People tell me they play 8 hrs and don't eat. That's crazy to me. Don't overeat though. Makes you sleepy.

In addition to an app that tracks what I make per hour and where (Session Logger) I've also been in the habit of using SwissArmyKnife to set 3 timers when I play.
30 mins, 2.5hrs,4hrs. Attention at every junction. Should we play? Adjustments? And such. Take a small break, make a plan, then focus on strategy/exploitation strategy or table dynamics on a level that wouldn't have been possible before w extra distractions. Both Are available on play store

Pay attention to when you lose, or need additional focus.

Also, you sound young and somewhat smart but a little naive don't do something ****ing dumb like getting yourself on stimulants for poker

Try ****ing meditation

Incremental improvements. Stop looking for some magic advice that will help you be laser focused for entire sessions. You're not going to find it.

Pay attention to a hand. Narrate it in your mind. Just one hand. The baseball game will still be there in three minutes, but this moment, focus on this ONE HAND.

Pay attention to every detail, every action, every emotion expressed, every facial twitch. Pay crazy attention, for just three or four minutes.

Then start processing the information. What did you learn. What information can you use? Then implement.

After that you can go back to cruise control if you want. Occasionally tuning in to break down single hands that seem interesting. Eventually work your way up to watching two or three consecutive hands.

Start watching consecutive hands when you're in EP, then on subsequent hands when you're in LP, you'll have more opportunities to play. And lo and behold, you've just paid attention to six or seven hands in a row.

Incremental improvements. Stop looking for an 8 hour solution.

I usually set my timer for around 2 hours in between breaks and I've recently started a short meditation in between my breaks if I feel on edge or can't fully follow/concentrate on action/hands.

when you're not in a hand, try to hand read the players in the hand. figure out ranges for them. sometimes you'll see a showdown so you can figure out if you're ranging them correctly. do that for several thousand hours and you'll be way better at hand reading

and just because you're healthy doesnt mean much. i'm not extremely healthy and i have ADHD, i have easily (relatively) played 10, 15, 20 hour sessions without the use of meds (i've never played on meds). if you don't need meds, don't take them, they have some not so fun side effects.

like others have said, just work up to longer sessions, you're not going to go from 3.5 hours to 12 hours right away.

and maybe down the road, you may realize that you actually have a plateau of hours that you can play that you will never pass. that's not a bad thing if your a rec player (if you're a pro, well then that kinda sucks)

I play poker because I love the game. winning money is nice at 1/2, but even if I were able to sustain $20/hr over the long term we are not talking about any kind of real money. I'm hopefully I could log 200-300 hours per year going forward, so $6000-$9000 per year possibly.

Anyway, to my point. Obviously I don't play for money. I play for fun. But for me the bulk of that fun comes from having good results. If I'm playing poorly C-F game, poker is no fun. Even if I'm winning and playing terribly the game is less fun for me.

Poker is so rewarding when you are laser sharp throughout a session and paying attention to every little detail at the table. Not only does maintaining focus lead to great results but it makes the game such an enjoyable experience.

I think meditation may help to increase focus and just more time and experience just like any other endurance activity.

As simple as this sounds, I think my focus is maximized when I follow Hulk Hogan's advice to eat healthy, respect my parents, say my prayers and take my vitamins. My mind is tanked if I have interpersonal conflict, fatty or carb laden foods, or spiritual bankruptcy.

Re Adderall: I would be leary of the long-term side effects on the heart and on the brain. Those studies about MDMA in the 90s with the rats with the holes in their brains were actually the result of regular doses of orally ingested amphetamines. I understand stimulants do increase focus but I think that I would reach for coffee or an 8-ball before I got on the Adderall if I were a young man. Just call me clean living or a luddite I guess.

Lots of good advice here. Thanks everyone.

This is very good advice.

I was listening to a podcast yesterday, where the host suggests we should either be doing something (betting/calling/raising) OR actively doing NOTHING (observing). Either way, poker should never be a passive event and should keep your interest no matter how long your sessions are.

What was the podcast? I'm always interested in a good poker podcast

This.

4. Make sure your phone is fully charged.

It noticed that I play my longest sessions when I go through my "phases" of taking a gallon of water with me and take like hourly bathroom breaks per hour. I think the constant mini breaks help break up the monotony. Sure it might somehow hurt your hourly to miss a few hands per hour, but if it helps you play my hours it would be +ev

You must not want to be there then. Or you don't have a solid game plan. You should be there to practice or make money. Every time I go I have a set time I leave. Getting bored is part of the game. You're there to sit in a chair and see a many hands as possible in one visit. It's work, and definitely more enjoyable than a real job(or listening to your boss). Profit should be a by-product of the practice you put in and how well you can implement your edges in real-time. Don't go for fun; have fun in other ways. Poker is work that requires you to pay very close attention. If you can't be very focused, then other players that are focused will pick up on that.

Um no. I play my best poker when I'm having fun. It's also hard work but if you don't enjoy it why are you doing it?

For money. It's a much higher hourly rate than any job I can get without finishing up school. I enjoy playing games more than you could know, especially live NL Hold'em cash games. But when it's the same game for 50 hours a week, it's just not as fun. It'd be like going to Cedar Point every day. It's only fun for so long and it loses it's prestige.

Then we're talking about different things. Ya it's a grind and maybe you should back off 50hrs/wk if that's what you're actually putting in. That's a lot. My point remains. If you enjoy what you're doing you will inevitably do better.

Edit: I want to frame this somewhere.

Edit edit:
Fair enough explanation. Jobs are much better.

I play for money. Idk what else to say. Yes it's fun. Sometimes it isn't fun. But overall, I love being in a casino or card room. There's no place I'd rather be. It has it's ups and downs, like any job. It's a way to earn income and I'm glad I live in a country where that option exists. I've had a job for about two months now and it came out of the blue. Right now I make way less hourly at my job and it sucks, but shortly I'll make nearly as much as I would playing cards full-time. Then I'll do both for a few years and hopefully can quit my job. It's completely a financial decision to go play live NL Hold'em cash games. I put hard work into my game because I do not like losing money. Losing money is not fun, but it's part of the game. That's what makes it such a great game. If it wasn't for money, nobody would play. When in play with my good friends, then poker is an absolute blast!

So overall, you are what is called a "recreational player". I've always liked playing poker, but ultimately it is because of money that we all play. So once you see you can always make money playing, then you'll treat you as a business. At least that's how I see it. Someone can like fixing cars but I bet a mechanic doesn't like fixing cars all day, every day.