But running into this issue latley.

Due to family reasons, I have to be home by 6pm, 4 nights a week. The other 3 nights, no time constraints for when I can leave a poker game.

I'll hit the Casino usually at 1pm (card room opens 12'30), then grind till 5 pm, then head home.

My problem is, during that last hour 4-5pm, my play changes. With that hour timer ticking down, occupying brain power and distracting me.

-if I'm stuck I'll chase more / make riskier plays

-if I'm up big, I'll go in lock down mode, and won't take correct higher variance lines

-if I'm up a little, I'll play a tad looser, to try and be up more than just a little by the time I leave.

3 huge mistakes I know. Doesn't happen when I have the freedom to play my game and not be forced to leave at a certain time the other nights of the week.

I need to fix this ASAP. I wish I was strong enough to ignore the fact that the 60 min timer is descending and just continue to play my A game.

Any rules you guys can give me to plug this leak?

thank you

But running into this issue latley.

Due to family reasons, I have to be home by 6pm, 4 nights a week. The other 3 nights, no time constraints for when I can leave a poker game.

I'll hit the Casino usually at 1pm (card room opens 12'30), then grind till 5 pm, then head home.

My problem is, during that last hour 4-5pm, my play changes. With that hour timer ticking down, occupying brain power and distracting me.

-if I'm stuck I'll chase more / make riskier plays

-if I'm up big, I'll go in lock down mode, and won't take correct higher variance lines

-if I'm up a little, I'll play a tad looser, to try and be up more than just a little by the time I leave.

3 huge mistakes I know. Doesn't happen when I have the freedom to play my game and not be forced to leave at a certain time the other nights of the week.

I need to fix this ASAP. I wish I was strong enough to ignore the fact that the 60 min timer is descending and just continue to play my A game.

Any rules you guys can give me to plug this leak?

thank you

You could try this simple trick: when you get to the casino, set the alarm on your phone to ring at 5:30 PM for example, if you need to be home by 6. Put the phone in airplane mode, vibration mode, and place it in your pocket. When you feel the vibration, you know it's time to leave the table.

That way you will not know what time it is, and also avoid other distractions as well, staying focused on just the game.

You could inform your friends that you are unavailable while playing poker, and they will leave you a message to get back to them once you're finished.

You could try this simple trick: when you get to the casino, set the alarm on your phone to ring at 5:30 PM for example, if you need to be home by 6. Put the phone in airplane mode, vibration mode, and place it in your pocket. When you feel the vibration, you know it's time to leave the table.

That way you will not know what time it is, and also avoid other distractions as well, staying focused on just the game.

You could inform your friends that you are unavailable while playing poker, and they will leave you a message to get back to them once you're finished.

I'm in a similar situation, but I have to be home by 3-3:30 PM and can only play 3-4 hours at a shot (the game tends to start between 10-11 AM). Frankly, what you describe (up to a point) seems normal to me. Beyond that point, it can be an issue.

So, I'll ask you some questions:

What do you enjoy, besides poker?
Do you like a little alone time?
Is there something you like to eat that isn't available at home?

What I started doing is leaving a little early and stopping by Starbucks for a drink and a sandwich. Maybe Taco Bell (I like their Burrito Supreme). I'll sometimes stop by the Quick Quack Car Wash and spend some time detailing the car (yes, I enjoy that).

Could be something else entirely. Once I went to Nordstrom's and bought a hat.

My point is that you take that extra hour and do something that relaxes you. However, if you're still playing your A-game, screw the extra trip and stay in the game.

The first question I'd ask is why you are or need to play 7 days a week? This seems suboptimal to me. The easiest intervention you could make is not play those 4 nights. If money is an issue, get a part time job those days. If not, work on your self development.

Poker is my primary source of income. I take 1-2 random days off a week depending on how I'm feeling / if I'm not 90+ % mentally.

If you're playing 7 days a week you're not going to feel good mentally on a regular basis. I would take 2 days off, scheduled every week in advance, on the short days. For your long sessions, you want to feel 100% keyed in and not jaded because you have spent x days in succession without a break.

good advice, ty.

My rule would be immediately leaving the table as soon as you notice this impacting your thought process in any hand.

You're welcome. The thing that most people don't understand about psychology and interventions is that there are no quick or easy solutions. If there were, no one would be overweight and everyone would exercise.

We are driven by some very basic physical and psychological needs that it's often very difficult for our logical brain to override. A psychologist can help guide you to overcome these urges, but ultimately you know yourself better than anyone so at some point it's going to be down to you.

Hi Everyone:

Let me follow up on what Elrazor says.

There are two ways to get tired. The first is physically tired which can happen after a hard workout in the gym. And the second is mentally tired.

To explain mentally tired and its affect, just ask yourself why we all need a vacation every now and then. And I do agree that once you're mentally tired your decision making process can be impacted.

A common example in poker of being mentally tired is late in a tournament when an inexperienced player, who is now approaching life changing money, makes a horrendous play. Another example is the cash game player who plays day after day and his game degrades.

So, I think Elrazor's advice is very good. Enjoy life on your days off and then probably enjoy better long-term poker results.

Best wishes,
Mason

Mason,

This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about in the other thread where I was referring to mental preparedness, ala a pre-game routine. There you insisted that:
Granted I'm talking about pre-game preparation and you're talking about being mentally tired from extended playtime. However, there are many, many things in life that stress our mental state that has nothing to do with poker. A pleasant pre-game routine gives us a refreshing pause and a reset that clears the mind.

Details aside, we are both talking about the mental state of the player, not just the knowledge of how to play winning poker.

Your only solution seems to be that we should take a vacation (even if it's a small one) from poker. While I agree with that, I just don't think it's the only solution.

Jay

Hi Jay:

I have no issue with a "pleasant pre-game routine." If you think this works well for you then that's fine with me.

Also, I was referring specifically to being mentally tired as opposed to physically tired. Getting mentally tired means that we do need to a break every now and then, but I also write about other states that players can fall into which will cause their game to degrade:

https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/s...38&postcount=1

Best wishes,
Mason