A Cute Puppy
After a weekend of dealing with the fall out of ”Kate-gate”, silly footballers making an exhibition of themselves, silly politicians creating more serious gaffes and ‘foot in the moth episode’, losing money on a pair of aces getting beat by a mug with Queen seven unsuited, and finally having to explain myself for the one hundred time that the internet is not an obsession but away of communicating but the medium is not the message I thought it would be great to get back to some hardcore poker.
But to do this sometimes you have to rewind your body and mind to deal with the stress of lying and judging the voracity of the tells that you get from your opponents. So here are a few tips for that endeavour. By the way I hope you like the absolute cute picture of the puppy, and, hopefully the BBC will relent and bring back ‘One Man and His Dog’ the greatest calmer ever invented.
Fuel for the Body:
Many people like to fill up before a poker tournament because they do not want to get hungry during the game, but eating a big meal before hand can cause you to need to go to the bathroom during the game. This is bad because it will break your concentration. If you have to hold it in you are thinking about not making a mess and can start to make bad decisions. What you need to do is to start eating well balanced meals 2 weeks before the tournament. Proper meals on a regular schedule will regulate when you have to use the rest rooms and when you will want to eat. Before the game you will know how often you will get a break and when the start time is and can create a schedule around that time table.
Fuel for the Mind:
Play some chess or do some sudoko before a big tournament. This helps get your mind exercised and mentally alert. I also like to read a serious newspaper to further activiate my intellectual self.
Practice:
Before going into any big money poker tournament it is important to spend as much time as possible playing poker. The more hands you play the more you will learn, and the better you will get. I personally will spend up to 5 hours a day in an online casino or poker room, and then on the weekend I will go to the casinos and spend the entire weekend at the poker table with the exception of a few hrs a day to sleep. When I ht the casinos for these mini marathon poker weekends I like to put some wet wipes in my pocket just to make it easer to clean up so I do not have to leave the table.
A medium sized poker tournament can take as long as half a day before a winner is declared and the really big ones can take 2 days of playing. Sometimes you could be sitting at the poker table playing for up to 5 hours without a break in the game. This can take its toll on the body and the mind, so before the game arrives here are some ways to help prepare your mind and your body.
Work Out:
Spending so much time sitting and using your brain can be drain on your energy levels. It is very important to work out regularly. Once your body starts to feel tired your brain has already stopped working at 100%. A regular workout will stop you from falling asleep and keep you in the tournament. After a serious workout get a proper mesaage to get rid of the knots in your muscles.
Sleep:
The body needs on average 8 hours of sleep every day to keep your brain functioning properly. for at least a week before the tournament you need to make sure to not only get 8 hours of sleep every night you need to make sure to get to bed at the same time every night and to wake up at the same time. This pattern of rest will help the body and the mind stay at their best when you get to the poker table. You would not want to be all sleepy and yawning during the game.
Brush up on the Fundamentals:
Before playing in a poker tournament especially if there are big stakes involved it is always good to go back and relearn to play. Many poker players like to read books on poker tips and tricks as well as different strategies, and before going to a tournament you should bone up on all these things again. It is also good to watch as many poker games as you can. This will help you study the players and break down their strategies. If you can break down the strategies of the other players you will have a big advantage over them.
Following these recommendations have helped give me an advantage during several poker tournaments and the more I play, the closer I get to winning the pot of gold.