Anyone ever feel like this around their 3rd hour of poker?

[Vincent]

I feel drained around the 3rd hour of consecutive poker. Maybe this is what stress is or feels like, I'm not sure, since I've had a pretty stress-free life (let me know if this is stress). My body feels tight, and I feel like I to stretch, and I constantly fine myself wanting to take deep breathes to relieve this tightness.

Is this feeling normal? Is there anything I can do about this? I'm thinking that instead of trying to playing longer hours of poker, I'm going to change it up and playing a couple hours, take a long break if needed, then play another short couple of hours. I may even do some exercise between sessions. What do you guys think?

[beyeond]

I think that's a good idea. Don't play uncomfortable or fatigued. And exercise is never a bad idea, especially for what most of us do all day.

[BluffTHIS!]

I play fulltime online and tend to play 2-3 3 hour "shifts" per day. Plus whenever I am hungry or need to go to the john, I just sit out on all tables and do so. Of course since I don't play tourneys this is easy and am not concerned about missing a couple orbits. Taking a break like this is especially good too if you are taking a beating to take a few minutes to re-evaluate your game, and whether you are in a bad seat relative to certain other players in which case it would be better to leave and come back later or just find a new table.

[Brettster]

I find that a drink or 2 always makes those symptoms go away.

[Daniture]

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Plus whenever I am hungry or need to go to the john, I just sit out on all tables and do so. Of course since I don't play tourneys this is easy and am not concerned about missing a couple orbits.

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buy a laptop setup a wireless network and take the computer to the shitter with you.

[BluffTHIS!]

From some of the sick sessions some guys around here admit to playing, may of them must be doing just that. Or else they're on a diet and have a 5 gallon bladder.

[PokerPadawan]

My neck gets tight from keeping my head in one position too long. My eye muscles do the same. You need to look at something far away far a minute or two every 15 min. This relaxes the eye muscles. Sit out on your tables, work your muscles vigorously and get the blood flowing again. Lay down to relax your neck. Try to be attentive to your head positioning and try to keep your head upright. This will ease the strain on your neck. Make sure you sit up straight and have good posture and placement of your monitor, keyboard, and mouse. My mouse is a bit too high and causes cramps in my hand.

Just make sure part of your brain is keeping track of your body and not your dealt hands. /images/graemlins/grin.gif Sitting still for hours on end is not natural for humans, so you must force yourself to move occasionally.

[WhoIam]

I call this "poker fatigue." I try to avoid it by playing in shifts of 1/2-1 hour at a time. I try to do something else in between, even if it's just walking downstairs and getting a glass of water. I get the same feeling if I stare at the computer screen doing anything for 2-3 hours. The best treatment I've found is to drink 1 beer. Don't chug it, just sip it slowly over the course of an hour or so. It shouldn't have any noticable effect on your game or concentration but it gives me a second wind.

[Dan BRIGHT]

I guess im an anomoly in being able to sit down for 10 hours straight.,

[_TKO_]

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I guess im an anomoly in being able to sit down for 10 hours straight.,

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B&M this is no problem for me. I think online is different because I'm seeing 3-4 times as many hands. This makes 3 hours quite lengthy when playing online.

[BigPoppa]

I need to develop the discipline to only play 3-4 hours at a time. I find that I get my best results after about that long and that I'll start bleeding chips the longer I play.

[Dan BRIGHT]

I tihnk I can do 4 hours 4tabling, but only because I need teh munchies amiiter