Fatigue and length of play time
 

I was wondering how long the better non-tournament players play in a session/day/week?

How they deal with fatigue issues?

How they know when they are becoming fatigued? What then, coffee? Call it a night altogether?

I realize that the better the session, the longer one stays in and fatigue is minimized. I am speaking on average, day in day out.

thx [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Fatigue and length of play time
 

I really have difficulty doing more than 5-6 hours in my normal games in Los Angeles. Mostly because I wind up doing other stuff during the day. So I'm not able to go 8-10 hours. In Vegas, I usually get 10 hours a day.....maybe 4 earlier...around 3-7pm and then 5-6 more later like 10pm-4am.

I leave if how tired I am affects my game play. How much I am ahead or how much I am stuck play no part whatsoever in my decision making of leaving the table and going home. If being ahead or being behind is a factor for you, you should drop down to a level you are more comfortable playing.

Re: Fatigue and length of play time
 

I tend to play long sessions, usually 8-10 hours. This probably isn't advisable for most people but it works for me.
I drink lots of water and make sure to eat. Taking a walk every couple hours helps me a lot, as well.

Re: Fatigue and length of play time
 

This year, my average session length is 5 hours. I rarely play less than a 3 hour session, and rarely more than an 8 hour session.

Re: Fatigue and length of play time
 

I find 4-5 hour sessions to be the my max. Then I take a 1-2 hour break to eat, walk around and relax I can do another 4-5 hour session. The only time I will stay longer is if there are big schools of fish where I can still profit even if I'm not at my best.

Re: Fatigue and length of play time
 

I play cash games only and I do best when I play between 4 and 5 hours. If the game is really good I'll stay until I feel tired or that I'm playing poorly. I rarely play more than 9 or 10 hours-VERY rarely.

I bring protein bars and a couple bananas and sometimes yogurt. I drink more water than probably the next 10 people combined and I get up at least once an hour to stretch.

Also I'm trying a new experiment and not wearing a watch. I used to check that out CONSTANTLY and I'd think to myself, "I planned to play 6 hours today and it's only been 3! Ugh it's going to be a long day..." This week I haven't wore one and it helped me focus more on the game and more on my play instead of "having" to get in a certain number of hours.

Re: Fatigue and length of play time
 

I play 1/2nl and can easy go 6 hours. Then at about 8 hours I feel fatigue set it but luckily for me its a good thing because i will only play the better cards. Then since I live in the chicago suburbs and play at east indiana, I usually leave at 5am no matter what becuase of traffic. or I stay till after traffic about 10. So I'm a great long session player and have multiple 24 hour sessions with ease.

Re: Fatigue and length of play time
 

6-8 hour sessions 6 days a week I always have water and food with me and I stretch every hour, also not checking the time is a very good way to make it go quicker. I also bring a seat cushion and back pillow so I can go 10-12 hours if I feel like putting in some extra work but Im also 21 and work out daily. Live play has so few decisions so I find it relatively easy to play my A game even 9 hours into a session, Id say 95% of the hands Im dealt into Im focused on watching the players play and picking up betting patterns and reads.

Re: Fatigue and length of play time
 

Thank you all. That helps.

It seems that fatigue in poker is similar to when one was back at school, both being mental exertions. Take a break every so often, don't consume anything that one can "come down" from (caffeine, sugar, alcohol, etc,.), and play as you're able to clearly.

Again thank you all. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Fatigue and length of play time
 

I used to be bad about uber long sessions, like 24-30 hours. Not smart of course. I have cut it back to a max of 12 hrs and average of 8-9hr per session with better results both in poker and daily living.

edit: I used to have a bit of a problem with ritalin too so cutting that all out helped quie a bit.