A different sort of topic: stamina and drive

Nielsio · #1 08-22-2007, 07:19 PM

So I just played a 59 hand session. I was up 1 buyin total (won a couple medium pots) and then thought "holla, good result, well done sir", and then I closed the tables.

Anyone have any tips how to deal with this? I'm very fresh and focussed atm yet I play a short session. But when I'm not fresh and not so focussed I will play hours long to try to book a win (or get unstuck).

Roger Mainfield · #2 08-22-2007, 07:23 PM

I do the exact same thing. Lately I have gotten in long session even when I win by setting goals and taking time off. I give myself saturday and sunday off (instead of playing 56 days out of 2 months), and I set a certain amount of time to play, usually 2-3 hours.

I've been doing this for a couple weeks and find that I focus a lot more and that i'm less results oriented, I.E I don't win 2 buy-ins and log off.

SilentNoise · #3 08-22-2007, 07:23 PM

when u play 59 hands, dont think about the money you win as how much your account balance goes up by, think of it as what it is as a result of your lifetime winrate multiplied by the amount of hands you play.

i have another problem though. my game deteriotes when i play for more than 1hour. then i need atleast a 2hour break bfore i can play my a game again

BigPoppa · #4 08-22-2007, 07:24 PM

I have the exact same problem.

I think it works best if you book your session length in advance. Decide you are going to play for 3 hours and play exactly that long (unless you take some horrific beat and need to log off to keep from tilting).

Of course, the last two nights I've forced myself to keep playing and ended up losing some of my winnings back. So what the [censored] to I know?

Nielsio · #5 08-22-2007, 07:25 PM

One thing that has helped me a lot is trying to focus everything I've got in me on improving my game. And turn it into a 'game of improvement'.

thac · #6 08-22-2007, 07:33 PM

yeah i followed the whole 'play until I'm not on my A game anymore' advice I heard a while ago up until now, but usually when I play around 200 hands, I get bored/tired so I feel like quitting (especially if I'm up a buyin or so). I might try to start blocking out my sessions.

Nielsio · #7 08-22-2007, 07:36 PM

Another aspect is all the table selection that you have to do. It makes it all feel like such a struggle.

S.Clause · #8 08-22-2007, 07:37 PM

The game of improvement. I like the ring of that.

So what do you think about then in particular? Like, do you question many of your standard plays? I really do like the idea, but to me looking for ways to improve my game is a long time procces, reviewing stats etc.

pepper123 · #9 08-22-2007, 07:41 PM

i have always treated poker like a job since i became pro. like other posters i can't play for more than one hour and i can't really play more than 4 tables at once.

i get up at 8am, shower, get dressed, have coffee, eat breakfast, wake up, etc. then i play 9am-10am, do some exercise 10am - 11am. play 11am-noon. eat lunch, run errands, whatever.

start again at 2 or 3 and put in 2 more hours with a one hour break, so i'm done at 5 or 6. i'm a few years out of college, so all my friends have "real jobs" by the time i'm done playing people are ready to go out to the bars at what not. if i stay in for the night i might play some more hands, but i only play if i really WANT to play as opposed to the daytime where i make myself play unless i'm REALLY out of it.

i get in 1500 hands a day, never really feel like quitting early and have an excuse not to.

weekends and evenings, if i do stay in and play, i take shots at higher limits if i see fishy games, play tournaments, different games, etc etc etc.

shpanko · #10 08-22-2007, 07:42 PM

I was up like $250 last night after playing for about an hour and thought about quitting, then I realized that the games were good and I was playing well so I would force myself to play another 1.5 hrs. I ended up booking a $1k win on the night, even though sometimes you will lose some of your winnings back as you keep playing, more often than not you WILL win more because you are playing well and the games are good.

Like someone said earlier in the thread, just think about your winrate and how the more hands you play (under the "Games are good, I'm playing well" conditions) the more money you will make on average.