Fatigue and length of play time

[BEEK]

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]

[sternroolz]

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.

[One Outer]

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.

[that_pope]

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.

[FlyingCarpet]

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.

[otter]

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.

[kassdog]

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.

[cwar]

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.

[BEEK]

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]

[sirtimo]

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.