How does Alcohol Affect your Poker?

I have been playing for only 3 years now, but in my experience "drink" tends to make me more adventurous. and of course less disciplined. ie the next morning is a bitter one!

Can a Poker Pro still play like one when they are intoxicated? or would you treat it the same as operation of vehicles and working environments?

Play "better" when your drunk? or "worse"?

the " " is assuming you can tell the difference...

Love to hear your Ideas and experience on the subject.


and ive just realised i may have posted in sort of the wrong forum but still holds up i will bring it back with regards to both online and live poker i am talking about

ps. good to be back, apologies for the lack of posts for 4 months :P

It doesn't, As I never play and drink at the same time. On the other hand, I dont think Scotty has ever played sober

I actually play tighter poker after drinking, so I don't have to think too much. I do alright, but will make a few silly mistakes I wouldn't otherwise. Now if everyone was drinking the same amount, I believe my ROI would increase

For me tipsy or drinking, it'd usually be a home game or in back of club when playing and its low stakes and I dont care so basically I'm flat calling min bets, any suited connector and any double paint or better to see flops and play from there.
Just fun no pressure.

Ummm right now it is affecting me good.
In 2 hours it will probably hurt.

The best (read: worst) drunk poker incident I've ever seen was Scotty Nguyen during this year's WSOP 50K Horse event.....good lord!! He was cussing out players, the tournament director and even the waitresses....The best moment from this was Eric Lindgren telling Nguyen that he wasn't part of "team Scotty." Fantastic!

Yeah, booze will affect your play just like it does everything else. It usually makes me play a lot looser than I would sober, and stay in on hands that I would NEVER play when not drunk (like taking home nasty skanks from the bar at 2 a.m. that you normally wouldn't give the time of day to!).

Sometimes you can play that way and the cards will hit you, and you think that the alcohol was good for your game. And then all of the other times you will lose your ass!

that sounds almost related to life itself.. good advice! lol

Never tried playing online while drinking. During live play it does not usually affect me too much if anything I take my time more and may play better.

The only time alcohol seems to affect my poker play is when I find myself trying
to avoid or take advantage of those who are obviously drunk - or high ...

Every time i drink and come home to a bankroll i wake up to nothing..I hardly remember the playing but when i awake i always have this awful feeling that i lost all my money....low and behold when i log in i'm broke...lol..Drinking is a BR killer!!

what he said^^^

Hmmm. Let's see. First thing alcohol affects is judgment and reasoning. What do you need to play good poker? Do the math.

I don't drink myself and like to have my opponents have a couple, because it most definitely affects their play in my favor. Will not play with someone who is drunk because they start doing a perfect imitation of online donks; i.e. drawing to crap and sucking out on the river. And generally acting like a horse's posterior along with the horrible play.

Haven't been to Vegas in years, but they used to give you free drinks while you were playing. (Don't know if they still do.) Perhaps there was a method to their madness.

Casinos around here (Louisiana,Mississippi) still serve "free" drinks to players. Note the quotes as they know alky loosens the purse strings. Oh and forgot to add in other reply, I haven't ever played online poker when drinking or after coming home buzzed or drunk.

I wouldn't reommens mixing a large amount of alcohol with playing poker. If you're having a beer or two while playing, it's probably not a big deal. The moment you start making/ ordering mixed drinks, it's probably time to call it a night.

I do fine having a couple drinks. Any more than that I'll stop playing. I'll start to make mistakes and call things differently. Having at least one has help me just to settle my heart rate down. LOL

What do you mean how does alcohol affect your poker ? it should be how does poker affect your Alcohol intake

I never have more than couple , sometimes it relaxs me a bit but tend not to, want to keep a clear mind.

It doesn't affect my poker playing at all. Main reason being... I don't drink. I've done enough drinking for a few lifetimes and haven't touched the stuff (or have I wanted to) for many years.
As far as how it would go with playing poker?? My biggest loss came in a live game back in 1988 on my kitchen table - - $5,500 in less than 20mins. HeadsUp.
I've watched Gavin Smith play under the influence but then again I think it'd be abnormal for him to not be under the influence.
One of the things I enjoy most about poker is using my mind. I can't imagine wanting to put a substance into my system that would cause this to be working less than 100%. Maybe some would benefit by it... perhaps a more timid, less aggressive player, needing to amp up their game a bit. Who knows....

Drinking affects bad my play almost as much as my wife talking to me while i play. Luckilly i may hold back from drinking while i play (and i try) but i can' t mute my wife anyhow. A liitle offtopic - do you have a simillar feeling to hangover - the morning after you loose much ?

If drinking doesn't affect you, what would be the point in drinking?

I guess that with just a few drinks you probably become more aggressive than usual, and with more drinks you'll gonna play like an idiot

I find myself becoming too passive at the right spots and too aggressive at the wrong times. This may have to do with the amount consumed rather than the alcohol itself. For the first half an hour you play though, you feel like a professional until you see you're only at a 5 dollar SNG.

once i went to the casino after i was burned out from drinking and ended up rivering a royal flush with QJhh AIOF against AJ on AAThh for a $200 or so pot, and i was just like "oh cool river" and sighed and was shipped the pot

Generally, be in a good moderate state when playing with money, u can use alcohol, THC or other things, but when you get tanked you will get tanked. So get out when in a bad state, if you know what I mean. I don't drink anymore. Then again, I don't drink any less.
Joking aside, the peeps that play seriously online, multitablers like some heroes here, could not function effectively while drunk, and would spew all their chips in no time at those levels and rates of play.

It makes me bolder and immune to personal attack.

I personally think it is hazadous to your bankroll overall because you fear not! lol I have woke up many of times going man i knew i shouldnt of played with my bankroll. I advise you not to.

I really think that i´ve had my best mtt results when i had a few drinks along. But i´ll never drink when playing ring games.

I am so anal retentive in real life that sobriety gets in the way of my game more than 2 or 3 drinks will.

I play a ton of hands, so much so that it feels almost like i am a robot! I do not drink that much, and i never get drunk while playing (well sometimes) for any real amount of money. if its less than 1/2$ cash or a 40$ buy in sng or multi, then it really doesnt matter i play so loose and fast cause im just there to have fun anyways!!!

None of top pros drink heavily or get drunk while they are playing...now afterwards thats a different story...lol

My Advice...dont drink while your playing! Because you will do things that you wouldnt do if you were sober, also if you lose a big hand you are more likely to tilt off your money after getting bad beated, or being mad at yourself for playing bad, or lose some and try and get it back.Then you find yourslef with your whole roll at a table that you dont belong; then the roll you worked on for 3 weeks is gone!

Not none, most. Check out Scotty Nguyen's abysmal behavior in last year's WSOP H.O.R.S.E. tournament. Unfortunately, the jackass won. Not an argument FOR drinking while playing.

so because Scotty was drunk at the WSOP, that means that most of the pro's are drunk while they play? I think you logic is flawed at best. Nice job stereotyping professional poker players.

Sure some of them drink while playing. when I play live games i drink too. sometimes i even get philthy drunk, too bad you are not at my games.

Exactly what part of "not all, most" was unclear? If I did any "stereotyping" it was that most DO NOT drink when they play. Scotty Nguyen was used as the EXCEPTION.

my fault, read it wrong.