Before Playing A Major Tournament.

I've seen a few threads asking what to do before playing a tournament. I stumbled across a article written by Daniel Negreanu that has a few tips to bear in mind.

1) Get some sleep. If you're tired, you'll start to lose focus and you won't spot tells or betting patterns, especially if the tournament is going to go on for more than two hours.

2) No alcohol. It's not good for your health or your game.

3) Limit your caffeine. Caffeine dehydrates you and it makes you feel groggy and it you'll feel even worse the next day. That includes coffee or Red Bull.

4) Watch what you eat. Avoid foods high in fat becuase it makes you tired and don't overeat. Too much food might make you lethargic.


5) Avoid people. Being in a large group sharing bad beat stories could wear you down. A discussion with someone you trust is fine but it's best to find a quiet place to think.

How the hell am I supposed to play poker without alcohol.

Worst advice ever!!!!

I have heard this come from Daniel before and I totally agree with what he is saying, but this mainly concerns live poker tournaments that run for a few days. In online tournaments There a differant steps you should probably take. 1) Since your tournament will only run a maximum of 10-12 hours then like getting sleep you must make sure you are fairly rested and prepared for a long session. 2) NO ALCOHOL! I totally agree with this statement 100%. You need to focus for a long period of time and alcohol is your enemy. 3) Make sure all distractions are taken care of. Get into your enviroment that makes you the most comfortable and able to focus on the task at hand. 4) I like to have a notepad and pencil around so that it is easier to reference to notes. These are my few steps on preparing for a big online tourny. Additions are welcome and encouraged.

cough cough

*looks in Tenbob's general direction o_O

I'd say always "Puff one Sweet one" before, during and after

I slightly disagre with that one for both live and online tourneys...I like to stay loose. It is so hard to put that much on the line even on a dominate hand. I like to drink 1 drink before the tourney and have a drink every hour or so. I also include non-achoholic drinks in between. Although I have never played in any big live games I have played in several pretty big online ones.

The 1 thing i see missing is>> You should know the Structure of the Tournament,, like time between blinds, etc. Thats important to,, buck

I agree buck, very important. Several sites do have differant blind structures. Some have more levels and shorter rounds while others have it the other way around. I usually like the 15 min or longer levels with a little quicker increase in blinds. These have enough time to make the button go around a couple times, but makes you play more aggressive as the blinds increase.

Like Lo-Dog is saying A couple of beers isn't bad at all. Make you loose. But what also is helping for me is to play some relaxed music. It clears your mind.

nice post t1riel

In live tournys I agree with Daniel. Online I've had more drunks playing tournys tahn sober people. Drunks and idiots lol