Overcoming 'Disinterest'

While I have plugged most of the leaks in my tourney game, there is still one that will continue to be greater than that wall in China.

Disinterest. Maybe it's fatigue, I don't do much other than sit here all day and play poker, or yak it up here. Being West Coast, all the juicy games are not time friendly as much as for others.

Using yesterday as an example. At UB I got into the 80K sat, and won a seat into the 80K game that started at 6pm my time. When this started I had been playing mostly on (some off) for 6 hours already. For the first two hour I was fine, but somewhere in the back of my mind an 'Urgency' was brewing (Lost started at 9pm). I somehow let myself get disinterested in this game and allowed myself leeway which led to my doom. I'm sort of kicking myself in the head here for two mistakes I made.

Jumping into the sat before understanding when the main event was (I got surprised by it starting 20 minutes after the sat ended). I tried to unjoin the main event, but that's a no go at UB.

Letting myself Be swayed by that mind numbing Lost, knowing I can watch it today on the net.

So, I need advice on how to jump this wall. It may be that me publicly acknowledging these mistakes will drive the issue home and it will fix itself, but since this isn't the first time things have worked out this way, I probably need advice, please share some.. K, thanx.

Play less, so that when you do play you aren't fatigued and lose interest.

Take a quick walk before a long tournament 5-10 minutes. It will get you out of your chair if you have been there a while and get you looking at things farther away than 3 feet.

i agree with steveg. when you play for a long time, it's hard to keep your interest. i can see how it would be a problem with not knowing when the big tourney starts, but if you can help it, maybe take an hour long break or more before the main tournament. i also find that standing up while playing helps after a while. if you can raise the laptop or monitor up a little and play standing up you might find that you're paying more attention. not sure why that is, but it works for me.

If you are playing for a long time, take breaks and get some food/drink even if it's just a small snack. Most tourneys have 5 minute breaks every hour, so that's plenty of time to get up and walk around and grab something to eat/drink, and this helps prevent getting burnt out. But bottom line if you're getting disinterested after x hours of play in a day just try to play less than that, like if you have a big tournament try to make it the only thing you play that day so you're not already starting to burn out before it even starts.

Well, another oddity, and it might just be variance, is that I don't do nearly as well without warming up. I admit this may be subjective, but sometimes I come to the tables too excited to play my 'A' game. I often will play play money games early in my poker day just to get the donkey under control.

My game has changed a whole bunch lately, and each night I process bunches of new insights. These play money games actually help me solidify those new insights before I play for stakes.

I probably know, down deep, that before a big game I need to stretch it out, maybe I need to be reminded.

If I know I have a big game ahead of me that I want to really win,I will prepare for it.Sometimes I will take a nap before the game and eat.I have this problem too,after Ive played over 2-3 hours,I need a break.Fatigue and just gettin burned out is no way to win.

Offtopic but.. DJ or anyone else, do you have any info on plugging leaks in tournament play? I use Holdem Manager but everything I've seen regarding plugging leaks is targeted at cash games.

On overcoming disinterest.. I think it is important to recognize what your limits are. Pick tournaments that are not a stretch for your patience. Sites that allow you to withdraw T$ for registered events would help those "accidents" but, so would researching the tournaments prior to entering them.

Also, coming up with a set schedule for what you're going to play, how long, and when could be a major help. I have opted to stick with single-table SnG's (multi tabling) and the occasional MTT, that seems to be about my limit. I can play some 30-60 minute SnG's no problem.. take a 10-15 minute break and come back for another round.

i agree less is more.
i seem to play better if i drink a red bull before the game.........

yes DJ we would be interested in some of the things you learned in order to plug those holes also you said " maybe it's fatigue " while fatigue does come into play for everyone after awhile , it sounds like there's more to it . I know there is for me , some days I'm just not that interested . I have no idea why because I love poker and always will . I still play those days because I think I'm interested , but I play different . I don't pay attention unless it's my turn , I more willing to call someone down with crap hands and just generally play a more donkey game . I just want to hurry up and win so I can go to the next game .
I know I better get more interested soon my BR is weak now at most sites and I'm not getting any better .
if I ever learn to play good it will because I finally started paying more attention , getting to read players better , which in turn keeps your interest peaked and improves your game .
OK just rambling now

Only cure for disinterest I know is to play less.

I had a big burn-out and disinterest after I spent a whole night (no sleeping) from 8 pm to 7 AM playing holdem in MTT's. I took a few days, and boom my interest was back.

If you play the sattelite before the tournement then you will always have that problem!
Buy in dircetly or play a sattelite a day before the normal tournement.
Otherwise you will end up playing poker for many hours that day....

Hello, I have that issue alot and go All In to get out and keep on winning. LOL, funny how that works. Playing too much, that is correct. sometimes just get away for a day or so and it comes back to being fun and not so boring. Thanks, *MINI*

Tommy Angelo writes about it in Elements of Poker. Sometimes u have had enough and just want to get away, and can play to lose (unconscious) to get off the boring treadmill. Cut back yr time and play fresher. Otherwise yr C game is taking all yr wins away.