or3o1990
Legend
Silver Level
I think that your question is too broad because all people are so different and therefore react differently to drugs and situations. Some people need drugs to function normally like people with ADD, Bi polar etc, or even drug addicts. A person who is addicted to coke is going to play better while on coke than he's going to play while going through withdrawals.
On this topic I say to each their own. If it works it works. Me personally I'm better off playing after no more than three beers than I would be playing live after 3 cups of coffee. Because I don't have much live experience I'm a bit less comfortable playing live and the caffeine has a negative affect on me mentally and makes it harder for me to think at times if I become anxious and sometimes physically, I sweat. The beer on the other hand helps me to relax a little bit but doesn't really skew my decision making and gives people at the table the impression I'm a fish I think, which I don't mind. People always wanna play with the guy who's drinking.
Pot on the other hand in my experience is a double edged sword. While I never advocate playing while high because it's difficult to remember what the heck has been going on at the tables your playing lol. I had quit smoking weed 9 months ago and I got stoned on thanksgiving because it's the perfect time to be high lol. I remembered how much I prefer weed to alcohol and began smoking recreationally again, barely at first then eventually everyday after playing poker. I find it to cloud my memory even when I'm not high. I can be 4 players left in a 9 man SNG and try to think, "Is this table passive or aggressive in general?" And literally have almost no idea, no Bueno. For me it's a combo of lack of concentration and memory whilst I'm a pothead. Also, I am more prone to tilt as a smoker. I quit again a few weeks ago with the intention of maybe smoking once a month or so in the future. I also had been heavily smoking since 04' (I took a few breaks of a couple months to a year and a half) and imo being a stoner just isn't for me anymore. Especially when it comes to poker.
On this topic I say to each their own. If it works it works. Me personally I'm better off playing after no more than three beers than I would be playing live after 3 cups of coffee. Because I don't have much live experience I'm a bit less comfortable playing live and the caffeine has a negative affect on me mentally and makes it harder for me to think at times if I become anxious and sometimes physically, I sweat. The beer on the other hand helps me to relax a little bit but doesn't really skew my decision making and gives people at the table the impression I'm a fish I think, which I don't mind. People always wanna play with the guy who's drinking.
Pot on the other hand in my experience is a double edged sword. While I never advocate playing while high because it's difficult to remember what the heck has been going on at the tables your playing lol. I had quit smoking weed 9 months ago and I got stoned on thanksgiving because it's the perfect time to be high lol. I remembered how much I prefer weed to alcohol and began smoking recreationally again, barely at first then eventually everyday after playing poker. I find it to cloud my memory even when I'm not high. I can be 4 players left in a 9 man SNG and try to think, "Is this table passive or aggressive in general?" And literally have almost no idea, no Bueno. For me it's a combo of lack of concentration and memory whilst I'm a pothead. Also, I am more prone to tilt as a smoker. I quit again a few weeks ago with the intention of maybe smoking once a month or so in the future. I also had been heavily smoking since 04' (I took a few breaks of a couple months to a year and a half) and imo being a stoner just isn't for me anymore. Especially when it comes to poker.
Z
Zin
Rock Star
Silver Level
No such thing as medical marijuana, your just a pot head.
MrFerguson
Enthusiast
Silver Level
MODAFINIL! Proven to be 10% the closest thing to the 'limitless' drug, used by Students in Oxford and Cambridge and I am guessing other major Universities, improves focus immensly, check it out guys. I havn't taken it yet but am very curious about using it for long MTTs and cash grinding.
P
pokervike
Rock Star
Silver Level
I'd like to take side bets in how they selected their study group!!! Hahahahaha! Or better yet, what the nurses controlling the experiment had to deal with!
Can you imagine being a nurse and saying, "Well Mrs. Jones, in order to collect your $50 your going to need to inhale this or eat the brownies either before or durring your poker session but I'm not allowed to give you anymore wine and I think your time requirement for the porn has been met".....
Karozi615
Visionary
Silver Level
drugs and poker do not mix, at all.
drugs can only hurt your poker game and your life game in the long run.
drugs can only hurt your poker game and your life game in the long run.
AlfieAA
Legend
Silver Level
yeah, drugs will not help when playing poker, or anything...you have to have full clarity when playing the best to your ability...
even if you concentrate to much without drugs, that will hurt your game too lol...because you are too busy concentrating about being concentrated...how can you possibly take anything in when your mind isn't clear?
meditation is good for poker, because it quietens the mind and will take away all the unnecessary attachments etc...
ez game, if you be like the cat....a cat doesn't think about 'pouncing'..it just see's and reacts when its time.
even if you concentrate to much without drugs, that will hurt your game too lol...because you are too busy concentrating about being concentrated...how can you possibly take anything in when your mind isn't clear?
meditation is good for poker, because it quietens the mind and will take away all the unnecessary attachments etc...
ez game, if you be like the cat....a cat doesn't think about 'pouncing'..it just see's and reacts when its time.
_xrolex_90
Visionary
Silver Level
I think a quality game and drugs are incompatible things,because intoxication consciousness prevents make the right decisions.It is therefore important to have a clear mind especially if you have planned some important game.
limpnfold88
Visionary
Platinum Level
i know that i drink beer when i play poker it bad, because i don't care waht cards i have and play almost all hands. so it not really good
From your grammar it sounds like you just drank a beer or ten lol
S
sup3rh0t
Enthusiast
Silver Level
I don't think that BEER should be mentioned as an as alcoholic drink at all. I drink beeer all the time - literally (from dusk till dawn its just like water to me )and I think that someone who is above 12 years old could hardly ever get drunk with a couple of beers...
)and I think that someone who is above 12 years old could hardly ever get drunk with a couple of beers...
M
MaxDamage
Enthusiast
Silver Level
Stu ungar did drugs. He was so wasted they found him passed out in his room at day 3 of the wsop main event. He had accumulated so much chips before he still ended in 9th place!
I havent tried a lot of drugs, but I dont think taking any drugs can be more effective playing poker. With the exception of drinking a few beers, to take away the anxiety and relax a bit more.
I havent tried a lot of drugs, but I dont think taking any drugs can be more effective playing poker. With the exception of drinking a few beers, to take away the anxiety and relax a bit more.
Peteyweestro
Rock Star
Silver Level
IntenseHeat
Legend
Bronze Level
I know that most people will say that, smoking pot while playing poker is not a good thing. I would say that it probably depends upon the strain. Certain strains will definitely create a couch lock condition, in which individuals find themselves stuck to the sofa, drooling, while the T.V. watches them. Sativa strains, however, tend to cause a more cerebral high. They say that's what Einstein grew and smoked.
I don't know how true that is. But for me, I find that in certain situations, smoking pot allows me to zone in and zone out at the same time. That is, it allows me to block out my surroundings and focus in on one thing. For a while, I used to step out and take a few hits off a joint during the hourly breaks. It seemed to make those long hands when players are using up their time banks, and when players are stalling on the bubble a lot less tedious. Instead of becoming irritated or restless, I would instead try to put the other players on hands, try to imagine what was going through their minds, and try to predict how they were going to play based on the hands I was putting them on. In fact that is when I realized how important it is to pay attention to how hands play out even when you're not in them.
Of course that's all well and good as long as I don't have to contend with distractions. Obviously, being high on weed is not conducive to multitasking. I'm not going to be flipping pancakes and playing poker (something that I often do) while I'm high. I'm likely going to be either losing chips or burning pancakes. I can study while I'm high, play pool, work on cars, or any number of things, as long as I'm doing them one at a time. As soon as you try to throw anything else in the mix, disaster becomes imminent.
I don't know how true that is. But for me, I find that in certain situations, smoking pot allows me to zone in and zone out at the same time. That is, it allows me to block out my surroundings and focus in on one thing. For a while, I used to step out and take a few hits off a joint during the hourly breaks. It seemed to make those long hands when players are using up their time banks, and when players are stalling on the bubble a lot less tedious. Instead of becoming irritated or restless, I would instead try to put the other players on hands, try to imagine what was going through their minds, and try to predict how they were going to play based on the hands I was putting them on. In fact that is when I realized how important it is to pay attention to how hands play out even when you're not in them.
Of course that's all well and good as long as I don't have to contend with distractions. Obviously, being high on weed is not conducive to multitasking. I'm not going to be flipping pancakes and playing poker (something that I often do) while I'm high. I'm likely going to be either losing chips or burning pancakes. I can study while I'm high, play pool, work on cars, or any number of things, as long as I'm doing them one at a time. As soon as you try to throw anything else in the mix, disaster becomes imminent.
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FromHereOn
Enthusiast
Silver Level
Even in the event that a certain drug helps play, an eventual dependence to that substance could just as easily become a curse even in-game.
Ungar was certainly a prodigy and a card game genius. I believe he suffered from a developmental disorder that challenged his emotional stability and pushed him to become a substance abuser. The same issue may have contributed to his massive success at gin (and thusly poker).
Drugs were his undoing, and I think it's equally reasonable to suggest they harmed his play. Obviously, long-term they were -100%EV.
Ungar was certainly a prodigy and a card game genius. I believe he suffered from a developmental disorder that challenged his emotional stability and pushed him to become a substance abuser. The same issue may have contributed to his massive success at gin (and thusly poker).
Drugs were his undoing, and I think it's equally reasonable to suggest they harmed his play. Obviously, long-term they were -100%EV.
solargarlic
Enthusiast
Silver Level
It depends on the person but I think certain substances can be beneficial. That being said anything that takes you out of your element is probably bad for your game. So I guess what I am saying if you do it all the time and it is your normal that won't hurt. On the other hand if you use recreationally then it might make you play badly. Personally I don't think marijuana has any ill effects on poker play and helps soothe bad beats that's just my opinion though.