Can you stay focused throughout the tournament?

I particularly do not have much more patience to play tournaments too long.
My life has changed dramatically, so Poker has become a Hobby instead of a second job, so I do not keep focus as before, the game has become more pleasurable and when I lose my pleasure, I do not insist on knowing the causes or reasons for losing the game hand.
Lately I play talking to other people around me, watching something, or anything else, but I'm rarely 100% focused.
I can say that when I took Poker seriously, I was extremely focused, being able to analyze coldly sessions of 6 - 7 hours of play. But this generated a mental stress, where he was only satisfied with a good night's sleep.
Meditation helped me a lot in this situation as well as dealing with tilt.

And you, do you have any difficulty with the focus?

Patience during tournament play is a very important component. If I feel I can not be sufficiently focused during the game, I am not starting to play. In my opinion, this is the best option.

Here it does not work for me: as if I get tired, there is no excerpt at times.

it is definitely a skill part of the game. It requires practice and patience just as many other parts of the game, I tend to keep my focus for 5-6 hours at least

When I was good at poker, I used to be determined to schedule in 3-4 hours for a tourney, and never quit for the first hour.

After the break, my goal would be to never quit for the second hour.

And so on. Until in the money, and then final table, and then until heads-up, and then won.

The important thing is to check when the tourney normally ends for the winner.

That is your strategy.

Then to never go out in the first hour.

That is your tactic.

n3rv said:

When I was good at poker, I used to be determined to schedule in 3-4 hours for a tourney, and never quit for the first hour.

After the break, my goal would be to never quit for the second hour.

And so on. Until in the money, and then final table, and then until heads-up, and then won.

The important thing is to check when the tourney normally ends for the winner.

That is your strategy.

Then to never go out in the first hour.

That is your tactic.

Click to expand...

This is a smart way to break up long periods of time into smaller more manageble chunks. I used to be in the Infantry, and we did forever long roadmarches. 25-30 miles with 100+ pounds of gear for example. I did the same there...I only gotta make it until X. It works and takes your mind off the stress of the WHOLE thing. It is also helpful to do this strategy if you are feeling miserable.

Yes. I don't even get bored folding a lot, because I know it's a matter of time before I'm in some action.

I think it is important to identify exactly what makes it hard to focus. If in a 6-7 hour MTT you are unfocused at a certain point, and habitually so, it might be best to look for shorter tournaments. Maybe turbo or hyper turbo. Some of these are done in 90 minutes flat. If it is a lot of life issues, try to only play when you have plenty of time that is also relaxed. For example I cannot focus on long tourneys with family hopping about. I gotta be alone or in a place where that is the main focus. Another strategy is to focus on single table games or cash games. With the cash game you can get out at any time you begin to lose focus. This is nice for me if the dog suddenly starts barking at the mailman. Just exit the table, fix stuff, come back and get into another table. Sometimes you have to manage distractions. If faciing medical issues leading to lack of focus, it might be good to schedule poker around doses, to ensure maximal concentration during a game. Poker really requires it. Unless you play poker with friends on beer night, then you probably don't need much. Just some random thoughts on the topic from someone who often struggles with focus and gets easily distracted.

My focus has disappeared altogether. After sitting on the table - and the next moment I want to be get out ....:boring:

I generally do the same when im playing live, poker is just a hobby for me so i like to have a drink and chat to people. If you play low stakes live just a tight agressive game is enough to win so you dont have to pay that much attention. High stakes would be different but i dont play them.

I played few games. Recently started to learn. But 3 hours of play seemed like hell to me.

No matter how tough you are, your mind gets tired sooner or later so when you feel fatigue you should rest as soon as you can. I usually can play focused up-to 10-12 hours, depending on how tough I perceive a session.

In your case, it looks like you don't have the mindset to stay competitive anymore.

I can be focused in the tournament for 4-5 hours with small breaks. To continue the game in a focused state after 4-5 hours, I need a break of at least 30 minutes.

I like to be able to focus but often during a long tourney life intervenes and I have to multi task as others, hubby and bird, need my attention

After 5 hours of play.I start to have a lot of trouble concentrating.When I have no choice.I take plenty of vitamin C to reduce fatigue.If otherwise, I prefer to go away and return to the game when I'm resting enough to keep playing my A game.

personally I have consentacion problems when the tournament is well advanced, I often feel that I lose control and return to the pace or calm I had during the tournament sometimes it is not so easy, but fortunately that does not happen to me much the negative thing is that as I say that when it happens it's hard for me to regain control of my game many times it affects when the records are very long

I can't play for too long. I try not to register in tournaments in which late registration lasts 2 hours

Poker is a game. Get pleasure from the game.

It's easy for me to stay focused for 2 to 3 hrs of poker play, it's when tournaments run deeper than 4 hours that I run into issues. If a tournament is 4 hours plus I would be watching something on television or playing something on my phone to help.

I have too.Play...and then suddenly there is a desire to finish..and I do not care about the result.I just stupidly put everything..As a result, the game is lost and lack of sleep.

When the tourney starts i am focused and pay attention well, after i get a top 10 stack i sit back and stop paying attention and watch videos and stuff while i wait for a nice hand to come my way. It's not easy to pay attention to everything that's going on at a table for 5 to 8 hours.

I do not always manage to stay focused in the game, a little closer to the middle of the tournament I start to climb sites and read every piece of information, instead of watching the game and the opponents play !!! but you need to teach yourself to this !!!

it is very difficult for me, especially if the tournament lasts more than 7 hours

I used to play such a well defined power poker strategy that I didn't need to pay perfect attention and even played as many as 16 tournaments at once... These days playing old guy poker I start to make mistakes at 3-4 tables since I'm paying attention to so much more and relying on that information to guide an altogether more capable game. Sometimes having a freeroll going while I play a longer tourney allows me to stay interested in the whole thing despite having to sit out massive periods of time. :deal: