Hi Card Players, Some Help Please

[RUNRRUNRTO]

Hi there! First a tidbit about myself. I am a recreational card player, who will honestly never go pro for the very reason that it takes so much time, dedication and more time; sitting for endless hours, day & night- studying the game. Quite frankly I couldn’t handle that sedentary lifestyle. I find it extremely challenging to sit still, even for short periods of time. It takes a lot of discipline and mental endurance for those long grinds, (which I have done in the past). Speaking of grinds & endurance, I am a marathon runner. Running gives me a huge stress release particularly during these chaotic times during this pandemic.

What I would like is your help, how do you stay engaged in playing cards, (especially when playing live games), for lengthy periods of time? I use to multi table, drink, get up and dance to music on my headphones while playing, when playing online but not sure how the dancing part would fare playing live...:icon_sant

 

[Bev]

I only play online , and so while I wait and wait for ppl to play , I watch TV And play solitaire and comment/post on CC and FB !

 

[CSLysander]

I used to play live and we had great discussions. I have stood up and left quiet tables and those discussing topics of no interest to me. I have spent hours at good tables when it has the right atmosphere.

I get bored with online. I can play it, but it is all about people wanting to get the math right and they never learn to love actual poker.

 

[FeltPimp]

Load more tables, use an extra monitor if need be. And don't run before you play, it'll spike your seratonin and make poker seem boring...and get involved in staking.

 

[Joe]

It's logical to presume this will be different from one person to the next.

Personally I consider myself a tournament player, so buckling in for six-to-twelve hour sessions is normal for me.

Loving poker makes it easy for me to focus and concentrate on the game without feeling bored or like something else needs to be going on.

The expression 'keep your eyes on the prize' is probably applicable here.

Some things that complement my poker sessions and one of which will sometimes be playing in the background:

• Poker in the ears podcast.
• Twitch poker channel.
• Music.

It's important that anything going on during a session doesn't draw too much of your consciousness away from the game. You'll make more mistakes if it does.

I find that the podcast & twitch heighten my poker senses, possibly because they're both on poker thematics so I'm subconsciously over clocking or something..? :laugh:

 

[Poker Orifice]

What I would like is your help, how do you stay engaged in playing cards, (especially when playing live games), for lengthy periods of time? I use to multi table, drink, get up and dance to music on my headphones while playing, when playing online but not sure how the dancing part would fare playing live...:icon_sant

Add more tables.

Try out a different format.

And here I was thinking your CC name meant 'runner runner'. Well I guess it does.. kind of.

 

[RUNRRUNRTO]

Add more tables.

Try out a different format.

And here I was thinking your CC name meant 'runner runner'. Well I guess it does.. kind of.

Haha,

 

[Harbringerbg]

Online - i watch move
Offline - i watch clips on my phone

 

[Kenzie 96]

Focus on the running, why waste your prime physical years on a recreational activity that has little to do with what you enjoy? Your knees, & various other body parts, will tell you when it's time to find more sedentary activities & becoming good enough at poker to enjoy as a hobby can be done at most any age.

 

[CylleP]

Hi there! First a tidbit about myself. I am a recreational card player, who will honestly never go pro for the very reason that it takes so much time, dedication and more time; sitting for endless hours, day & night- studying the game. Quite frankly I couldn’t handle that sedentary lifestyle. I find it extremely challenging to sit still, even for short periods of time. It takes a lot of discipline and mental endurance for those long grinds, (which I have done in the past). Speaking of grinds & endurance, I am a marathon runner. Running gives me a huge stress release particularly during these chaotic times during this pandemic.

What I would like is your help, how do you stay engaged in playing cards, (especially when playing live games), for lengthy periods of time? I use to multi table, drink, get up and dance to music on my headphones while playing, when playing online but not sure how the dancing part would fare playing live...:icon_sant

You're right ! A long game is exhausting, you cannot sit in one place for so long and you start to go crazy for not much. This excerpt is very hard to train but possible! Remember that your opponent is as tired as you are, you shouldn't be sleepy. and concentrate as much as possible on your game until it ends

 

[RUNRRUNRTO]

Focus on the running, why waste your prime physical years on a recreational activity that has little to do with what you enjoy? Your knees, & various other body parts, will tell you when it's time to find more sedentary activities & becoming good enough at poker to enjoy as a hobby can be done at most any age.

Hi Kenzie, you give wonderful advice here. I have always been somewhat physically active and love the benefits from it. Aging is definitely humbling and I got my first dose of a reality check when I trained for my first marathon back in 2018. The good news is that like poker, it’s never too late to become physically active. There was a lovely lady in our group who was running her 1st marathon at the age of 59!

 

[RUNRRUNRTO]

Thank you everyone for the advice!

 

[DS3]

Hi there! First a tidbit about myself. I am a recreational card player, who will honestly never go pro for the very reason that it takes so much time, dedication and more time; sitting for endless hours, day & night- studying the game. Quite frankly I couldn’t handle that sedentary lifestyle. I find it extremely challenging to sit still, even for short periods of time. It takes a lot of discipline and mental endurance for those long grinds, (which I have done in the past). Speaking of grinds & endurance, I am a marathon runner. Running gives me a huge stress release particularly during these chaotic times during this pandemic.

What I would like is your help, how do you stay engaged in playing cards, (especially when playing live games), for lengthy periods of time? I use to multi table, drink, get up and dance to music on my headphones while playing, when playing online but not sure how the dancing part would fare playing live...:icon_sant

I think it is all about finding you own specific level - to state the obvious.

Like many here, I have a strong drive to succeed. Initially I brought into the idea of playing for hours on end and learned to do so. However, some time later during a podcast interview, Olivier Busquet conceded that he did not like playing for longer than three hours in a session as he felt he could not maintain his A game. That resonated with me.

I dialed back my playing time and whilst my game did not improve results were maintained. In MTTs we are often left with no choice but play for an extended period - but outside of that scenario I are now quite relaxed to put in less time. Quality over quantity.

 

[RUNRRUNRTO]

Olivier Busquet conceded that he did not like playing for longer than three hours in a session as he felt he could not maintain his A game. That resonated with me.

I dialed back my playing time and whilst my game did not improve results were maintained. In MTTs we are often left with no choice but play for an extended period - but outside of that scenario I are now quite relaxed to put in less time. Quality over quantity.

I can totally relate, 3 hours seems to be my threshold any longer than that takes great effort for me to remain focused and engaged. I’ll multi-table, listen to music, watch TV in the background but afterwards it’s getting up every 5-10 minutes to walk around and stretch in between hands. It becomes the mental part of a marathon, maintaining great discipline, doing my best not to allow the boredom to cause me to make any crucial mistakes in my game.

I just recently started playing poker again, in January after taking a 5 year break from it. It’s certainly refreshing and I have also invested less time in playing now than back then. As you mentioned “quality over quantity” -sterling advice

 

[Qrise]

the best way to polish your skills is in freerolls, these tournaments are short and free. Plus the ability to build an initial cash bankroll

 

[LitPavel]

If I play in long tournaments, then I turn on some TV series, it does not let me get bored and a slow tournament becomes more dynamic for me))) Tried to listen to music but on the contrary it was distracting me.

 

[MattRyder]

My suggestion - only play Cash and Sit&Go's/STT's till running/physical fitness figures less into your life. Then settle in to the "sedentary" lifestyle and work up to the longer tournaments.

 

[masa11]

Ahahaha, an interesting version of the game with dancing, I play online, but before I didn’t play)

 

[Poker Orifice]

. However, some time later during a podcast interview, Olivier Busquet conceded that he did not like playing for longer than three hours in a session as he felt he could not maintain his A game. That resonated with me.

His game was HU Sng.

Out of curiosity, I just went to check on Olivier's games to see if he actually followed his 3hr. 'A' game.
Most of his sessions looked to be 8-10+ hrs. :O (2016-2017 while still playing on Stars)

I think these days he plays more cash vs. mtt/sng which would definitely make sense of the 3hr. thing.

 

[takinitSLEAZEE]

When I'm in a trny and see a deep run in sight I focus on 1st place. I don't obsess about the front-runners' stacks or even the $ bubble. I wind up in some zone and the next thing I know it's "hand for hand play". Sure, I listen to music or play some word game w/my wife during those long folded hands but I don't believe I'll ever contemplate doing a jig; unless I win. :dancing2:

 

[DS3]

His game was HU Sng.

Out of curiosity, I just went to check on Olivier's games to see if he actually followed his 3hr. 'A' game.
Most of his sessions looked to be 8-10+ hrs. :O (2016-2017 while still playing on Stars)

I think these days he plays more cash vs. mtt/sng which would definitely make sense of the 3hr. thing.

This is from an Olivier Busquet interview from 2020 about how he plays now - the point being he amended his play. He will play one session then take an extended break and then perhaps play another later.

 

[RUNRRUNRTO]

Ahahaha, an interesting version of the game with dancing, I play online, but before I didn’t play)

I hear ya. I can often be found dancing while playing online- especially if I’ve been playing awhile and just took down a monster pot. Not sure I would want to do my happy dance while playing live games though- or maybe I will, next Vegas trip...