Tips for handling long tournament sessions?

[iwont20]

So you're happy that you're having a good session for once with a few long runs, but you're getting pretty tired, it's getting hard to concentrate, play with focus, avoid mistakes.What are your tips, what can be done right away, OR prior to the said session?

And what are the tips if you have such sessions a couple times a week? What the preparation will look like?

 

[CapdeCraniu]

I try to stay ZEN.
And it really shows.
When getting tilted, I follow Daniel Negreanu's advice: I close my eyes and take at least 3 deep breaths.
It works. Also not only in poker, but in everyday life, especially when driving in a busy city like Bucharest. xD

 

[finaltable1]

I've been wearing horseshoes instead of slippers chewing rabbits paw keeping my fingers crossed during 10 hour long poker sessions. My tip - For some strange reason it doesn't work!

 

[jumboscampi]

Make sure you have a BIG coffee pot!

Some of those games get LONGGGGG!

 

[Preacher]

tourney time!

long online is wayyy different than live play because you can sit out, pee, watch a show etc
solid play then you get it in with the best hand after 4 hours and they catch the 3 outer :joyman:

 

[Tigroslav]

Prepare

Before you decide to play calculate how long the tournaments might last if you were to make some final tables. If you feel like you might get tired dont start playing.


Get some good rest before embarking on a serious session.

 

[Hemified]

Yea I workout and stuff while I'm playing so it keeps me awake and alert if im in deep in a tourny at night. I will do something to help my mind to so im not calling crazy hands I shouldn't. Yea i mite watch a movie to to pass the time. Good luck.

 

[MishkaZL]

There are many options. Each person has their own physiological characteristics. But in general, in my opinion, the main thing is a good, healthy sleep, walks in the fresh air and regular sports. All this together has a good effect on endurance.

 

[mavrulit]

Hi

Not too long ago, I asked myself the same question. You must understand that you will not have much time to rest. rest well before the tournament! Go to the toilet, prepare the place, eat, walk around the room and think about your game! Remember your mistakes, remember your good hands!

 

[oroochimaru]

The best way to prepare for long tournament sessions is to get plenty of rest, eat healthily and exercise. :smile:

The truth is that your mind and body are completely intertwined.
It's far more difficult to stay laser focused over those extended periods if you don't have good physical condition.

You must adopt a lifestyle that allows you to be mentally tough.
When you take care of your physical health, your mind will be much more resilient.

 

[wengz2002]

I been asking the same question! And sometime doing the things mention here but seems to not work!

 

[marvinsytan]

this is also my problem plus my back is a bit aching if i am grinding 8 hrs or more, so sometimes i split my grind to 4hours only and rest then play again afterwards

 

[iwont20]

I been asking the same question! And sometime doing the things mention here but seems to not work!

this is also my problem plus my back is a bit aching if i am grinding 8 hrs or more, so sometimes i split my grind to 4hours only and rest then play again afterwards

Yeah, maybe I should've specified in the first post what is a long tournament for me. It looks like these methods are for shorter sessions, they help for tournaments which are finished under 6 hours, but when it's a 8+ one (and not the one with which your session has started with) and no end is near... Those methods don't seem to work, although of course they help to the certain extent.

 

[Roller]

Play a ton of marathon sessions, 12 to 16 hour sessions and you will develop and endurance factor that will help you stay focused in deep tournament runs.

 

[Dan Perkins]

Long Tourneys

Ifind washing my face with a cold cloth and -putting my hands in cold water helps.

 

[10gerka]

to maintain long sessions, first you must be well fed and eager to play, without any distractions, and play, if you want to become a great player you must get used to long sessions of games, this is just the beginning, stronger things will come yet.

 

[Luvepoker]

For me while playing its listening to meditation music but the most important factor is usually before I start playing. When I know I am looking to play some longer tournaments I make sure I am fully rested prior to playing. Heck, when I went the the wsop last time I went to bed at 8:30 the night before playing and sleep in. The next day after over 15 hours of play I was still feeling pretty dang good. When day 2 played out I was a bit more tired but that really good fresh start really paid off.

 

[VictorOd]

Overall preparation is some physical activity (gym, swimming, running etc) at least 3 times per week.
And for the day of the long session cook something to eat so you could bring it to your device during 5 mins break, then eat slowly and enjoy. Play some music, audiobook, podcast, maybe some Youtube or Twitch stream if it's not too distracting.
I'm not a coffee fan, prefer water. Stay hydrated

 

[lcid86]

Take breaks, get up and move around. Obviously hydrate, and make sure you have something healthy to eat. My biggest challenge is to stay focused and I make sure the later it gets in a session the fewer distractions I have (turn off the cell phone!)

 

[thesternburglar]

Go to the lobby for details.

Before any tournament I go to the lobby and look at the details. Some of the things I look for that can add to the length are.
Max players:
Blind increase timing 2-20 + minutes.
High rebuy number.
Add-Ons?
What time does the tournament start?

All of those things can affect the tournament length. If you make the appropriate plans to be fully rested and stand up often you should be able to make it through anything. always have another computer up reading news or playing music.

 

[BetterThanAvgButNotByMuch]

STOP PLAYING if you're tired or just don't feel like playing, just stop. I had one donk in the BB call my all in of KK shove that they didn't need to early in a tourn today and they had 56o lol they flopped 2 pair and sent me out with the Kings. I mean lets think about this, its the first few hands of a tourn and you decide to call an all in from early position for your tourn life and with what? 56o?????? lolol. I was like ok you hit the 1 in 5. I usually don't even play that way since these folks play so bad anyway. So something was bothering my game already.

Next tourn today, donk raises me while I'm in the BB from like the HJ with an Ace x, I have AK and short stacked, I shove and the donk has Ace 8 and hits the 3 outer. I start typing away that I'm not happy, nothing evil, just in aw of their donkiness and I'm just sick of folks doing silly things and patting themselves on the shoulder when all their plays are awful then I recognize that its not them, they're suppose to play bad but its me expecting them to have a clue what they're doing and I turn off all of the poker stuff.

All they care about is getting chips and don't care if they play right. These are the same folks that wonder why they go on these long losing streaks or why they get a whole bunch of chips in the first few minutes of a tourn but are out before the 1st hour is up but whatever. Me in the chat is the second marker that I'm sick of playing.

My point is you need to be able to identify when you're not playing well and critically assess when its time to stop playing for awhile. Just stop playing, go do something else, anything else, especially if you're not acting how you normally act or keep having some urge to keep playing although you know you're not up to playing. And silly stuff like playing because you have to get even is the quickest way to destroy a bankroll. Just stop and do something else until you know you're ready.

Take a few days off and I bet you will "magically" be able to grind in tourns for a lot longer than you've been doing. All this play takes a toll on you, recognize when its time to stop for awhile.

 

[alien666dj]

During long tournament sessions, I try to do a mini warm-up for the eyes, arms, legs during breaks, washing my face with cool water helps to stay in good shape.

 

[iwont20]

Thank you all for the tips and nice advice, will implement some! :icon_thum:icon_thum Good luck to you all, have lots of long sessions, friends! :wink: :shakehand

 

[Chica_bonita]

Hello! :ciao:
Yes, this is really a problem! Since I usually play late at night, after an hour or an hour and a half, I get tired, sleepy, and so on. My laptop is in the kitchen, so it won't be a problem for me to get up from the sofa and make myself a tea or a cafe right during the game. Or wash up to cheer up. This is what I do when I get tired.

P.S.: There is still one wild way...sometimes I take an ice cube out of the ice box and eat it - but this is an extreme method

 

[nuttea]

So you're happy that you're having a good session for once with a few long runs, but you're getting pretty tired, it's getting hard to concentrate, play with focus, avoid mistakes.What are your tips, what can be done right away, OR prior to the said session?

And what are the tips if you have such sessions a couple times a week? What the preparation will look like?

If you get bored of waiting for acceptable hands to play, turn your attention to making notes on other players. Pay attention to how they play their hands, whether they are professional or amateur, whether they understand the ICM factor and the basics of bet sizing, and so on. This will save you from boredom, and also prove to be very valuable laterHard focus is the ultimate in tension and focus, and is what you need when you're in the hand. Soft focus is when you give your mind a chance to relax and unwind. Essentially, soft focus allows you to take mental breaks when you are not in the pot. Players who pick up every bit of action at the table are a myth. It's much better to save your mental energy for when you need it most.