Ways to stay calm during poker tournaments

[Snakmacher]

Hello,

the times when I was complete fish are over and yet from time to time I need to focus on how I am playing and why I keep making bad beats..

So I started to listen music when playing tournaments Il Divo and other interprets in serious music are helping me to wait a little and focus on the strategies of others at the table where I play and on my own game.

I am just wondering what are others doing to focus on game and nothing else - I am opened to all sort of ideas.

Thank you for your repplies, looking forward to read them

 

[sj_pi]

Ambient soothing background music does it for me.

Being ergonomically seated will also make one feel comfortable.

Looking at a tourney one orbit at a time also helps relax as it brings out the big picture and helps not sweat the small things.

The above works for me.

 

[Ezra2535]

Music. I used to have a couple beers but then i realized i was playing loose and stopped that quick. I also like to let friends and family know that I'm playing so i don't feel the pressure of listening and answering questions when i'm trying to play. I want to either give poker or family my full attention so i just set aside time.

 

[tothbopo]

I play on mobile and from time to time I put the mobile in my pocket and do something else.

That way I am totally focused every time I play a hand and not trying to focus on the table for 5 or 6 hours straight.

 

[Sohmurr]

Don't overlook nutrition. In cash games you can sit out a round or two so you can get a snack, use the restroom etc. But even though tourney's have breaks, it's good to have stuff when playing. Make sure you have a glass of water so you don't get even mildly dehydrated, plus maybe a bowl of almonds or some fruit. If you've been playing a tournament for 4-5 hours and your body isn't getting nourished, you play will probably suffer.

 

[razshahan]

mostly i listen to music. Playing one tourney at a time has better outcomes for me. Also the seating arrangement , if i lie down after sometime i feel sleepy, so i try to sit in a chair

 

[3NitroQQ]

It helps me to listen to music and also complete utter silence and when the break is - fresh air with a ciggaret

 

[steviewayne69]

pressing the reset button is my favorite, If I just lost, or if I feel like I'm gonna go on tilt, I excuse myself and take 5 to resituate myself. It helps in the short term and the long term. good luck to you at the tables.

 

[BluffMeAllIn]

the calming combination lol

:smokin: :canabis: :stoned:

 

[ckickenking]

I like to play multiple tables to stay calm during a critical tournament, focusing on 1 tournament usually make me panic, indecisive which leads to a big mistake. So playing a couple more table usually keep me from acting that way. I know it's weird, but It's very effective for me.

 

[aa88wildbill]

I like watching the game that I'm in, even though I'm not in that hand. I guess you could say, I just like playing poker!

 

[BearPlay]

It's a good question, for sure, and one that crosses every poker player's thoughts from time to time.

I think that if you can look to your Real Life, you'll find cues as to what sets you off on the poker table. Just as traffic or bad drivers upset some motorists, so do the bad calls of others often affect us.

I just do the best to remind myself that I cannot control the traffic (nor the plays by others nor the cards that are dealt), and to just surrender to the process and focus on the things that I do have control over (my plays and my reactions to others' plays).

Off the tables, I participate in a lot of meditation, visualization, positive self-talk, Tai Chi, anything that resolves the wholeness of my being... as a result, I am usually quite balanced on the tables as well and don't really get affected by too much.

I did find an article which might assist you: http://www.bluff.com/magazine/make-a-point-to-stay-positive-293/

Wish you the best.

 

[cplinbuffalo]

there isnt a whole lot you can do about the bad plays in tournaments. yesterday i had AK,raised 5x the blind got called and beaten by j8 off. sometimes you have to laugh it off and know they might be so lucky next.

 

[skiptomyloot]

The thing with music is, you can only listen to it for so long until you get a little irritated by either the headphones or the noise coming in while you play. I use to play with my headphones on all the time when i played with friends..Nowadays, my ears get irritated easily, so i just enjoy playing when the room is silent. I found that silence helps me think better and because I don't got things rumbling into my eardrums, it keeps me focus and balance. Also coffee helps for thinking. Whatever works for you should be your approach. Try to get in a pre-workout before you play or do it daily. It'll help with mental stamina and pace you with not just thinking, but also breathing and sitting in front of a screen for a few hours, get up and stretch when the break comes and do what you need to do before the game starts again so that way things won't come into your mind and distract you.

 

[Himanshu]

If you get a bad beat like A cracked or kings went in against A 2 and you lost its really hard for me to not get tilted i don't know music will help me if i have steam coming out of my ears i generally try to take some deep breaths and keep myself together. I don't play more then 2 tournaments at a time which helps me to focus on what i am doing but its hard sometime to not get angry.

 

[suby_rafael]

Keeping calm while playing poker is no easy task, even on micro stakes emotions can get out of hand, things go sour through no fault of your own, and variance goes up and down. Here is what I have found to help me stay relaxed while playing poker.

The main factor to keeping calm in poker is Bankroll Management, if you are playing on stakes that are too high, you will be stressed, and you will make poor decisions based on nervousness instead of mathematical consideration most likely. It’s very simple, but vitally important to keeping calm at the table, both online and offline. Never play stakes that will put significant hurt on your finances. All pros will vouch for that.
That being said, even if you are playing poker at micro or low stakes tables, you will still have some nervousness, money moves around at a high pace, especially when you are playing multiple tables.

Always start your sessions on a positive note.
It is much better for you to start your poker session with a positive and relaxed attitude instead of going into a game half nervous and then trying to remedy the nervousness in the middle of playing. If you come into a poker session nervous or negative, you will come out even worse and the inevitable bad beats will snowball onto your negativity, I guarantee it. As the old saying goes ‘prevention is better than cure’.
How to deal with bad/beats or cooler hands
There is no good way to take bad luck, it’s not enjoyable and it will put you on a tilt in one form or another, the best thing you can do is to accept that it is an inevitable part of poker and move on to think about the strategy in your present hands. :icon_stud

 

[GDZzz]

Sometimes when I encounter a bad beat in a live tournament, I'll smile and say nice hand and fist bump whoever just sucked out on me if they're right by me. It usually generates positive vibes and can even start a friendly chat that usually makes me feel better Always tell yourself the beats happen and don't dwell on it. Just be patient and stay relaxed and have fun!

 

[PapaC]

I also have a radio near by, and it helps. I will also sit out after the blinds pass me and go out side long enough time for them to come around again. I do that even in tournys when I'm not catching anything anyway. When I come back I seem to focus better and get back into the game. Hope that helps some.

 

[tARsh]

I use media as most others do, also on 5 min breaks I tend to do pushups and pullups when I can def helps. Sometimes I'll even stand and try and do chores while playing early in MTTs so I dont get over involved.

 

[DonV73]

I use music also, or somestimes when I really want to concentrate is no music at all. But normally music helps me a lot to focus. Only relaxing background music that is. If I play music where I start to sing a long, then my game goes way down

 

[Daniel72]

i often listen to some chess or poker podcasts, especially tournament strategy podcasts

 

[ramrjamr2007]

comfort is keye, ur right, from shoes to leg room, to amiance

 

[warturtle7]

When i play online MTTs i always have like 20 chips around the table so i feel more at the table and in contact with my play

Im always playing with them because your brain kills every other distractions like noise and so, because you start playing with them without even thinking and you get much more focused on the game.

I think it was pokerstars pro felix "xxflix" scheneiders that suggested this in one of his videos

 

[pokerlogs_net]

Avoid from drinking coffee while your playing it can cause you to become impulsive.It also can cause you to be in Euphoria which can cost a lot of money.

 

[teepack]

If you're talking live poker, I don't eat or drink or listen to music. I try to stay focused and watch and learn as much as I can.

If you're talking online poker, I have a music playlist that I listen to, or I watch TV with my wife and kids. I don't mind distractions as much when I am online.