Poker Endurance

[blakheart 3]

I've recently decided that my effective time playing poker is about 4 hours before I start to make mistakes and play poorly. Online or in a casino, my concentration begins to wander at that point and I start to bleed money. Since I would like to play more live tournaments, I would really like to stretch this time out. Any thoughts?

[FatBurger 0]

I get emails all the time about herbal supplements that are supposed to help with this, want me to forward some?Seriously though, the best thing is just to take a break when you need it. Good food/sleep/excersise habits help a lot too.

[No_Neck 0]

you can build it up, try taking a break every two hours. Just getting up for 5 minutes and walking around helps too.

[mtdesmoines 3]

I've recently decided that my effective time playing poker is about 4 hours before I start to make mistakes and play poorly. Online or in a casino, my concentration begins to wander at that point and I start to bleed money. Since I would like to play more live tournaments, I would really like to stretch this time out. Any thoughts?

Depends on how much sleep I've had. But I usually peak at 3.5 hours and fall off quickly when playing live. Online, I usually have a tourney and a cash game going, so I have to break about every 1.5-2 hours. Not a big break, just a little wake-up time.

[o2befubar 0]

I'm pretty sure that my peak performance is about 4 hours... Before I get to the casino. It's all downhill after that.

[rwood 0]

eat right, exercise and yuo will be amazed at how much longer you can play at your A game. take multi vitamins in the MORNING. try eating healthy, if you PM me i would be glad to help you out. i started eating healthy, exercising 5 days a week, and taking vitamins in january. and i see a huge difference in my physical and mental stamina in all areas of my life.

[NOFX_PUNK 0]

I've recently decided that my effective time playing poker is about 4 hours before I start to make mistakes and play poorly. Online or in a casino, my concentration begins to wander at that point and I start to bleed money. Since I would like to play more live tournaments, I would really like to stretch this time out. Any thoughts?

The average adult can only concentrate for 20 minutes to half an hour at one time. That said: Drinking water helps more than drinking caffeinated drinks does (seriously, try having a coffee then a few glasses of water!)Get up and move around a bit, it clears your head, if only for a few minutesLearn some chip tricks to keep your mind occupied, or if you know some, do them! :DGet some adrenaline going, jiggle your legs around, go do some star jumps or something. (This is better at home unless you feel you can benefit from letting your opponents watch you star jump...)Don't listen to an ipod or cd player, the music makes your mind relax and drift off to sleep.Don't drink, it makes you tired.Don't jack off! (again this one generally applies to internet poker)If you are playing online and aren't involved in a tourney, why not take a power nap or somin? Everything the other posters have suggested!

[rwood 0]

Don't jack off! (again this one generally applies to internet poker)

dont do this to keep your stamina up, but def. do it if you feel you're about to start steaming. it calms you down a lot! try to limit yourself to this tactic at home only.

[navybuttons 15]

don't eat red meat (chicken is best). don't drink sugar soda (diet coke is usually okay). don't eat candy. try and get your sugars from fruit or the like. don't listen to music while you are playing (it's easy to get lulled and get tired).while i don't recommend taking up smoking, it helps me in that i get up from the table for a hand or two every hour or so.i also find that table chatter helps to keep me up for long periods.i think my longest session is like 32 hours or so. but i also had A LOT of training in college.if you are making mental mistakes after 4 hours you probably need to sharply increase your focus. i still believe that the best way to do that is to put every single player on a hand before it goes to showdown and if it does see if you were right (don't ask to see a mucked hand). if you were wrong figure out why you were wrong, yadda, yadda, yadda.also it helps if you love to play poker and i mean really love it. (i'll play 16 hours and be sad that i should probably get some sleep soon)goodluck

[poker_study 0]

The average adult can only concentrate for 20 minutes to half an hour at one time. That said: Drinking water helps more than drinking caffeinated drinks does (seriously, try having a coffee then a few glasses of water!)Get up and move around a bit, it clears your head, if only for a few minutesLearn some chip tricks to keep your mind occupied, or if you know some, do them! :DGet some adrenaline going, jiggle your legs around, go do some star jumps or something. (This is better at home unless you feel you can benefit from letting your opponents watch you star jump...)Don't listen to an ipod or cd player, the music makes your mind relax and drift off to sleep.Don't drink, it makes you tired.Don't jack off! (again this one generally applies to internet poker)If you are playing online and aren't involved in a tourney, why not take a power nap or somin? Everything the other posters have suggested!

I hope you have research to back this suggestion up....nothing like check raising someone with tool in hand...forget i said anything..To at least pretend to keep this on topic, I find a few frequent 15 minute breaks to be sufficient for at least 6 hours

[nutzbuster 7]

I've recently decided that my effective time playing poker is about 4 hours before I start to make mistakes and play poorly. Online or in a casino, my concentration begins to wander at that point and I start to bleed money. Since I would like to play more live tournaments, I would really like to stretch this time out. Any thoughts?

4 hours??? Jezuz man, start working out! I am only getting warmed up after 4 hours and will and have played for 10 to 15,depending on the game.Get plenty of sleep before a session next time. Don't play tired. If you are still losing interest after 4 hours then you are bored with poker and should quit for a few days.