European Player's Challenge

Know Your Limitations and Motivation at Poker

Poker is an intellectual game. Playing poker to win requires a lot of intense thought and on-the-spot analysis. You should make certain that you've done whatever you need to do in order to prepare for that. A lot of that is physical.

Get Some Rest Thinking is tiring. It really wears you out. That means don't play when you're tired. Get some rest. Most people should limit their sessions to four or six hours. After that, take a break. Cash in your chips and leave. There will be another game when you get back. You don't have to leave for long, but leave for at least an hour. Do something refreshing. Take a walk, get something to eat, take a nap, see a movie. Relax. It's important.

Diet Does Matter What you eat can affect your game. Foods like greasy meats will tend to tire you out more than refresh you. Avoid heavy eating before and during a session, and avoid heavy foods even in light portions. Stay away from those cardroom hot dogs. If I know a cardroom has a limited menu available, I'll often stop at the grocery store and buy some fruits and nuts to take with me to the cardroom. Having some fruit to pass out to some of the other players doesn't hurt either as making friends at the table can help in a number of ways.

I hope I don't have to tell you to stay away from alcohol while playing. You should watch your coffee intake also. If you order a cup of coffee from the waitress, ask for a glass of water to go with it. Drink at least one glass of water every cup of coffee you drink. There are two problems cause by excess coffee. One, the nervousness that accompanies caffeine is familiar to anyone who drinks coffee, and coffee also tends to dehydrate you. So, you need to drink water to keep yourself hydrated. Drinking lots of water is one of the best things you can do to keep your brain working at maximum effectiveness while playing poker.

Leave Your Worries at Home If you have problems at home, don't try to use a poker game to get the problems out of your mind. Your thoughts of the problems will just distract you from the game. Take care of the problems. Then play cards.

Why Do You Play? In the movie The Color of Money, the Paul Newman character says, "Money won is twice as sweet as money earned." It's true, it is. However, money won sometimes takes more work to acquire than money earned. Poker really is a tough way to make an easy living.

If you ask poker players why they play poker they'll often respond that they play for the money. Don't believe it. First of all, few poker players are lifetime winners at the game. If 10 percent of all poker players end up winners at poker, I'd be surprised, and for those who are long-term winners, it's hard work. Why does anybody play then? Because it's fun. Why is it fun? There are different reasons for different people. You need to ask yourself what it is that you get out of the game that makes it fun for you. The challenge? The thrill of the gamble? The social interaction? Whatever it is, make certain the game you're in is doing for you whatever it takes for you to be having fun. Winning is important, and you are much more likely to win if you're having fun.