Stay focused at the gaming table In addition to deciding how to play, you'll face one of the biggest problems a player can face: maintaining concentration.
Analyzing situations while evaluating opponents for hours can really be exhausting, and some studies suggest that humans can only stay fully focused for 30 to 60 minutes at a time. This can hamper your ability to invest in tournaments, or to come out a winner from a long cash game session.
There are some key situations to avoid:
Boredom
If you have a bad set of cards or are playing tight due to the large number of maniacs at your table, you won't be able to play many
hands, and very soon you may not be betting as much. attention to your opponents as you should.
Distractions
Distractions in your gaming environment take your attention away from the task at hand. Distractions can include children, emails and the Internet when playing online, noise, passers-by, or even a chatty opponent in a game room.
Physical discomfort
If you eat a lot before playing, your digestive system will monopolize resources that should have been used by your brain to facilitate digestion. Poor sleep quality, physical discomfort or insufficient physical fitness can also contribute to creating an attention deficit.
Mental state
Make sure you are in the right frame of mind to play. If you're not mentally focused, lack motivation to play, or don't feel good about yourself, it's probably best not to play.
Improve your concentration
The good news is that it is possible to increase your concentration skills. And here we present three methods for you to try:
Take notes
Here's a simple way to stay focused on what you're doing. Keeping track of everything from your opponents' starting hands and how they put them together, to how often they call the big blind or raise them, will help you in the long run.
Choose a center of attention
Don't focus on all your opponents at once. It will make you dizzy and have to think about too many things at once. Start by focusing on two players. Do they tend to always raise or do they vigorously defend their blind? Once this process becomes automatic, add a new factor to your focus... but not before. It will take time to become proficient in the process, but if you work at it, your concentration will improve, and at some point you will be able to process enough information about all of your opponents to start winning at the game. poker.
The monologue
Talk to yourself after each hand (no, it's not a sign of madness, I swear). Analyze the hand you just saw or played. Tell yourself what was good and bad about it. Congratulate yourself inwardly if you did something good (like spotting what a player said). Reward is the surest way to get someone to do something again, and you need to get into the habit of doing good things at the poker table.
