How to Succeed At Poker Tournaments
There are already parallels to poker and some sports. It is said that no matter how skilled you are, poker players will, on average, cash in 1/9 tournaments. That is a lot of failure for a little success. A little like baseball. Someone will a .311 batting average would be considered an outstanding player. It would mean that if they were up to bat 1000 times, they wouldn't get a hit 689 times. That is a lot of lows to manage among the highs. Other parallels between poker and other sports is the possibility that anyone can win. There is a great deal of skills involved in the game but there is a little bit of luck. It is not so much luck, but, in order to succeed in poker tournaments, at some point, you are going to need to win some races. Even that may not be as random as people think. If you are a volume player that is aggressive and takes risks, you may be involved in about 10 races a game. If you are a conservative player that is uncomfortable with risk, you may only be involved in 1 race a game. Just simple math will tell any gambler to bet on the guy who is involved in more races. It is not luck, it is just the odds that she will get a dirty river to win.
In order to succeed in poker tournaments, there is an element of believing. I am going to use this as a parallel to my beloved game of curling. Only once in my life did I curl a 100% game and that feeling has kept my passion for curling going for decades. I was playing third and the front end was having a bad game. The turning point in my game came with my second shot in the fourth end. My skip was calling a shot that I didn't see, I should have went down to the other end to have a closer look, but, I hate delaying the game. It was a delicate double take-out through a port and she called the out-turn where the in-turn was the obvious call. It was well guarded and I didn't think the port could be navigated. I didn't see the shot. But, I just threw the right weight and hit the broom. Usually, I watch the rock go down the ice and help with the sleeping call, but, I didn't bother. I just got off and made my way down to the house. I wasn't looking and I heard "bang, bang". I had made the impossible shot. After that, I believed I could make anything and I did. It was an amazing game. I believed.
You can call it believing or you can call is visualizing or you can call it using positive imagery, but preparing for poker tournaments is mostly mental preparation. 11 people told me how they prepare for poker tournaments is to become mentally focused and removed outside distractions and get into the right mind-set. I appreciated all people talking to me and I appreciated all of their responses, however, I thought these responses were not that strong. Stay focused. Be mentally prepared. Those are platitudes that don't really mean anything in and of itself. That is not really a strategy. What does it mean? If that is your only strategy, you won't have success in the long run. But, it was ok. I was doing an unscientific anecdotal survey of 100 people. People were suspicious of my motives. I understand. They didn't want to give me their secrets, however, with the people that took more than a few seconds to talk to me, they ended up opening up and giving some great insight. One "man's man" told me that he meditates by himself every time he plays poker. He has several guided meditations that he uses and will meditates about 30 minutes prior to playing. Another guy, someone I would never expect, told me that he took a mindfulness class with the specific goal of learning to play poker more in the moment. He often has headphones on and people think he is listening to music, but he is really listening to mindfulness practices.
13 people told me that they do no preparation at all. All of these 13 people came me cumulatively 10 seconds of their time. They dismissed me. They weren't interested in conversation. Knowing most of these people, I believe them when they don't prepare. When you have no interest in helping someone out or spending more than one second with a person, you are the type of person who likely won't experience much success in life, let alone poker. That was summed up in another participant who simply said "fail to prepare, prepare to fail."
There were a language barrier between me and 8 people surveyed. But, these young gentlemen were kind and patient. I got the message that they played poker so that they could feel part of a group and didn't need to speak English well in order to succeed, but, poker was helping them with their English so for them, it was as much as participating in a life skill as playing a game.
16 respondents talked about the importance of physical health. Getting adequate sleep including an afternoon nap. Being as physically fit as possible increases mental fitness and since you can expect to be sitting for multiple hours, being physically fit and not getting cramps or becoming physically fatigued helps. Some people talked about going for power walks on breaks to get away from the action and also to raise your heart beat to match your adrenaline level. Also, if you go deep, it is nice to have strong muscular support in reserve to in order to keep your energy high. Eating a nutritious meal was important to many as well as having some protein snacks available such as protein bars or mixed nuts as snacks. Staying hydrated was important. Not clogging your arteries with carbs and grease was important to many. People who emphasized hydration in order to have a clear mind noted that coffee, tea, and alcohol dehydrate the body and should be avoided as well as sugary drinks.
Two honest men said that they don't really prepare for poker, however, playing poker is very important to them. They are retired and can't do as much physically as they would like. They don't like solitary activities such as puzzles, so poker is mental exercise that they feel will prevent dementia. There is a lot of research that indicates that dementia is bad luck of the draw, but there is just as much research indicating that staying mentally sharp and challenging yourself is also an important prevention strategy. It is not only the mental game that these fellows like, it is the opportunity to socialize with a wide cross-section of people.
Pharmaceuticals placed a part in a few preparation strategies. It wasn't quite double digits, but many said they smoked a joint or two prior to a tournament to relax. One who said he smoked a joint said that this was most people's strategy and they were lying if they didn't. Good ole benzos were part of a few people's routines, any one of the "pans"; ativan; clonazepam. lorazepam, etc. Some people said they get drunk. I asked how this worked out for them. Overall, it didn't. I admit I use alcohol, not in preparation but in playing. When I first started playing, I found my hands shook. It wasn't that I was nervous, my hands just shook. I needed a drink or two to take the edge off. Now, I drink because I can handle my liquor well and it gives me a little edge because no one thinks I can.
Some people indicated they have their superstitious preparations. They have a lucky shift, a lucky chip protector, a girl that they can guarantee getting lucky with before, special lucky routes to get to the casino, etc.
Some people say they play on-line to warm-up. Others play blackjack to get used to risk and to get comfortable with putting a lot of chips over the line. Others warmed-up by playing cash. Some talked over situations with a coach or other players. Others wanted to stay far away from other players. Some admitted to have notebooks of players and situations and studied their notes. Some like to play mindless video games to get their mind empty in order to focus. Others found it motivating to watch poker videos as quick reinforcement.
Staying consistent with what works for you is important. If you are having a cooler, simplify your game and be patient until the cards come your way. Once you lose a hand, it has to be over. If you are still thinking about it twenty minutes later, you are going to lose a lot more hands. There will always be bad beats and aces will be cracked by 7s once in a while, but volume reduces variance. Don't focus on the hands you lose, overall you want your aces called by pocket 7s and they are not going to crack your aces all the time or even half the time. Every good poker player, like every good athlete, needs a break. You need to take a break to avoid burn-out and to recharge. You also need to remind yourself that there is more to life than poker and if you aren't aware of that, you likely won't experience the success that you think you will.
Music was important in about 14 people's preparation. Listening to music during the game or listening to your personal playlist before to pump you up in great preparation.
There was some players who offered really insightful advice like have a shower or show up on time. My favorite one was to underestimate women because they don't know how to play and they don't belong in the poker room. Personally, I hope that more people subscribe to this advice. I love the reaction of some men when they lose to a woman. It shows a lot about their character.
I have a theme for 2019 and it is "scattering seeds". My partner has a theme as well and it is "focus on abundance." We have used these themes in the poker rooms. We don't play what we can't afford to lose so we can let things go easily. I have made a great deal of friends in poker. One of my special friends is a man who doesn't play very often and the first time I met him was two days after he lost his wife to cancer one month short of their 50th wedding anniversary. He just didn't want to be alone with his grief so wanted to come play poker and take a break. We ended up having a glass of wine or two together and starting talking. He doesn't come often but I am pleased that when he does, we have a connection and he updates me on how he is doing.
Thanks for the 100 people who talked to me. To those that were jerks, well, I wish you success in life, because you will need all the help you can get. Ironically, the two people who spent the most time with me and do the most preparation are the two people who I consider the best players in Winnipeg. Obviously, they have grasped the life lessons that poker has to teach. Thanks to those who were interested in where to find this entry and wanted me to do more poker related blogs.
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