Staying on Top of Your Game
September 2nd, 2010
Staying On Top of your Game Let’s face it, we all want to play our best when we’re at the Everest Poker tables hitting the felt. Poker is a competitive endeavor, and as such is bodily taxing both physically, mentally, and in some cases emotionally. Provided are some tips to help you on a physiological level stay in top shape while at the poker tables. First, find a quality multivitamin. Not just because you need vitamins, but if you look into the scientific studies about the individual vitamins you’ll see that several of them will have advantageous effects at the poker table. For example vitamin b comlexes tend to increase energy and improve mood (maybe help you stay away from tilt). The other vitamins like C and D promote joint health and bone health. And since you know you’re going to be sitting in that chair for a while, sometimes for hours on end, why not take something that helps your body cope with the stain that sitting has on it. Now the other things mentioned herein are only things that suggest benefits. None of the statements of these supplements have been scientifically proven or approved by the US Food and Drug administration. With the disclaimer out of the way, let’s look at other things that can help your brain’s processing power. Supplements like Ginko Biloba, Ginseng, and Yoimbe have been shown to improve mental prowess. Usually you can find these in a bundled form at a local health store, but be sure which ever blend you choose has Ginko. On top of that, there are mental exercises you can do that will help you. Sites like google.com now have a dashboard in iGoogle and you can use widgets. One is called Brain Tuner, which presents you with rapid succession simple mental tasks. While the tasks themselves are simple, the speed at which you’re required to do them will do wonders for your response time. And on the poker table, especially if you’re playing online, your response time can be either a critical weapon or a critical tell. So why not do these simple exercises to get yours self in the most advantageous mental state as possible before hand? Finally, we’ll borrow from the world of physical fitness. Any good personal trainer these days will tell you that occasionally you should take a break from your exercise routines. If you like poker playing to exercise, you’ll see that it’s much the same in terms of fatigue factor. If you don’t believe me, sit and play for a solid 8 hour session online. Then, sit and play an 8 hour session with an hour break every hour or 2 hours. Take a look at your bankroll chart and tell me how much something so simple as discipline can help you pad your bankroll in a not so insubstantial way.
