Which activities and sports pair best with poker and help you improve? We asked several poker regs for their answers. Once again, it was not possible to identify a universal truth! Some make checklists, meditate and try to achieve peace in any way possible. Others turn on an angry playlist and enter predator mode, and still others act on their feelings and remember that poker is about freedom.
Daniil djanya12 Vasiliev
High stakes poker can be extremely painful. It is important not to break down during sessions and not to go into passive tilt. Feeling sorry for yourself, whining about failures in the game and problems in life – all this is extremely demoralizing. An aggressive angry attitude helps me avoid such emotions.
Heavy music can disperse the psyche (sometimes even military songs maintain morale). An active walk with the dog before the session – I have a hunting dog, and if I start running fast, he will run after you barking all over the street. At such moments you feel like a beast. After such a run, you will not be a victim at the tables.
Bluffs help during the game. Very invigorating! Also, the tables should be expensive enough, then you won't get bored. Again, my sleep is unhealthy. This is also irritating and only supports the malicious mood. As soon as I lose the predator in me, I don't even want to play. Bluffing – even more so. I sit and collect combinations without creativity.
If we talk about something that is definitely useful, then giving up alcohol gave me the biggest boost in the quality of the game. And what I lack is the same zeal and obsession in learning. I have to win with character.
Snaka
Every morning I do exercises and have a big breakfast. Twice a week I go to strength training and massage.
I spend about an hour a day on theory. Today, this is a review of the material already covered and its consolidation in the GTO trainer. I try to play each spot at 80%+ according to GTO and without big mistakes, then I move on to the next one. The list of spots for review is prepared in advance, so as not to waste time in the morning.
I meditate, take note of my state and make notes in a diary using the A-Game Poker course by Elliot Rowe.
After the session, I analyze the hands I was unsure about. Not so much for learning, but for peace of mind. Sometimes a hand played in a dubious manner can stick in my head for several hours or even days. After analyzing it and realizing my mistake, I let the hand go and don't think about it anymore. As Avr0ra says: "Well, it happened" =)
Also after the session I go for an hour-long walk or walk on a treadmill if the weather is bad. It helps me relieve muscle and mental tension, switch from work to everyday life.
Sleep plays an important role for any person. For a long time I fell asleep with pills, the quality of sleep was not very good. I changed three things in my routine and now I sleep like a baby:
- Play only in the first half of the day
- Daily physical activity
- I never take my phone into the bedroom.
Another useful habit is a contrast shower. It helps to perk up and activates the nervous system no worse than caffeine. But for me it is a seasonal activity. I do it only in the summer. In the cold season it is hard to force myself =)
Nikolay Sokclassic
Every morning I take a contrast shower. It gets rid of the half-day sluggishness that usually happens to those who work at night. I think this is my most useful habit. It is also important to get enough sleep, for me it is 8 hours. If I miss a couple of hours, I will definitely make up for them during the day before the session, because without it the brain will not be fully charged, and this is -EV.
Right before the session I used to do a workout from an online app, but now I don't do that anymore. I don't have a cool-down either. After the daytime sessions I just go eat. And the night session, as a rule, ends in a semi-fainting state.
Kostya Gambler14
I don't have a special warm-up, I just try to get a good night's sleep. For me, this is the most important point.
If I'm going to play, say, tomorrow, I'll never sit down without reviewing the hands I lost in the previous session. At some point, I realized that this helps me not to slip into autopilot. I think it's one of the most beneficial habits over the long haul.
But I can't do sports regularly :( I really miss these activities, but now I physically don't have time to go to the gym regularly. When I was doing sports, it seemed that even in the game the decisions were better.
Petr Minus2bb100
Before a session, I think it's very important to tune in. I have my own "perfect session" checklist, in which I pay attention to both the mental and technical components. I update it a couple of times a week.
For example, after a really good week, I remind myself that there are also negative sessions, I focus on my expectations, I concentrate on the importance of playing every situation to the maximum and focusing on +EV actions.
Or, let's say, after analyzing the past week, I see that the selection criteria have become worse, then I add this item to my checklist.
Before a session, I close my eyes for about five minutes and imagine myself focusing on playing the hand as correctly as possible, rather than thinking about win/loss. I think about what I will tell myself and how to react if “something doesn’t go according to plan.” Or, for example, about select, I imagine myself consciously closing a bad table.
The same applies to the technical part. Let's say I've analyzed some topic or I've seen that in some situations I'm going beyond the range – I analyze such situations according to the VAK (visually, auditorily, kinesthetically). I imagine how it looks, what I feel, I rehearse the internal dialogue.
I have a small notebook where I write down the main points, usually 2-3 points. In the same notebook I write the answers to two questions after the game:
- What was good about the session?
- What can be improved?
Even after you've closed the tables, you can still find something good)) The realization that you've done a +EV action really lifts your spirits. This simple ritual helps you understand that each session is pumping you up and boosting you.
Periodically, for example after a long break, I can give myself marks for concentration. The indicators we focus on begin to improve over time.
I play in the evening and at night, so after the end of the session it is important for me to switch the central nervous system to the recovery and relaxation mode. In the last half hour I try to reduce the number of tables. I take dietary supplements, then do stretching, a hot shower and get ready for bed without screens.
Meditations. I have been practicing them for a long time, I used to try to do them before sessions, for about 10 minutes with my eyes closed and focusing on my breathing. Now I do it after waking up, and before a session only if I feel “too worked up”, to return to a calm and even state.
I play sessions of 2.5-3 hours and in between I go for a run. It really gets the blood flowing and no matter how the previous session went, you come to the second one fresh.
I think the biggest EV for me is preparing my body for the game – running and meditating. It helps increase my concentration levels. And the rituals and writing before and after help my brain keep the necessary elements of the game in focus.
Poker for me is a sport, a competition in concentration, memory, attention. It is important to try to make sure that I can play with a high level of concentration throughout all working hours.
Some tips for young players:
– The system is important. I realized for myself that it should be something simple. If you complicate everything, then the risk of giving up after a couple of days increases greatly.
– I try not to resort to coffee (I play in the evenings), or any nootropics that speed up the brain. I had a not very successful experience with them and, in fact, they are crutches. If your system/regime works correctly, then there is no need for coffee and other stimulants, because, often, you “borrow” from the body.
– I can extend the second session by 20 minutes if the tables are really sweet. Usually I try not to sit too long, there is always enough game at my limits, and an extra couple of hours at the tables can cost the next working day.
Alexey Aleqseuka
I don't have any obligatory rituals that I perform every time. I usually think it's important to determine my state for today. Listen to what my feelings are telling me.
Close to a regular warm-up is analyzing hands from the previous session in Wizard. Based on how well I understand the tree and how the thought process goes, I can already draw a conclusion about my readiness for the session. If I look at frequencies and sizings like a ram and don’t understand why I should play this way and not another, then this is already a warning sign.
Water procedures help to clear your head. A bath and standing under a cold shower for as long as I can. Maybe some exercise. Eating wouldn't be a mistake either.
As for the pause, I generally don't understand why it's needed. After all, the tables are already closed. There's nothing else to do.
Morel Conical
I don’t practice meditation, but I do practice winter swimming in the sea, if possible before or after the session.
Outside of series and without second days, I get up without an alarm clock. I don’t have a clear schedule or daily routine. I love poker precisely for the freedom and the opportunity, depending on the mood with which you wake up, to decide whether you’ll play at all, what and in what volume. I can open one limit cash table and play thoughtfully while watching streams/TV series; I can play one heads-up table from my phone, sitting on some platform with a view of the sea; I can go to the coast until the evening and play a light session, or I can wake up in a putty from yesterday’s game and load everything that’s in the lobby – 15 tables for all games and decent buy-ins, without even eating.
I never planned to change my approach.
