So How's It Going?

So how’s your World Series of Poker going? Have you met all your goals? Stormed and boarded a bunch of final tables? Or have you been battered by beats that sent you prematurely to the rail? There’s still time to make a big comeback — if you’re reading this in a timely fashion, then the main event has yet to take place, and the chance for ultimate glory still lies before you. If you plan to win that tournament, or any tournament of significant duration, there are a few strategies you’ll want to keep in mind. Most of you know these strategies, of course, but knowing them and acting upon them are two different things, so let’s consider this a checklist or a friendly reminder of what it takes to win major poker tournaments — cards, skill, guts, and luck quite aside.

First, remember that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Any long tournament will tax your stamina; it’s amazing how exhausted we can get just sitting in a chair, especially when the cards aren’t running our way and our day consists of fold, fold, fold, fold, fold. Of course you need to stay attentive and hold focus for hour after hour, but be realistic: From time to time, your concentration will wane. When that happens, a timely trip to the bathroom and a splash of cold water on your face will help you keep your head in the game.

Monitor your intake of water and food. You’re in it for the long haul and you have to keep your body in balance, so first of all stay well hydrated and second of all be properly fed. I’m not a diabetic, but I do have a problem with blood sugar. When my blood sugar level drops, I get cranky and irritable, and it’s reflected in my play. Worse, if I try to “self-medicate” (with a candy bar, say), then my blood sugar level goes through the roof and I get all raisy-crazy. I can’t tell you how many tournaments I busted out of before I recognized that a sugar rush could make me play 8-7 offsuit like it was pocket aces. Know your body. Know what it needs — and what it doesn’t need — to help you stay the course of a long day’s tournament play. Probably this means that you should bring your own food because the food they sell in most casinos is, let’s face it, crap. These days I favor trail mix and plain tuna, but that’s just me. Remember that Jamie Gold won twelve million dollars with blueberries.

Now let’s talk about alcohol. Me personally, I’m not good enough to play drunk, and I’ll bet you’re not, either. For big tournaments — for all of poker — recall the immortal words of John Fox, who, in Play Poker, Quit Work, and Sleep Till Noon, reminds us that that the good news about drinking and playing poker is, “If you’re a really, really, really, really bad player to begin with, drinking won’t materially hurt your game.” For the rest of us, booze should be a no-go zone, not just during tournament play but throughout the duration of our tournament stay. The same goes for a notable substances that may be legal in Washington and Colorado but, contrary to the opinion of its poker-playing aficionados, is not a performance-enhancing drug.

Now look, I’m no prude. I stick in no mud. I’m as much in favor of fun as the next guy (unless the next guy’s idea of fun is snorting crystal meth in the men’s room, in which case I’m not). But you can only pursue one goal at a time. If your goal is to win a poker tournament, then you have to stay focused, and probably that means you have to stay clean and sober. If your goal is to fart around and mess with your head, by all means be my guest. Just don’t expect to win the tournament, because you’ll probably end up playing like I do under the influence of candy bars.

Speaking of playing, you should probably restrict your poker play to the hours when you’re actually in the tournament. Yes, those cash games are juicy, and yes, you can probably beat them. But focus is like fuel — you only have so much in your tank every day. Do you want to waste it on those juicy cash games, or save it for when you need it most? That juicy pot you won in a little “warm up” action before the tournament will avail you not if your lack of focus leads to a big mistake later. Worse, what if you take a big loss in that cash game? Then you’ll be in a crappy mood going into the tournament, and who can really like your chances then? Save your poker play for the tournament. You’ll have all the action you need during that long grind, will you not? The same goes for table games. Win or lose, time spent in the pits will pull focus from your poker play. That’s not what you’re here for, right? Keep your eyes on the prize.

What we’re after, at the end of the day, is an even keel. This isn’t a matter of imposing discipline on ourselves — telling ourselves what we can or cannot do — but just having a clear sense of our goal and a clear strategy for achieving that goal. Throughout the long hours of tournament play, try not to get too high or too low. Stay present within yourself and the time will pass well. Stay appropriately rested, watered, and fueled, and your focus will be there for you when you need it. Then, when you’re at the final table and you need to make a soul read on a foe for your tournament life, you’ll have the mental reserves you’ll need to make the right choice.

Go win it all, Grasshopper. Just stay away from those candy bars. If you’re like me, they’ll kill you every time. ♠

John Vorhaus is author of the Killer Poker series and co-author of Decide to Play Great Poker, plus many mystery novels including World Series of Murder, available exclusively on Kindle. He tweets for no apparent reason @TrueFactBarFact and secretly controls the world from johnvorhaus.com.