While playing poker in a casino there is very little you can do to control the environment that you are playing in, outside of a complaint to the floor about the temperature of the room or the smell emanating from a particularly odious player. A great benefit of playing poker online is that you are in complete control of where, when, and how you play. Unfortunately a common mistake that people make is that they allow their environment to be a detriment to their playing. Even professional online poker players can fall into the trap of a poor playing environment negatively affecting their poker play. Any distractions in your environment take away from the most important part of the game: your poker state of mind.
Ideally you want to be playing your A-game at all times. If you are checking your email or watching a movie on TV while you are playing poker then you aren’t going to be paying as much attention to your tables as you should be. Watching the action as it unfolds, observing your opponents, and taking notes are all vital components to playing the best poker possible. Before starting a session make sure that you have everything ready. Go to the bathroom, get something to eat if you are hungry or put a snack near your computer so you won’t have to get up if you are hungry later, and make sure the temperature in the room is comfortable. All of these things will help ensure that your session will not be interrupted by something that could have been planned for.
If you find yourself becoming bored during a session, a great idea is to take a break for a few minutes. Stretch you legs, get a drink, or even check your email since it’s a break in the action. When it’s time to get back to the game make sure you are completely ready.
A common distraction for poker players is instant messaging. Since you are on your computer anyway it’s very easy to have AIM or MSN open with a whole list of people just waiting to take your focus away from the tables. Luckily all these programs allow you to be “away” or “invisible” so that people will be unlikely to bother you except in urgent situations. Also make sure that all those annoying pop up alerts are turned off so that you don’t have little windows flashing on your screen that will take your attention away from your game. If you get a lot of phone calls or text messages it would be a smart move to put your cell phone on mute so that you won’t be tempted to try talking on the phone while playing, or tapping out a text message instead of watching your computer screen. People living with roommates, girlfriends, spouses, or kids should stay isolated and not allow other people to distract you during a session. Let them know that you are busy and should only be interrupted in case of an emergency.
Now that you have your environment under control you have to make sure that you are in a good frame of mind to be playing. It is a bad idea to play while you are tired, drunk or angry. Anything that can cloud your judgment should be dealt with prior to beginning play if you want to really be a winning poker player. If you notice yourself becoming tired and playing like a zombie you should take a break! Even just getting away from the screen for 5 minutes and resting your eyes will help a ton. Take a walk around the house and get your blood flowing to get oxygen to your brain. This can also be a good suggestion if you take a few bad beats and start to get tilted. Take some time to clear your mind and your poker game will benefit greatly.
Some people find it helpful to have a good way to release anger and aggression, such as having a punching bag near your desk which can take a pounding after a bad beat much better than your keyboard or mouse. In lieu of an actual punching bag you could pound on a pillow without causing too much harm to anything. Letting out that frustration will help clear your mind and allow you to return to playing your A-game.
If you plan on going out and partying and know that you will be tempted to come back and play poker when you are drunk, you might want to use the self exclusion function that all major poker rooms offer. This can usually be found under an aptly named “responsible gaming” menu. You can block yourself from playing for any period of time that you want, from a few hours to a few days if you want to force yourself to take a break. If you are fighting with your girlfriend or wife and are not in the right state of mind to be playing poker it could save your bankroll (and maybe your relationship!) if you exclude yourself from playing for a few days. Recognizing that they are not in shape to play poker is one of the most important things that a poker player can do to help their overall win rate.
Poker is a game with many different factors impacting it. Most of those factors are beyond your control, so it is important to optimize any factor that you have the ability to. Playing under non-optimal conditions will decrease your win rate and can also lead you to lose confidence in your game. Keeping a clear mind and maintaining your focus will allow you to play the best that you can and will help give you the confidence you need to be on top of your game at all times. Only YOU can make the decision to play the best poker that you can!
