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Did you take a nap before the tourney started?

no nap

Common story for me I'm afraid. I'll be playing well, building my stack and then out of the blue, I'll call an AI with JJ and .... BOOM, I'm shortstacked or out. Losing my concentration and doing something stupid is one of my weaknesses. Good to hear the better players do it too

I'm sure one of the big differences between a so-so player and a good player is simply maintaining focus. So how do you good players out there get in the zone and more importantly once you're there, stay in it?

Originally Posted by DBL0SVN

I'm sure one of the big differences between a so-so player and a good player is simply maintaining focus. So how do you good players out there get in the zone and more importantly once you're there, stay in it?

I don't know if you realize the importance of this comment...so I will reinforce it. Making good game winning decisions THROUGHOUT the tourney...whether it is stealing blinds when an opportunity arises or simply getting away from a hand and losing less than you might have all comes from maintaining focus.
Catching a good run at the right time is important...so is having the balls to push them in when it counts, but in order to set yourself up for success you simply MUST maintain focus most of the time while you are playing. There have been several ocasions when I was coasting along in la-la land and then realize; "crap, I only have 6k in chips left...just a minute ago I hade 14K" and have to try to make something happen. If I had been in the game all along I would have made some plays, even with bad cards to simply maintain my stack...and wait for the good stuff so when I do double up it actually benefits me.

There have been countless threads about what you do to get in the zone, it varies from person to person. A few simple things to remain focused on the game you are in (after a few hours in a MTT) is writing down on a piece of paper what your hands are...and your opponents names are. Keep a little tick sheet and track how many times they limp, raise...push. The simple act of having to pay attention and process the information long enought to write it down helps me maintain focus if I am feeling tired.

I've found my love of poker to be a downfall in that I'll have a long day at work or I'll get home late from my girlfriends and because I've been thinking about poker all day and reading FTR all day I just wanna play.

Problem is
1.Im tired
2. ive already been bored all day and i want to play and see waaaay too many flops
3. ive already been bored all day and i want to play and see waaaay too many turns
4.ive already been bored all day and i want to play and see waaaay too many rivers
ive already been bored all day and i want to play and call waaaay too many ai's

But hey, at least im out of denial and can get help now

(raises hand)"Hi, my names Drumz and I'm a fish"
(In unison) "Hi Drumz..."

Originally Posted by DrumzCT

(raises hand)"Hi, my names Drumz and I'm a fish"

Hi Drumz.

-sed