Poker Articles

We're all looking for an edge at the tables; that's what the game is all about.  In any competitive endeavor, it's important to get a leg up on the competition any time you can (within the rules, of course).  One of the ways I get an edge is to make sure my brain is always functioning at a high level when I play.

If I run into a player who is just as smart as I am, and has studied just as hard, I need a new edge to beat him. My edge often comes from the fact that while we may have the same weapons, I keep mine as sharp as possible. In this series I'll talk about ways to keep your mental weapons razor sharp.

Standard disclaimer - I'm not a doctor. Everything I recommend here is over-the-counter stuff, safe for most people. If you are going to go on a serious regimen of smart nutrients and supplements, you probably want to talk to someone with a medical degree, or at least do some of your own research.

Your brain uses chemicals in electrical reactions to store and process information. When the supply of chemicals gets low, things start to slow down or even misfire. Because poker demands so much of our brains while we work, we can easily run low on those chemicals and start to slow down. To prevent this from happening, I take the following nutrients and supplements.

A quality multi-vitamin - Study after study has shown that vitamins are important to mental processing, mood (read: tilt) control and overall health. A healthy sharp poker player in a good mood is a tough opponent...exactly what you want to be. Get a good multi-vitamin at your grocery store or online and take one every other day. The recommended dose is higher than most people need, and I actually take a single two-a-day vitamin every other day to get my vitamins.

Years ago, I did some research into smart drugs and nutrients, things that speed up or enhance processing power in the brain. The number of things proven to increase cognitive function in one way or another is amazing, and for myself, I came up with a list of which nutrients appear to work very well while having very little risk. There are some drugs that help too, but I don't want to be on a drug all the time and have to deal with potential side effects, when I can get most of the benefits from a much safer route.

When I decided to get some "brain pills" for poker, I hunted for something inexpensive, with most of the supplements that I was looking.  I found a product called Focus Formula which I now use regularly. The product is sold in most GNC stores for around $15 for 60 pills, or online at the Amazon marketplace for $9 for the same 60 pills. I take one in the morning of any day I'm going to play poker.

The only thing I thought was really missing from the Focus Formula was Choline, commonly available as Choline Bitartrate. Choline is a very important fuel for your brain, so I take an extra 250 milligrams a day to make sure I never run low. You can find this dosage at most any drugstore or online and it's very inexpensive. I take the Choline whenever I take the Focus Formula so when the formula gets my brain functioning at peak efficiency, I know there will be enough fuel.

In somewhat non-scientific research on my own, within two hours of taking the two supplements mentioned above, my scores on a quick mental agility test improve by about 3%. In keeping up with complex logic problems over a long period of play, I can only imagine it would make even more difference, but that's just a guess on my part. I know I feel better and stay sharp longer, and the cost is very minimal (my regimen costs me about $18 a month) so it's definitely +EV.

Mental Exercise

Once you have the fuel, you also need to keep the engine running strong. A car sitting in the garage for a few years doesn't usually run well right away, and there is no way to predict how well it will perform. Your brain works much the same way. If you don't use it and keep all the parts moving, they will take some time to get warmed up and operating well. If you do a few mental exercises to keep your mind sharp, you can also use these as a baseline to determine how well your brain is working at any time.

When I first sit down at my computer in the morning (let's be honest, it's almost always after noon) I run through a timed set of mental exercises on my iGoogle page just to get my brain warmed up and see how I'm doing. If you use iGoogle, the widget I use is called Brain Tuner.  Lumosity.com has an excellent set of brain exercises as well, and I drop by their site a few times a week to play a game or two and sharpen my mental faculties. Anything with simple math or logic problems, presented in rapid fire succession, is probably a good way  
to start a poker session.

When I go through the Brian Tuner every morning, I know how long it is supposed to take me, and how my performances have been in the past. If my time is slow then I may take a little time off, get a cup of coffee and come back and try it again. If my time doesn't get better, then it's lower limits for me for the day, or I just do other work instead of playing poker. If my time is very fast and I feel good, then I am likely to spend some hours grinding because I know I'm sharp and have a larger edge than usual.

I also like to have a poker book or two on my desk at all times. I try to have a good book on the game I'm playing and look through it occasionally to pick up anything I may have missed reading it in the past. This keeps me thinking and considering other opinions while I play, as well as getting my brain working beyond the same old grind.

And let's not forget: any good personal trainer will tell you breaks in your exercise schedule are important. Taking a break every hour will bring you back to the table refreshed and prevent burnout, while taking a day or a weekend off from the game will give you a new perspective on the game. I also try to take a week or two off from the game a couple times a year, and feel I play my best poker after these long breaks. I may not be sitting at the tables during any break, but I am certainly thinking about the game. I've done some of my best thinking about poker with a rum drink in my hand, basking on an island off the coast of Central America.

If you can establish a baseline for a mental exercise, keep your brain running smooth, and give it an occasional break, you'll be well on your way to staying sharp at the tables and playing your best game.