The game was our normal $5/$10 blind Pot Limit Omaha game and started around 1:00pm. Around 10:00am the next morning, the game was still going strong and players had been in and out all day. The game was still good, or great actually, but I knew fatigue was starting to set in. If I were going to keep playing, I would have to focus just to stay at a reasonable level of play and not make a huge mistake.

Luckily, I had my bag in the truck with a change of clothes and the place we were playing had a shower I could use. I was able to miss a few hands and freshen up enough to feel rejuvenated to keep playing.

The game ended up running until 9:00pm that night for a total of 32 hours played, with a handful of players being there the vast majority of the time. I ended up okay in the game and although I was exhausted when we finished, I enjoyed playing a long session like that. I wouldn’t want to do it on a regular basis, but a few times a year, I would be up for playing long sessions like that if the circumstances worked out.

The next day, I got to thinking about the game, my play, and how fatigue impacted my decisions as well as the decisions of everyone else. The fun of poker is that the circumstances and information available to you are constantly changing and never complete. After playing for 24+ hours, there are all sorts of new elements to consider.

Many of the players were stuck and chasing. Some of them had been playing for many hours, while others had played for a little bit, went home and slept, and came back.

The fine line comes in being able to accurately self-evaluate while being sleep-deprived and very tired. Not only do you have to factor in how much your tiredness is impacting your play, you also have to make that determination while you are not at your best mentally due to lack of sleep. It’s a bit of a circular situation, but if the game is good and you want to keep playing, these are decisions that have to be made.

As long as you feel like you are still playing with an advantage, keep playing, but know that you have to constantly reevaluate the situation. If your play starts to deteriorate, it is time to call it quits. Even one more round could be a disaster once you reach the point of no return and lose the ability to make good decisions.

Long sessions at a casino are often unnecessary since the games are going all the time, but in local games, it often takes a long session for the game to get really good and the stacks to get exceptionally deep. With that in mind, I was in for the long haul unless I really got to the point of not being able to concentrate.

As fresh players started coming back into the game, I had to be even more careful, knowing they were playing at an advantage coming in rested. But, I still felt like the general makeup of the game fit my style well and that my experience playing deep-stacked gave me a decent advantage.

For now, I’m going to try to catch up on rest and don’t want to jump back into a long game any time soon. But, if the opportunity comes up, I’m sure I’ll be glad to hop in and play for many hours in a row again.

Court Harrington has worked on the business side of the poker industry in roles including tournament reporting for PocketFives, radio hosting for PokerRoad Radio, coaching for the WSOP Academy and privately, and a variety of behind-the-scenes responsibilities. He also plays in cash games and tournaments. Harrington is currently doing consulting work and exploring business opportunities outside of the poker industry. You can contact him at Court@CourtHarrington.com.