Mental toughness and cunning are valuable skills to have when playing poker, especially over a long stretch of time.
Whether you are going to sit down for three hours or three days, you have to know your limitations.
There are also a couple of common sense things you can do to limit your mistakes.
The first one seems so simple, but I see so many card players fail to adhere to it. Be well rested when you come to play.
Friday nights at the card club are called sucker’s night because so many guys show up after work with their paycheck. They possess the perfect combination of money and fatigue.
The last thing you want to do is to sit down at a card table after working 8 or 10 hours. You might not feel tired, but trust me, you are and you are bound to make stupid mistakes.
Don’t go to the club right after work, go home, take a nap and a shower, eat something and then go to the club. That two hours of down time will save you a bunch of money later on in the evening.
The same goes if you are playing online poker. Come home from work and plop down in front of the computer and you are going to make mistakes.
Another common mistake players make is they don’t take breaks while they play.
That is a big mistake. You should get up at least once an hour and stretch and walk around. If you don’t want to miss a hand, just walk around the table while the dealer is shuffling. Or if you fold a hand, get up and take a little stretch.
The last bit of advice is to know when to quit. Set a deadline. When it’s time to quit, quit. You’ll make more money in the long run.