When it comes to participating in high-profile games like poker or blackjack, one of the biggest downfalls for most players is a loss of concentration. It’s easy to understand why this happens: it’s difficult to maintain concentration for long periods of time, and when combined with the pressures of playing, it doesn’t take too long for the player’s mind to begin slipping.
This is a problem, as this is when the more experienced players will begin to take advantage of the situation. Learning to maintain focus for longer periods of time is a key element of finding more success at the playing table, and these tips and tricks can help a beginner player do just that.
Maintain Physical Health
It may be surprising to some, but one of the most efficient ways of keeping the mind sharp is by looking after the body. It’s almost impossible to maintain a specific level of attention to the situation at hand when a player is hungry, tired, or has had too much to drink. Eating well, staying away from alcohol and drugs when playing, and getting plenty of quality sleep are always great ways of keeping the minder sharp. When it comes to trying to earn the big rewards from a favourite game, staying sharp can make all the difference, meaning taking care of the body is worth the effort.
Always Be Comfortable
Wearing uncomfortable clothing for a few hours can drive a person crazy, even if they don’t want to show it, and it can break a player’s focus in a short space of time. Being as comfortable as possible – even if this means forgoing fashionable clothing and shoes – can be beneficial to building up long-term focus. It may also mean taking a comfortable pillow to sit on over the duration of the game – comfort is everything when sitting for long periods of time.
Focus Training
With modern mobile devices, our attention spans have never been shorter, with the average being between 5 and 8 seconds. This is obviously not great for maintaining focus for any amount of time, which is why it’s a good idea to try and increase the attention span as much as possible. Having set times for checking social media is a good start, as it means spending time away from the device. Reading books to completion is another way of improving attention span, as it means focussing on a specific story or subject over periods of time.
Learn To Remove Emotion
When we’re playing in a high-profile game against other experienced players or even when we’re playing Aussie dollar games online, it’s easy to have a strong emotional response, especially when things don’t play out as planned. This is a very easy way to break focus, our emotions are extremely powerful, and they can cause our concentration to fall by the wayside. It’s worth learning to cut off as much emotion as possible when entering a game, as it means removing that emotional response from play completely.