How to stay focussed in long poker tournaments

Dara O'Kearney applies the lessons from his ultra running career to the poker tables and shows you how to stay focussed in MTTs.

I often get asked about how to stay focussed in long poker tournaments. I think players think of me where this is concerned is because I have a reputation for nursing a short stack for a very long time. 

I have also been able to transfer the skills I learned as an ultra marathon runner to the poker tables in this respect. The obvious benefit is physical stamina which absolutely transfers to mental stamina. The biggest advantage I had early in my poker career was I was still very sharp at the end of long days at the tables.

If you have focus problems at the tables and you are unfit, exercise and good diet should be your first big area to improve. 

The other big advantage from running is that you cannot win a marathon in the first hour just like you cannot win a poker tournament in the first level. If you focus too hard on the end of the tournament, you will lose focus. Instead try to be in the moment and play each hand as it comes, just like you would focus on putting one foot in front of the other in a race. 

Embrace boredom

Running, like poker, is actually quite boring for the most part if you are playing correctly. There is a lot of waiting between hands. You have to be OK with boredom. You also have to keep the pots small when you have small hands and not try to force the pace. There are plenty of bad players who will give you their chips if you wait long enough.

If you do feel bored waiting for a hand, switch your focus on developing reads on the other players. Note how they played hands, if they seem like a pro or a recreational, whether they understand ICM and bet sizing, and so on. This will stave off boredom and also prove very valuable later on.

Finally, an idea borrowed from chess of hard focus vs soft focus. Hard focus is maximum intensity and you need it while you are in the hand. Soft focus is when you allow your mind a chance to rest. It's essentially allowing yourself to take mental breaks, either by simply zoning out or maybe distracting yourself with your phone when you are not in a hand. The idea of laser focussed players who pick up every piece of the action is a myth, much better to conserve your mental energy for when you need it the most. 

I talk about focus and my running career a lot in the latest episode of The Last Call, which I am featured in this month:

Dara O'Kearney's new book Endgame Poker Strategy: The ICM Book is out now.