Poker and Caffeine

[Chaos_ult]

Perhaps this is just me, but I tend to play worse when I have too much coffee (or any kind of energy drink for that matter). Anyone else notice this phenomenon? According to the book Inside The Poker Mind, they describe tilt as anything which sways your perception of a particular hand (be it bordeom, etc).

[scotnt73]

it would make sense. if buzzing on caffiene it might be harded to patiently wait for good starting hands. this probably wouldnt be a problem for the online players who play 3-6 tables at a time though.

[MicroBob]

caffeine would really effect my chess game. after a certain amount i would lose concentration and realize that i made a move when i actually was still deliberating.
i am referring to longer tournament games where it is not uncommon to take 15-30 minutes on an individual move.

i was helping a dad tutor is young chess prodigy at our chess club once and the Dad confided in me that the kid seemed to be lacking in patience and i agreed. the kid had plenty of talent but was just plain freaking hyper sometimes and moved way way too fast. my suggestion to cut back on the coke was extremely effective according to the dad but i never really witnessed the results in person.

however, caffeiene really hasn't effected my poker game too much....but in a slow moving B&M game where you havent received anything worth playing in an 2 hours i can definately see this as a possibility.

and i do indeed fuel up on a couple of cups when i am multi-tabling online.
caffeine effects people differently....if you are getting all jittery and impatient after a couple of cups then you mayh want to monitor your intake....but cutting it out completely might not be the right answer (and wouldnt be as much fun either).

[RydenStoompala]

I use a steady diet of coffee and bottled water all night at mid-limit games. I find that I can fine-tune the buzz to the point where I have a near-religous experience and start grinning like a maniac, a situation that unsettles my opponents and gives me some "room" on the poor flops. It's a drug, pure and simple, so if you cannot handle it, avoid it.

[Warren Whitmore]

Hi Chaos,
I did a design of experiment a while back with three of the parameters being caffine, pot, and alcohol. I could find no correlation with any of them. Then I noticed something odd. The thousand hours of the experiment my win rate was less than the previous thousand hours. So for the next 1000 hours I did not take any drugs what so ever either while playing cards or not. My results were better than either of the previous 1000 hour blocks. This probably is not what anyone wants to hear but my opinion at present is that drugs while not nessisarily noticibly change your ability in the present may very well affect your long term ability to succed.

[Tommy Angelo]

If A=B, and if A=C, then does not B=C? I thought so. For example, consider this syllogism:

Time = distance (Einstein)
Time = money (All the other Steins)
Money equals distance. (Which holds pretty much true in a car or a spaceship, but not so much in an airplane.)

Here is another:

Poker = life
Caffeine = life
Poker = caffeine


Tommy

[bigpooch]

When I was younger and played in the card rooms, there was
no doubt I could play for twenty to forty hours straight as
long as I had coffee every six hours or so. Back then, I
don't think my play even deterioted at all after twenty
four hours of play; I basically played like a machine.
Nowadays, the best I can do without an extended break might
be about ten hours, although admittedly that is often four
or five tables at a time.

[DrSavage]

Yea, I've noticed the same thing. My solution: cancel out the caffeine with nicotine.

[andyfox]

When I saw the title of the post, and that Tommy had responded, I can't tell you the feeling of excited anticipation that came over me.

I was not disappointed.

As ever, Tommy has cut right to the chase.

Case closed.

[Phat Mack]

It all depends on the individual. I'm hyper-sensitive to caffeine. A cup of de-caf keeps me wired for hours. I have to stay away from it while I'm playing.

Pool players will drug a sucker with speed. The speed will make the sucker feel aggressive to the point that he won't pull up--even when he knows he's beaten. If I drink coffee while I'm playing poker, a similar thing happens to me. I feel invincible and won't stop firing. Not a bad strategy, granted, but one that never fails to get me broke.

An interesting book that covers the subject of caffeine, and drugs in general:

From chocolate to morphine (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0395911524/ref=pd_bxgy_text_1/002-3063683-0152806?v=glance&s=books&st=*)

[pretender2k]

I agree. Some nights I can play with two pots of coffee in me and maybe one of those ginseng and caffiene pills and play well but I have never drank anything but juice in Brink and Mortars because I get shaky for some reason.

[Warren Whitmore]

Sounds interesting, I will buy it.

[Doc Mox]

Caffeine dudn't bother me but I find that after 4 double Dewar's.... I raise little 3 flushes on the turn.

[LJH]

YOU MAY BE RIGHT. I GET VERY HIGH ON CAFFENE AND CANNOT THINK STRAIGHT ALSO, IT IS MY IMMUNE SYSTEM THAT IS WEAK. I THEREFORE DO NOT DRINK COFFEE OR COLA DRINKS WHEN PLAYING POKER. LJH

[J_V]

caffeine makes me play much better. But drugs affect me a lot and it changes my mood to very happy. Drinking lots of coffee feels to me how people describe the feeling of taking ecstacy. I try to stay away from coffee as much as I can because I enjoy it too much. But my short term clarity and intenseness shots way up.

[glen]

I drink a lot of coffee, and no matter how much you drink, it will never ressemble ecstacy. Mini-thins with ephedrine do, though, if you take like 5 or 6 at once. It's amazing that you can still buy those over the counter. I wish they would ban them, because I take too many with my erractic schedule to stay awake, and they're bad for you.