Do You Drink When You Play?

[Mike Gallo]

I do not have even one sip of alcohol while I play.

[Al_Capone_Junior]

I see there is already one idiot who says that their own play is a "lot better" when they are drinking.


I currently tend to drink when playing. lately I have plenty of cash, and I want to have fun while playing. I also at the moment tend to play 6-12 most of the time (got sick of no limit, want to play some friggin' hands already and not sit around for hours waiting for a hand). My game certainly isn't quite as good when drinking, but playing limit it's not a big deal. I am usually so much better than the tourists I can spot them a few drinks and still do just fine. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

That didn't use to be the case tho, I used to never drink. Even today, if I really care about the money, I don't drink. If I play anything with $1000 on the table for limit, or $500 for no limit, I won't be drinking.

Opponent's play usually goes WAY down after their fourth and higher drink. Majorly LAG players may not show as noticable an effect, as the drinking doesn't change their style all that much. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] Everyone else tends to start playing more hands, and taking them further.

al

[goofball]

I very usually drink corona or a good mixed drink while I play.

1) I drink it slowly enough that I don't feel at all buzzed.
2) It makes me look more like i'm there to GAMBOOOOL
3) It helps me buddy up with the fish who are there to GAMBOOOL.
4) It generally encourages GAMBOOOLING
5) It's more fun to be a friendly out going drinking poker pro than a grumpy rock.

[Beezos]

i prefer not to drink when i play. in my experience it does nothing but hurt my game. playing no limit i do not like to drink at all. it completely destroys my game. no limit you need to be real sharp and always pay attention to whats going on. a few drinks and every suited or connected hand is worth a limp. they all look good, and if i hit the draw i am super aggro, and eventually lose all my money. in limit i feel a little safer drinking but it still doesnt help. one time i was up but i was so drunk i flipped my cards over early and lost probably 3 bets from callers on the river. other times ive ended up overplaying great starting hands that were outflopped (capping on every street with rockets when i know someone flopped a set or two pair), then gone on tilt til i did the same to someone else(cracking acces with 9,7 os). a general rule of thumb for me is if you care about the money you probabbaly should not drink. but if you are at home game with buddies with a low buy in drinking wouldnt be a big deal.

[deacsoft]

I was approaching the "tanked" stage when I won a MTT. After my victory I promptly issued a "thank you" to Rolling Rock for making it all possible. At those times I drank moderately while playing.

About 8 months to a year later I was at my local B&M whne I found out that 8 white russians was my limit. I got wasted and dumped a fair amount of money to many of the same people I'd been taking it from for a long time (many months of sessions). I was straddeling from UTG while smoking my cigarette 15 feet from the table, chasing everything, making crazy raises, and winning very few pots. "I need another rack, please." I must say, it was fun though. When I decided to call it a nigh I said something along the lines of, "Goodnight everyone. It's about time I gave you guys some of your money back". Looking back I wish I wouldn't have added that last part. However, no one was offended. We play together all the time and have a really friendly group. I still get teased about that night once in a while. Since then I will not drink while playing. Since I play for a living and try to take my job very seriously every day I feel that drinking is -EV for me.

Drining wile playing on-line, however, is a whole different story. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[GuruCane]

What folks are ignoring to some degree is tolerance level. I have known some folks who can have 6-8 drinks in a few hours and play no differently, while others that just have a couple completely lose touch with reality and spew chips. I almost always drink when I play unless it is a new game (live or online) that I need to evaluate. Once I reach a certain amount of drinks, I clearly begin to make bad decisions (but I realize it's costing me $). That is when I cease playing multiple tables. After one or two more, I move to something more simple like one table of a lower limit or low limit razz. Drinking and playing adds to the fun of the game for me. Overall, however, I think it's a mistake. One or two to loosen up and that's it is a good policy (b/c the jitters can also have a negative effect on one's game).

[Jurollo]

[ QUOTE ]
Drinking may be good for your table image to induce calls.

[/ QUOTE ]
Just pound back O'Douls and act drunk, show down some crap hands, and then take advantage.
~Justin