Our brains might seem like computers, but they’re very different from the phone in your pocket or your laptop, and rely on complex chemistry to function, rather than having their processing capacity determined by silicon chips. In turn, there’s a real spectrum across which the effectiveness of our decision-making can vary, and the more fatigued you become, the trickier it is to determine the right path forward.
Poor decision-making caused by a tired brain is particularly troublesome in a poker-playing context. Here’s a look at what causes the negative change in our decision skills, giving you a better idea of why being well-rested is important if you’ve got a big poker session coming up.
Losing the Odds Edge
Good poker play comes down to how well you can calculate odds at any one time, depending on the state of the pot and the broader state of play. The moment you begin to feel the effects of tiredness, it will inevitably get that bit harder to make these calculations correctly. At that point, you might be tempted to shift over to a more vibe-based approach to playing hands, which leaves you vulnerable to adopting play patterns that are far more predictable.
That’s why it’s important to rest up and also take frequent breaks so that your mind has time to focus on other things, or drift onto nothing in particular. You might even explore a broader poker game range to reset your brain if you’ve been focused on just one variety.
Going On Tilt
When your mind is run ragged, you’re far more likely to get tilted when things don’t go your way. And when you’re on tilt, the usual finesse of your decision-making will likely go out the window, again allowing emotions to take over.
Big blow-ups are one thing, but what you need to be more aware of when you start to feel fatigued is the subtler micro-tilts that can occur frequently. Getting even a little frustrated and being unable to process this feeling logically will push you to place bets based on anger.
Becoming Desperate
As our minds drift into a fatigued state, another feeling that bubbles to the surface is desperation, because we’ll feel that we want to bring the current session to an end, but might have other psychological blocks holding us back from making this important decision. The desperation of wanting to win one more big hand before calling it quits makes players much more impulsive and prone to the kind of rookie errors that they’d otherwise never fall for.
Likewise, the desperation of being ground down by mental fatigue can also cause us to push decision-making to the side altogether, and call hands that would otherwise merit a fold for the simple reason that having to work out if folding is the right call involves a lot more brain activity than simply calling.
Losing Focus
Finally, our attention is at its weakest and most flighty when we’re tired. Poker players who’d usually be honed in on what’s happening from moment to moment will find their thoughts drifting elsewhere, thus missing key details that are needed to make the best decision hand after hand.
Basically, playing poker while your mind is overwhelmed with tiredness or any other extraneous emotion is a one-way trip to bad decision-making. Avoid this at all costs.