This article originally appeared in Card Player Magazine . Researchers have long known that people perform better at some times than others, and it varies from one person to the next. Some of us begin the day on a high note and are at our best early in the morning, but we run straight down from there. Others among us are night people, and hit their stride once the sun sets. Still others do well in the morning, lag in the middle of the day, but catch a second wind in the evening.
Poker players are no different.
Some are at their best when they first sit down. It takes a while for others to get into the flow of the game. Although everyone's game tends to fall apart when they're tired, some of us can play all day before tiring while others run out of energy after six or seven hours at the table. My own desperate hours occur when I first sit down. Unless I've had an opportunity to scope out the game from the rail while I'm waiting for a seat, I don't know who's on tilt, who's been calling every bet and raise with a weak hand, and I can't tell whether a player's raise represents a legitimately strong hand or is simply the actions of a maniac who's throwing money into the pot more out of habit and ego than anything else.