The solar energy that fuels Ultraman is quickly exhausted on Planet Earth. As his energy reserves dwindle, his Color Timer starts to flicker. If the Color Timer is extinguished, Ultraman will lose the strength to rise once more. You’ve got this, Ultraman! The clock is ticking!
Wait! Is this a Poker blog? Why on earth we're talking about Ultraman here. Please bear with me while I'm explaining this.
For you who are not familiar with the Ultraman thing I have a link for you here about the Ultraman's Color Timer. In a nutshell, the Color Timer shows Ultramans' strength. If the color is blue then he is at full strength. If it starts to flash and turns to red that means the energy level is low.
During my Micro Stakes Poker journey, I've noticed that I have a 'Color Timer'—a point where, after playing for a certain period, my energy and focus begin to wane, leading to poor decision-making. This pattern became apparent when I observed a consistent downswing that occurred if I played extended sessions, which typically followed either a bad beat or being outplayed by a Fish.
Color Timer
I believe you ever heard that playing long sessions is not going to work, particularly if the purpose is to chase losses. Somehow I am overconfident in my ability to focus and I tend to play long hours of sessions without any break particularly when I am beaten. I just didn't realize that I was tilted.
I aimed for sessions lasting between one to one and a half hours. Yet, I often found myself breaking this rule, playing for three hours straight without breaks, and sometimes engaging in more than four tables simultaneously. This practice adversely affected my win rate.
Everyone is tilted to a certain degree, and I do believe any deviation from your A game is tilt. I'm still working on my mental game, however, I had to limit my session length ASAP if I would like to see my win rate improve.
Consequently, I've chosen to limit my sessions to 50 minutes and a maximum of four tables. After several days of this practice, I've noticed significant improvements in my mental game and more consistent play. The win rate is quite favorable, although it's still based on a small sample size. Now, I can recognize the signs when I start to feel tilted.
So limiting the length of the session is really helping me. However, I see many Poker players can play long hour sessions without any mental break. Are they Superman or what?
Everyone is different
One of the plausible reasons is that everyone is different. Some Poker players have more natural resilience towards long sessions. Some are not, like me. So a player could play eight hours straight without any mental burnout, but some are not.
For me, one and a half hours doesn't work. My Color Timer is beeping and flushing all the way till I broke 🤣. The maximum time for me to play for a session is 50 minutes. But it doesn't mean that others couldn't play longer, or others could play that long.
So you've got to find the best interval of playing a session to play your A-Game.
However, for those participating in tournaments, stopping isn't an option if they're still in the game, right? Although I don't participate in tournaments and can't speak from experience, it's clear that mental resilience and focus are even more crucial for enduring long hours of play.
Discipline
Exiting a game when you're winning is often easy, isn't it? But what about when you're losing? That's not so simple. It's a natural instinct to want to chase losses, isn't it? We feel compelled to stack those maniacs, to get back at those calling stations who call us down three streets with bottom pairs and then get lucky on the river with two pairs.
The more you feel you should stay longer, the more you should stop. Sometimes, even if you are sitting at the right tables when a huge whale is spewing chips all around.
Just like Ultramans, Poker players also have the Color Timer. Knowing this, you should set a timer and be really consistent with it.
So, how long your Color Timer is?
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