How many hours of real focus do you actually have in mtts?

I’ve been experimenting with longer sessions lately, 8+ hours, 8 - 10 tables and one thing became very clear: the biggest enemy isn’t variance, it’s cognitive fatigue.

Even when motivation is there, decision quality slowly drops after several hours.
You still click buttons, but the depth of thinking changes.
Mtts don’t allow real breaks, so recovery is limited.

Do you feel a clear drop in decision quality after a certain number of hours?

Do you adapt your strategy in late stages, like simplifying lines or tightening ranges?

Do you structure your schedule to avoid very long grinds?

I'm probably the odd duck here but I prefer longer MTT's. The longer the better for me honestly. Over 25+ years of owning and running my own business have conditioned me to working and being able to focus for long periods of time even with very little sleep. So yeah I'll be the odd duck out here no doubt.

Cheers!!!

I can never stay focused for so long, after a few hours of playing it's like I don't play the same way anymore. So yes, fatigue is something that causes you to lose money

I’m not at 100% for 10 hours; instead, I manage my energy to perform at my best when it really matters. I take micro-breaks between hands. I have routines for eating, hydration, and breathing. I train away from the tables (study and review), not just by playing.

Fatigue used to be a problem for me but once I'd realized it It just stoped. So I think knowing that this can influence the way one plays is the most important thing.

my longest session was 13 hours some years ago but now i cant play that lonh because in the netherlands you have max 8 hours to play on the clients

Its not only about the length of your session, but also how many tables/hands you play during that time. Each hand require decision making, which is the main thing, that lead to mental fatique. If top of that you have less time to think about a decision, if several other tables also require your attention at the same time. So by multitabling your are trading quality for quantity, and it sound like, 8-10 tables are above, what is optimal for you.

Checking your sharkscope profile on partypoker, you are playing for a very low average buyin of just $0,28. So you are basically mass multitabling freerolls and penny games. And while you do have a very impressive ROI (partly due to the freerolls), this is not an efficient use of time, especially if we talk about getting better and moving up to stakes, where real money can be made. So I will suggest the following plan:

* Cut the number of tables to 4-5
* Quit the freerolls and penny games and move up to $2.2-5.5 MTTs and see, how you perform there
* Eventually move up further, if and when your bankroll and results justify it

LuTsu said:

I’ve been experimenting with longer sessions lately, 8+ hours, 8 - 10 tables and one thing became very clear: the biggest enemy isn’t variance, it’s cognitive fatigue.

Even when motivation is there, decision quality slowly drops after several hours.
You still click buttons, but the depth of thinking changes.
Mtts don’t allow real breaks, so recovery is limited.

Do you feel a clear drop in decision quality after a certain number of hours?

Do you adapt your strategy in late stages, like simplifying lines or tightening ranges?

Do you structure your schedule to avoid very long grinds?

Click to expand...

Yes after about 5-6 hours there’s a noticeable drop in decision quality, even if I still feel motivated. Late stages I simplify: fewer marginal bluffs, tighter ranges. I try to avoid ultra-long grinds by planning shorter sessions because fresh 5 hours > tired 10 hours.

scientifically proven that our A game does not exceed 1:30 to 2 hours... the secret is to have a great B game and of course a lot of focus on bubbles and FTS!!! Go!

the less poker u play the better all dead this days.

Absolutely true, playing MTTs is very tiring, a 5-minute break per hour is superhuman, you only have time to go to the bathroom and get some water.

i keep myself engaged with other things but if it's only poker, i can lose interest fast

It's a tough game that requires a lot of concentration But you have to concentrate for at least 5 hours

The tournaments I've played last around 5 to 6 hours, during that time I'm 100% focused

I usually get burnt out by day 2 of a live event if the levels are long and the breaks are short. 12 hours at the table can seem like a slog, especially if it’s not going well so I can only imagine how hard it must be physically and mentally to play the main event at wsop.

Playing cash live I prefer it short and sweet, 2-3 hours max after that I don’t seem to make the correct choice and follow one bad bet after another another, the worst thing is I know I’m doing it when it’s happening.

On the computer however, if I had the time to myself that I used to have I could gladly play until my fingers bled. For me it doesn’t feel like a grind online, the game just gives me pure joy, win or lose doesn’t really matter to me the winning is being there playing, experiencing, learning, growing.

The ops question is a good one.
Everyone is different, I would be more focused on hour 10 of an unlimited session than minute 45 when I know I can only play an hour.

I feel tired if I play for more than 5 hours. 5 hours isn't much, but I try to limit myself and not play more than my health allows