How to Recharge During Your Tournament Breaks in Live Games

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Knowing how to recharge during your breaks in live tournaments can be the difference-maker between going home with a big score and leaving the tournament empty-handed.

Unfortunately, many players waste this opportunity during the breaks by diverting their energy to unnecessary things.

Because of this, they can’t recharge their batteries well enough when the time comes to continue with the tournament.

If you’re looking for the best tips on how to replenish your energy levels and prepare as best as you can for the next tournament stage, we’ve got the best tips for you!

From simple and often overlooked aspects to some more unorthodox methods, we’ll share with you the top ways to recharge your batteries during live poker games.

Have a Healthy Meal

Let’s start with a straightforward tactic every player can implement and follow during every tournament. When you’re playing in a live tournament for hours, it’s easy to forget about some of your basic functions.

Plus, with all of the junk food and alcohol around you, you probably aren’t treating your body as well as you should.

If this is the case, you can’t expect your mind to focus and perform the best it can.

With this in mind, many poker players overlook the importance of having a healthy meal before or during the tournament.

To avoid binging on junk food during shorter breaks, prepare some healthy snacks you can quickly eat when you have a few minutes away from the tables.

Healthy snack during poker tournaments

That way, you can make sure your energy levels stay consistent, and you don’t crash when you can least afford it.

What you put in your body during a tournament has a huge impact on your decision-making. Fresh fruit, healthy snacks, and water are always the way to go.

You can always save the drinks and heavier food for when the tournament is over.

Get Some Sleep

Tournaments with hundreds or even thousands of participants can last for an entire day, even for several days, as is the case with some bigger events.

Sometimes, this can take the energy out of you, and you can’t perform at your top level.

Luckily, most poker tournaments have breaks every couple of hours. These breaks are usually between ten and twenty minutes, although longer events often offer longer breaks, sometimes up to an hour.

If you’re playing in such a tournament, you should take maximum advantage of every minute you get. If you can, try to find a quiet corner and get some shuteye.

Even a thirty-minute power nap can provide you with the extra energy boost you need to perform better when the game resumes.

Just keep in mind that you should always give yourself enough time to be at your table before the tournament resumes.

If you’re late, your chips will get blinded out slowly, and no one wants to get out of a tournament that way.

Work on Your Calmness

If you don’t want or don’t have the time to take a quick power nap during a tournament break, the next best thing to do is try to relax and return to mindfulness.

A break during a tournament is a good opportunity to slow down or even take a few minutes to meditate if you can in such a surrounding.

recharge your batteries meditating

Taking even just five minutes to sit in silence with your eyes closed and take some deep breaths can help you feel more connected with your actions for the rest of the tournament.

Try to zone out everything around you and regain some focus. This will also make you feel less overwhelmed during big moments and tough decisions at the table.

Give Your Brain a Short Break

Lastly, playing day-long or multi-day tournaments can cause significant brain fatigue. So, your brain will appreciate every minute of rest you give it.

With that in mind, the easiest way to do so is to pull up your phone and engage in some mindless and relaxing activities.

You can browse social media, play a dumb game that requires no effort, or simply put on your headphones and listen to a couple of your favorite songs.

This is a great way to release any mental or emotional pressure you may have accumulated from any bad beats and coolers during the tournament so far, as well as calm yourself for the remainder of the event.