Concentration

[Defendant]

I find that if I am in a stimulating environment (i.e. at home) I CANNOT concentrate on one thing. Example?

Trying to study at home...oh man the XBox is right there, or the computer to play some poker.

So, I study in the lab, little to no distractions...problem solved (I might run a reaction or something like that, as long as it doesnt take up my whole attention, but thats where we get back to the distractions).

So, the less distractions, the easier it is to focus on one thing. Problem is that when youre playing online poker, the fact that youre sitting at a computer with an active web connection provides plenty of distractions (how easy is it to just open up the browser and surf around?). So I really dont know if I can extrapolate my schoolwork solution to online poker...

Defendant

[humpty99]

I can say with absolute certainty that I play much better when concentrating. Like Aeq said, if you watch the players at your table, there is tons of info. I can pretty accurately peg most players in the first 20 minutes or so. With a little digging, I could also prove that my win rate is much much higher when my kids and wife are in bed. I sometimes play when they are all up, and have much worse outcomes. In a SNG, if I get heads up I normally win. When the kids are around, I always seem to get 2nd instead of first. My son is smacking the TV, my oldest daughter is punching my youngest daughter, etc. etc. Just too much going on. I have tried playing two or three at a time and I absolutely despise it. Just doesn't feel like I am making the right decisions as often.

I have my computer running through my 62 inch TV. When everyone is asleep, I will split the screen in half with TV on the left and poker on the right. I can concentrate on poker when I need to, and TV when I don't. Its like heaven..... maybe just because its quiet for once.