Help managing heartrate (2 Viewers)

[Frogzilla]

My heart rate if in a hand always rises and I cannot figure out how to relax and keep it down. If we are in a pot, it’s going to rise until it gets crazy high and stay there until hand is over. Bluffing, nuts, easy spot, hard spot, low stakes, high stakes, it doesn’t matter. And I don’t know if it’s just me being aware of it and noticing it more, but it really seems to be getting worse.

Any and all advice is welcome. Ive been trying some things, but only thing thats working is beer and would be good to have a couple backup options. Really want to solve this before WSOP

 

[WedgeRock]

Inhale for a count of 5, hold for a count of 5, exhale for a count of 5.

Or 4-7-8 if you're a Buddhist monk.

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/4-7-8-breathing

 

[JMC9389]

^ This

Breathe in deeply through your nose for 5 seconds, hold for 2 to 3 seconds, then exhale for at least double the time through your mouth

 

[TheRealTeddyKGB]

 

[colter ripton]

Start smoking a bunch of weed before you go in

 

[upNdown]

Bluffing, nuts, easy spot, hard spot, low stakes, high stakes

So why does it matter? Seriously.

 

[raynmanas]

look into the beta blocker propranolol. i use it before presentations, and used to use it all the time when i was playing a lot of casino tournaments.

 

[wickedwonka121]

Practice. You need more hands to feel comfortable. First time I played strangers in a tourney I thought my heart was going to explode. Not anymore. Also, good players can see you breathing deeply. Just keep that in mind.

 

[TheRealTeddyKGB]

So why does it matter? Seriously.

This is actually a good question. If it happens all the time in all spots other players won't be able to get a correct read off you.

Unless you're just worried about your heart?

 

[Frogzilla]

So why does it matter? Seriously.

Yea I don’t think I’m giving away anything but it’s very uncomfortable and possibly unhealthy (not sure?)

 

[raynmanas]

This is actually a good question. If it happens all the time in all spots other players won't be able to get a correct read off you.

Unless you're just worried about your heart?

it can be as simple as noticing your racing heart takes needed focus from the task at hand.

 

[upNdown]

Yea I don’t think I’m giving away anything but it’s very uncomfortable and possibly unhealthy (not sure?)

I hope not because I do the same thing. And I love the rush!
Personally if I’m in a WSOP tournament, I don’t want to distract myself from my game even 1% by doing table yoga or whatever.
If you really want to play the meta game, maybe draw a big circle around your aorta pulse point. Let them figure it out.

 

[DirtyTIVA]

How high of an heart rate are we talking about here? 120 or 180?

It should be regular (beats evenly spaced). If it’s not regular that’s a separate problem completely.

 

[iLogik]

I believe that’s called adrenaline.
Things that scare you can cause this.
However it goes unnoticed during other activities because your probably focused on other things in the environment. With poker it’s more quiet and you might focus on ur heart beat which may make it feel worse. If it continues for too long and often I suggest consulting your doctor. Either way I have that exact scenario as well and have noticed my hear rate the same way and looked into it ur not alone.

 

[Frogzilla]

How high of an heart rate are we talking about here? 120 or 180?

It should be regular (beats evenly spaced). If it’s not regular that’s a separate problem completely.

If I had to guess, pretty high for sitting down, 160? regular though

 

[iLogik]

Start smoking a bunch of weed before you go in

Actually getting high for the first time made me paranoid and also hyper focused on my heart and breathing so I wouldn’t recommend that if your new…

 

[mike32]

look into the beta blocker propranolol. i use it before presentations, and used to use it all the time when i was playing a lot of casino tournaments.

Is a side effect of propranolol laughing out loud? This could also pose problems as a tell.

 

[DirtyTIVA]

If I had to guess, pretty high for sitting down, 160? regular though

I’m surprised because you seem like a pretty experienced player. As you said, if it happens at all stakes it’s just adrenaline. Your hands probably get cold and clammy too.

I know when I first sit down at a big game I can be jittery especially if the room is cold. Once I settle down after a pot or if I wear a jacket it’s all good and doesn’t come back.

Beta blockers like Propranolol or sedatives like Ativan make sense as well if you can get a prescription.

 

[colter ripton]

In all seriousness, the only thing that cured this for me was playing more often. I dont know how often you go, but this did eventually settle down for me after many hours at the table. If I haven't gone to a casino for a while, even today, I'm nervous as hell the first hour or so. If I'm going a couple times a week though, I don't really get nervous at all, not even really in big pots.

 

[upNdown]

I’m surprised because you seem like a pretty experienced player. As you said, if it happens at all stakes it’s just adrenaline. Your hands probably get cold and clammy too.

I know when I first sit down at a big game I can be jittery especially if the room is cold. Once I settle down after a pot or if I wear a jacket it’s all good and doesn’t come back.

Beta blockers like Propranolol or sedatives like Ativan make sense as well if you can get a prescription.

I’m sure there are probably countless factors involved, but this will happen to me when I’m playing a $10 PCF PokerStars online tournament on a Tuesday night. Granted I don’t get to play cards as much these days as I have in the past, but I don’t believe it has much to do with experience or frequency. At least not for me.
And again, for whatever it’s worth, I like the rush and if it’s happening whether I’m bluffing or I have the nuts, I’ve never worried about it being a tell, live.

 

[DirtyTIVA]

I’m sure there are probably countless factors involved, but this will happen to me when I’m playing a $10 PCF PokerStars online tournament on a Tuesday night. Granted I don’t get to play cards as much these days as I have in the past, but I don’t believe it has much to do with experience or frequency. At least not for me.
And again, for whatever it’s worth, I like the rush and if it’s happening whether I’m bluffing or I have the nuts, I’ve never worried about it being a tell, live.

It’s probably not a bad thing you still get a rush from playing. I’m definitely more numb… unless I get tilted. I just see it as a more experienced racer not having the same adrenaline response as I have when I’m tracking. Then again those onboard telemetry readings do show their heart rates in the 140s pretty consistently. Maybe a fit runner whose heart rate doesn’t shoot up immediately like mine when I start working out is a better example.

 

[Tonystark137]

My heart tends to beat fast in my first few hands played. Longer if it's been a while since I played. I usually chalk it up to nerves.

 

[grandmeme]

Dunno if this is good advice, but once you start playing PLO5, I find it hard to stay awake at a two card table after a few hours.

 

[springbox]

Two best solutions are lots more playing so the experience becomes more usual, or as others have said some form of beta blocker. They don't stop you from feeling anxious, but the cut out the physical symptoms like getting clammy or having your heart rate jump which can help a lot.

 

[allforcharity]

look into the beta blocker propranolol. i use it before presentations, and used to use it all the time when i was playing a lot of casino tournaments.

I would not recommend medication therapy for this limiting condition, unless you are talking about crippling performance-related anxiety. Even then, get real medical advice from your doctor and pharmacist. There are a lot of people with underlying medical conditions that won't do well with propranolol and other beta blockers.

 

[DirtyTIVA]

I would not recommend medication therapy for this limiting condition, unless you are talking about crippling performance-related anxiety. Even then, get real medical advice from your doctor and pharmacist. There are a lot of people with underlying medical conditions that won't do well with propranolol and other beta blockers.

You and I both know Propranolol isn't useful for much else besides this and esophageal varices

 

[raynmanas]

I would not recommend medication therapy for this limiting condition, unless you are talking about crippling performance-related anxiety. Even then, get real medical advice from your doctor and pharmacist. There are a lot of people with underlying medical conditions that won't do well with propranolol and other beta blockers.

well no kidding, it's a prescription med - how else would he get it without talking to his doctor? i ain't sending him any, lol.

 

[Highli99]

I play online poker while running on a treadmill. Wednesday night I run 8 miles at about a 113 heart rate. Friday nights I run 20 miles and it gets up to about 133. Towards the end of that 3 hour run, good decisions get more difficult and I tend to miss some borderline calls/raises I would find if my heart rate was lower.

I've been running and playing poker for many years.

The end result is that my heart rate stays pretty steady when I'm playing live. It's actually pretty relaxing in comparison. You should try this if you haven't.

 

[iLogik]

How do you hit the mouse running?

 

[upNdown]

well no kidding, it's a prescription med - how else would he get it without talking to his doctor? i ain't sending him any, lol.