Enhance Your Poker Game With Brainwave Drag Music
Years ago, I played a girl’s game of poker on Friday nights. Naturally, the radio played the top 40 tunes non-stop. And all my opponents spoke in their obvious girlish language of ‘a boy is near’. It was absolutely the most fun I have ever had playing poker. Except for one problem, I never won. I guess that’s why they kept inviting me to come back. He was really trying to win. Actually. But what guy can think of poker while surrounded by all those distractions?
Whether we are at home or at the casino, the poker scene is often the same. One distraction after another. In fact, we spend most of our lives in a state of distraction. I am distracted right now. Let’s see: I’m writing this article, worrying about the backlog of emails, thinking about bills to pay and errands to run, there’s a loud noise outside, and I’m chewing on a sandwich while making coffee. My mind is literally a whirlwind with all sorts of unrelated thoughts competing for center stage.
In this age of multitasking, one might think that they are being more productive when multitasking. But most likely they are not. Even today, the human brain is only capable of thinking about one thing at a time. Should I repeat? Your mind can focus on only one thing at a time. If your thinking is scattered, you are ultimately less productive.
When we are in our active, fully awake state of mind, known as Beta, we are generally in a state of continuous distraction. This is also generally the state of mind we find ourselves in when we play poker. Do you see the problem?
The cocktail waitress, the television, the dog, the largemouth, they really are not conducive to achieving peak mental performance in poker. After all, poker is a mental sport. So how can we maintain the level of concentration required for peak mental performance with all those distractions bombarding us?
If you were tied for first in the final leg of a marathon, none of those kinds of distracting thoughts would enter your mind. If they did, you wouldn’t be tied down in the first place for long. So why do we allow distractions to enter our minds at the poker table? Perhaps, there is a really simple answer: we don’t know how to block them. There are many methods of blocking distraction in order to achieve focused concentration. This article is about a so-called brainwave entrainment music.
Ideally, if we could induce the correct amount or combination of Alpha (intuitive) or Theta (relaxed) brain waves while playing poker, then we could block out distractions. Because these are the highest concentration brain wave states. We all know the importance of playing relaxed, intuitively and without losing concentration. Wouldn’t we like to be able to summon and maintain this state of mind every time we play poker?
Some music, especially music with lyrics, can be terribly distracting. Whereas, some music can induce concentration. The right music can do wonders for your poker game. If you’re unfamiliar with the role music can play in concentration, wait. This could be as revealing for you as it was for me.
Everyone is unique, so I am not going to attempt to establish a preferred standard music list. And while this is a discussion about what works for me, we all appreciate that everyone’s brains are wired differently. So what works for me may not work for you, and vice versa. But this information will give you something new to think about.
The most successful forms of music for me are some selections from classical music and some from the new age. They noticeably improve my concentration while playing poker. I have loaded the respective CDs into my MP3 and play them continuously during a game, online or offline. Several of the New Age selections are designed by their composers to induce certain states of mind, such as increased creativity, relaxation, or concentration. The process of inducing these mental states is known as brain wave entrainment.
The best brainwave entrainment effect is obtained by listening with headphones. Distractions will tend to disappear, ushering in a much desired state of focused concentration. Load your MP3 and you can use this type of music while playing live or online. For effective mental preparation, I will even listen while driving to a game. So when I get to the game, my poker mind is ready to turn on.
A while ago, I played a lot of limit hold’em at a casino. My standards for managing the game and funds were rigid. This required a lot of concentration, especially with some sessions lasting ten hours or more. Distractions simply couldn’t be allowed, but it was almost impossible to maintain the level of concentration that was needed.
Next, I discovered brainwave entrainment music. My MP3 loaded and played my favorite selections continuously, hour after hour. I quickly learned to carry a lot of extra batteries in my pocket. In the months that followed, the dealers got to know me well. They started calling me the player who never lost.
The effect of brainwave entrainment music on my concentration is simply amazing. There is no other technique that I can employ while playing that will also help me achieve and maintain my ‘A’ game. I am sure that you will live the same experience.