AVP resident pro Benton Blakeman talks about how settling into a set schedule can help improve your poker game.

October is upon us. Reflecting back on September, I realized that not only was it a great month for me, but it actually was one of the top five best months that I've ever had since I started my poker career. That was great to realize, but the real question is “Why?” Was I really lucky? Sure. Did I play well? Absolutely. But there has to be more. Looking back, I realize there was one thing that I did during September that was different from what I've been doing the last year when I had faced adversity. That difference is the topic of this article — routine.

When things were going great in my poker career, I was very detail oriented. I would wake up at 10 a.m. and then study poker training videos and review hands from previous sessions from 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Then I would have lunch, speak to my parents on the phone, and start my online grind at 2 p.m. I would then eight- or nine-table for three hours from 2 p.m.-5 p.m. I would quit at 5 p.m. no matter whether I was winning or losing. Then I would watch TV or play basketball, have dinner, and spend time with my wife until she went to bed about 9 p.m. After that, it was work time again from 9:30 p.m. until 1 a.m. An hour of TV time to wind down, and then a solid eight hours of sleep until 10 a.m. the next day. Wash, rinse, repeat. And it worked. And I really enjoyed it. It was a "set" schedule as much as it could be for a poker player, but it never felt like work. It was my routine.

And then a few things happened. On April 1, 2011, my wife gave birth to our son. I decided to take a full month off to enjoy (and adjust to) being a father. But as we all know, a huge wrench was thrown in to those plans on April 15, 2011 when Black Friday hit. My routine was thrown for a loop. I was forced to head back into the casinos to make a living. Not only that, but I was juggling the newfound responsibilities of being a father. Routine went out the window. Gone were the nights of eight hours of sleep. I studied hands and videos when I could, but often had to stop midway through a session to take care of family obligations. While I have no regrets, it was tough, and my poker game suffered.

Life since then has started to return to normal. My son is growing up and is starting to be less reliant on me for day-to-day activities. But even with this freedom that I am regaining, I forgot what it was like to have structure to my day. I have recently taken the time to get back to studying, reviewing hands, and really working on my game. I am finding similar results to the ones I had when I was crushing, back when "poker was easy." But I still found myself feeling like I was missing something. Finding a routine is the one missing link that I was overlooking.

In the past few months I had been having mixed results, although I felt like I was playing well. When reflecting on why, I realized that my sleep schedule wasn't actually a "schedule." I slept when I found time to, and I worked when I found time to. This was a terrible idea, and it was detrimental to my overall results.

Now I realize that my great September was great for several reasons. Running well and playing well definitely contributed to those great results, but the most important factor was that I fell back into a routine that worked well. With my wife's help, we set up a true work schedule for me that included an eight-hour work day from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. This allowed me to be in bed and asleep by 11 p.m., thus affording me eight hours of sleep until 7 a.m., when my son gets up. I can now get up with him, fix him breakfast, spend some quality time with him, and then take him to daycare. This starts off my day on a great note and puts me in a great frame of mind for my daily session that follows.

So what's all this mean? In its simplest form, finding a routine will put your body and mind in a great spot to excel at whatever it is that you do. This carries over far outside of poker. I think a routine would be helpful to anyone in any profession to maximize your day and your enjoyment in life outside of business. This doesn't mean that you have to follow my routine. I detailed mine as an example for AVPers to see, as well as for myself to read the next time I'm in a funk. Find a routine that works best for you and follow it. If you do, I'm sure you'll see a great improvement in your overall happiness and hopefully in your results at the table, as well!

As always, please leave comments, questions, and suggestions in the thread and let me know what you think and what your routine is. Good luck on the felt!

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