What you eat can make the difference in whether you make the final table or crash before you get there. You will hear top pros talk about how they fell apart during a long tournament after playing so well all day. It may not be a coincidence. Many players are so obsessed with poker that they eat whatever is easiest even if it isn’t good for them, and the only exercise they get is throwing in chips and raking in pots.

You might recall hearing recommendations that passengers on overseas flights do stretching exercises in their seats every few hours to avoid getting a blood clot. That is why the massage you can get at the table is not a bad idea, to keep the blood flowing as well as relieving stress. You should never sit in your seat for more than three hours without getting up and stretching or taking a walk.

So if you’re not exercising regularly, you should be. Besides all the health benefits exercising provides, it also has positive effects on your poker game.  Most good poker players will only cash in tournaments about 10% of the time. That means that 90% of the time they are taking bad beats. That can be very stressful. Because exercising alleviates stress, it can also help you deal with the frustration. As a result, you will play better the next time you ante up. Exercise will also help your stamina, so you can play at your best for those long hours.

But exercise alone won’t give you the optimal results you’re looking for. Your diet is critical. I’m going to make general suggestions that I feel can help you in tournament poker. For starters, you should have breakfast in the morning before you play. I know it’s sometimes hard to do that on the road. When I’m on the road and short on time, I bring protein bars. There are many on the market that can do the job. Go to your local health food store and ask which are the best meal replacement and experiment until you find the one that works best for you.

Another benefit of including protein in all your meals is that it will speed up you metabolism, so your body will burn more calories than it normally would. What a lot of you do is eat simple carbs with a lot of sugar, like pancakes or muffins. This will spike your blood sugar and give you a rush of energy temporarily. But then your blood sugar will come crashing down, and as a result you will feel sluggish and hungry. You will crave more simple carbs to elevate your blood sugar and get the same result.

Try eating small meals of complex carbs and protein every two to three hours. Complex carbs include whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, brown rice and vegetables. Fruit is important, but don’t overdo fruit during tournaments; most fruits are high in fructose, another name for sugar.

When the dinner break comes, it’s best to avoid the buffet, since buffets encourage overeating. Players who eat too much on the dinner break often come back to the table very tired. They are more likely to make mistakes in their decision-making. Eating small portions every three hours avoids this problem.

Now let’s take a look at the benefits of coffee. Some people are under the misconception that coffee is not good for them. However, a number of recent studies suggest that coffee will reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease, colon cancer, type 2 diabetes and others. Coffee has a ton of antioxidants.

Personally I drink a couple of cup of coffee in the morning and may have one more after a dinner break. You should not drink coffee too lat at night, because it may keep you from sleeping when you go to bed. Only you can know how your body will react when you drink coffee at night. You need to discover the cut-off time for yourself. In general though, you should be okay if your last cup is four hours before you want to sleep. People who have a medical condition like heart disease should probably check with their doctor before adding coffee to their diet.

And last, but certainly not least: get the proper amount of sleep! The average person requires about eight hours of sleep nightly. If you’re not getting enough sleep, you will suffer at the tables. Sleeping stimulates our production of HGH (human growth hormone) which is essential for recovering from wearing our bodies down the day before. Poker players who go days or even weeks without getting the proper sleep are just making their bodies weaker and weaker and can’t possibly play at their best.

I hope this is useful – and not just at poker tournaments but also for your life!

A popular television poker host, Brown grew up in the Bronx – where he learned to play poker in the Italian Cafes.

TOP POKER ROOMS FOR USA RESIDENTS – Safe, reputable poker rooms that welcome American players