June 14, 2021 - Tournament Experience vs. Practice

Many players practice for many months, not playing in any tournaments until they feel they are completely ready. Then they enter a tournament . . . and flop. They don't understand it, so they go right back to practicing for many months, avoiding tournaments again. When they again feel ready, they enter a tournament again . . . and flop again. And the cycle continues. Others both practice and play regular tournaments, get lots of feedback on what works and what doesn't in tournament competition, practice it, get more feedback at tournaments, and their playing level spirals upward. They also become "tournament tough" - they get used to the pressures of playing in a tournament as opposed to practice, and they get used to playing new players and different styles. Which are you?

Comments

Good point-I agree that the best way to play better at tournaments is to play more tournaments with practice. I will add that there are many, many reasons for long breaks between tournaments. One is finances. It costs significant money to play tournaments often. Another is work/life. I am on call every other weekend for work. Lastly tournaments are often concentrated in certain areas, so many of us are a long way from tournaments. Add in family commitments and other responsibilities and it becomes quite hard.

PS The web site is fantastic. I have got to get back to reading it more often. Good stuff here.