Posted Mon Feb 13, 2006 1:45 am GMT by snoogins47
This is kinda random, but I feel like it might be worth bringing up.
I have not played a single live poker session, homegame or otherwise, (of a reasonable length) where I did not get a headache.
I had chronic headaches in my childhood, to the point where I'd end up going home from school fairly frequently, but since about age 15-16, they had pretty much ceased. I still get sinus related headaches a few times a month, but only a severe migrane type like, a handful of times a year.
The weird part is that I can't find a single constant in the scenarios that isn't "poker." Alcohol or no, it happens. I've had it happen while a smoker and after I quit, in smoking AND in non-smoking environments. I've had it happen when I'm taking the game seriously, and I've had it happen when I'm throwing chips around with no regard for hardly anything. It's not a lack of food/water, because even after I've made a point to keep well hydrated and nourished, it still happens. I can't recall ever getting headaches in any situation caused just by a large amount of prolonged focus/concentration/thought. I rarely EVER get a headache playing online poker. The occasions that I do are probably more coincidental than caused by the game.
Anybody out there that has heard of, or experiences, this crazy phenomenon?
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Posted Mon Feb 13, 2006 1:59 am GMT by Sean_in_NJ
Posture maybe? Try to take note of how you sit, and see if there's any similarities from session to session.
Bad posture -> neck tension -> headaches and general crappiness.
Posted Mon Feb 13, 2006 8:22 am GMT by zinn0
This is sort of interesting. Every time we play live, my brother always complains beforehand about the massive headache he is going to have to endure after he goes home. Every single time we have played, (which is like, a lot) he has gotten a headache. Not just a tiny, somewhat annoying headache either. He gets these huge migraine like headaches. But, we can play online for hours and he gets nothing. I never even thought to wonder if it happened to anyone else.
Posted Mon Feb 13, 2006 8:36 am GMT by JohnnyCache
I have heard people mention this before.
My personal theory is it comes from holding your neck artificially still so as not to give stuff away.
I have chronic migraines. Now, everybody says then get migraines, it is a thing like insomnia that everybody thinks afflicts them.
I get headaches where I can't see.
But not from poker.
Poker is like rest for me
But sometimes I will kind of wrap my feet around the legs of a chair and they go dead after like 6 hours.
Posted Mon Feb 13, 2006 9:47 am GMT by tame_deuces
You could always take a trip to the doctor's or physio and let them have a look, might just be muscles in the neck messing up.
Posted Mon Feb 13, 2006 10:27 am GMT by JohnnyCache
I think they are mostly from nightmares, actually.
In my experience doctors try two things for migranes: Telling you it is all in your mind and giving you pills that make you wacky.
Also, you could be biting down on your teeth or clenching them
Posted Mon Feb 13, 2006 11:35 am GMT by golddog
Johnny's right about the teeth clenching. I find that I'm too tightly wound, and do that a lot. While I don't get headaches, I can see how it could easily lead there.
Another thing that's worked wonders for me for a hip-lower back problem is massage therapy. While I'm there, my therapist does some work on my neck and shoulders, which seems to help there too.
Posted Mon Feb 13, 2006 3:21 pm GMT by ZZZinindy
Part of my starting "routine" is to take 2 Advil before the game starts. I noticed awhile back that I got head aches very often while playing. This has done the trick. Nothing fancy or ground breaking but it works for me.....
ZZZ
Posted Mon Feb 13, 2006 3:25 pm GMT by Skribbles
| Sean_in_NJ wrote: | Posture maybe? Try to take note of how you sit, and see if there's any similarities from session to session.
Bad posture -> neck tension -> headaches and general crappiness. |
I'd have to agree with this. I don't normally get headaches but when I put in a long session of online poker combined with turning my head constantly to watch TV I get sharp pains in the bad of my head.
Posted Tue Feb 14, 2006 2:24 pm GMT by groton
I also notice that
when I play Live I get headaches.
I also notice when Get home from playing at foxwood's My Sinus's act up alot more then normal but thats probaly just from the Smoke thats in the Air even in the Non smoking part of the casino.
Posted Tue Feb 14, 2006 5:39 pm GMT by JohnnyCache
| groton wrote: | I also notice that
when I play Live I get headaches.
I also notice when Get home from playing at foxwood's My Sinus's act up alot more then normal but thats probaly just from the Smoke thats in the Air even in the Non smoking part of the casino. |
Could be a thing with airconditioning too.
Posted Wed Feb 15, 2006 12:37 pm GMT by waterman
i usually go home with an extremely bad headache after playing long sessions of live and online poker. i'm not quite sure what it's from, but it happens almost every time i sit for more than 4 hours.
Posted Fri Mar 24, 2006 1:22 pm GMT by BeerWench13
Eye strain. At least that's what causes my headaches when I play live or online. My eyes have very little pigment (I'm blue-eyed) which makes them more sensitive to light. The overhead lights in a casino or home game cause my eyes to strain which gives me a headache. Staring at a computer monitor also gives me a headache. Mostly because most sites have a light-colored background. I usually pop a couple Advil before I play and, if it's a long session, sometime during play also. It's good to know that I'm not the only one who experiences this.
Posted Fri Mar 24, 2006 7:14 pm GMT by suitedaces84
I got chronic headaches when I was a kid too. I ended up getting some perscription for them and eventually stopped getting them (I was on the perscription for long btw). I get headaches when I play sometimes. It's usually when I'm concerned about money. I always have excedrin (sp?) handy.
About the jaw thing: last week I played AC and my jaw got sore after a few hours of play. Do what Phil Ivey does; sit there with a blank stare and your mouth wide open, also win lots of money and become famous.
In conclusion, headaches are lame.
Posted Sat Mar 25, 2006 4:44 am GMT by greathuskie
FOLD PREFLOP!!!!
Posted Sat Mar 25, 2006 10:38 am GMT by johnnow
I can usually play online and at my home games without any problem. But, for some reason, when I'm at Foxwoods, I always seem to leave with a headache. I think there may be a few reasons.
First, even though the poker room is non smoking, I've sat at tables that were right at the edge of the smoking section. So, there could be people smoking less than ten feet away from me. If the air circulation is pushing it my way, it defeats the whole purpose of a non smoking area.
Also, I may be getting dehydrated. I don't drink alcohol while I'm playing, but I may not be getting enough water either. And lastly, I hadn't thought about posture before, but since it's been mentioned, that may have something to do with it.
Posted Fri Mar 31, 2006 2:37 am GMT by snoogins47
My jaw sucks actually, it gets all clicky/jerky when I eat, probably 90% of the time. I can't chew gum for more than 45 minutes or so without getting a headache. That could definitely have something to do with it. I've been sure to carry a dose or two of excedrin in my pocket basically every time I go play heh.
I'm kinda fascinated by the amount of people that experience similar things. Muy interesante...
| JohnnyCache wrote: | I have chronic migraines. Now, everybody says then get migraines, it is a thing like insomnia that everybody thinks afflicts them.
I get headaches where I can't see. |
A few weeks ago I had my first severe migraine in months, maybe even over a year.. and it really made me wonder how I ever survived my childhood, as well as how people can deal with the chronic migraines in adulthood. My sympathies go out to anybody who has to deal with that.
Posted Fri Mar 31, 2006 10:29 am GMT by Soup_dog
| snoogins47 wrote: | My jaw sucks actually, it gets all clicky/jerky when I eat, probably 90% of the time. I can't chew gum for more than 45 minutes or so without getting a headache. That could definitely have something to do with it. I've been sure to carry a dose or two of excedrin in my pocket basically every time I go play heh.
I'm kinda fascinated by the amount of people that experience similar things. Muy interesante...
| JohnnyCache wrote: | I have chronic migraines. Now, everybody says then get migraines, it is a thing like insomnia that everybody thinks afflicts them.
I get headaches where I can't see. |
My wife suffers from crushing migranes. Years ago she started tracking what she eats and seeing when migranes happened. She found that certain forms of alcohol (wine with sulfites), or greasy foods seemed to trigger them. She also started seeing a Chirpractor (sp?) and the migranes have virtually disappeared. She still gets headaches once in a while but it has been ages since she had a migrane.
A few weeks ago I had my first severe migraine in months, maybe even over a year.. and it really made me wonder how I ever survived my childhood, as well as how people can deal with the chronic migraines in adulthood. My sympathies go out to anybody who has to deal with that. |
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