Everybody feels nervous prior to a competition. This is normal. However, nervousness often results in a lack of confidence and drive to win. In France, there are various competitions from sports and their favorite poker games. This year, car enthusiasts were thrilled to join the Cross Channel Sports Cars contest where they’ll be given a chance to win a luxury 3-day motoring break to the South-west of France while driving a classic Morgan sports car. So for those planning to join this contest or any tournament, here are some tips that will work for you.
Practice makes perfect:
Before anything else, practice beats any nervousness rattling you inside. You need to be certain that you can do your best and that nothing can go wrong. Even for a country deemed to be the home of poker, professional French poker players still practice their craft and even more when they’re about to compete. One of the famous poker personalities in France is Bruno Lopes AKA “Kool Shen.” He’s also known as a hip hop/rap icon in the country. Lopes admits to playing online poker during his spare time under his screen name “93styles93.” Online poker websites such as Partypoker.fr have sponsored many professionals and established players. Just like Lopes they, too, use online poker games to practice their craft. Some of the poker pros under the Team PartyPoker are Kara Scott, Mike Sexton and Tony G.
Just keep trying:
In order to reap success in any competition, you must never stop on your first failure. According to Financial Times columnist Tim Harford book, Adapt: Why Success Always Start with Failure? “Success comes through rapidly fixing our mistakes rather than getting things right [the] first time.” The book also explained that the wrong way to react to failure is by chasing your losses. We’re so anxious not to “draw a line under a decision we regret” that we end up creating more damage while trying to erase it. For example, poker players who’ve just lost some money are primed to make riskier bets than they’d normally take, in a hasty attempt to win the lost money back. It’s best to deal with failure by striving hard to get success. Enter as many competitions as possible. The more competitions you enter, the greater your chance of winning something.
Enjoy the game:
Although competition entails seriousness, you must never forget to have fun. Remember that you’re doing it because you love doing this. If it starts to feel like work, it’s best to practice some relaxation exercises such as the 90-second relaxation technique presented at The Quiet Place Project website. Take breaks whenever you can. That’s the reason why athletes have on and off seasons. Take those off seasons and do something amazing. Savor your accomplishments and then move on because you have more important duties to fulfill.
The aim of the guidelines above is to refocus you so that you are positive and confident in your ability. So whether you’re a poker player joining the French Poker Series or an athlete ready to be drafted this season, remember that you only achieve what you believe so dream big and work on it.