Everest Poker's European Event Coordinators recently spent 6 months observing which factors affect players during tournaments. The research found many factors that affect players in a significant way.

The Everest Poker Pr and Events European Manager Ed Pownall says that you can always tell which players are attending their first big tournament and which ones have done so before just because firsties often fly in the morning to avoid paying for an extra hotel night. "At EPT London two of the qualifiers started the tournament this way and from the start mentioned being tired. They were both out within an hour of starting play," he stated.

Pownall also thinks that personal life affects a player's results in tournaments. "One of our team players ended last year with three final tables in three months. He then split up with his girlfriend and early exits were as regular as final tables were just months before!"

Mariken Hogenhout realised that players change their strategy and play extra tight when they face big names or make it to a televised final table. "This is because they are aware every hand is being analyzed and they do not want to be considered fish," Hogenhout stated.

Hogenhout also stated that a player's rhythm can be affected by being on a table that gets 'broken up'. "Clever players will realize they are on an outside table and be aware this is probably one that will be broken up quickly and often waste little time assessing their opponents. Really clever players ask the tourney director which tables are to be broken up early," she said.

A member of Team Everest, Maria Maceiras, advises, "There is no doubt that I play better when I am rested and when I am happy in myself. When you see a player arrive to the table tired or obviously nervous you make sure you go on the attack from the start as you do not want to let them settle."