work out, lose weight eat right..... will help with EVERYTHING.

Whatever you do, for God's sake, don't listen to any advice from Geordan.

(Or from me.)

Do not reproduce during the 3 years that proceed a tournament. A youngling is a sure-fire way to be sleepy.

Here I'd have thought that could provide you with a good training ground.

I've also heard that the act generally used to perform that action is a great stress reliever which in turn can boost your ability to focus.

Glitterstim.... with extra sprinkles.

Anyone use electrolyte drinks or powder?

Physically I have no problem playing for a day but mentally I get drained and lose concentration later in the day. I thought an infusion of ready ions might help though I don't like the premade sports drinks as they have more sugar in them than soft drink.

'I've got a 2-year-old and a 3-month-old. Hrm."Honey, I need to talk to you about the kids. They're impacting my X-Wing performance.'

Gold! if said that to my wife, i dont need yo worry about win/loss ratio in tournaments becuase it would be a full loss of my ships and freedom....

Stay loose, take notes, and always....

Whatever you do, for God's sake, don't listen to any advice from Geordan.

Listen to Jeff.

Death Sticks.

I drink a pint of water between each round of a big event. It means I run to the bathroom after I'm done with each round, but it seems to be working.

That and pre-shelled pistachios.

Believe it or not, studies show that a full bladder helps the decision-making process.

I drink a pint of water between each round of a big event. It means I run to the bathroom after I'm done with each round, but it seems to be working.

That and pre-shelled pistachios.

By that metric, I was two pints short for the day. I'll have to get better about that.

Here's a question from your OP...you don't want to chalk it up to going against top bracket players due to wins, but is it possible that you are making mistakes throughout the day and only the top players are catching you on them?

Oh absolutely, I'm far from playing perfect games, but I feel it gets worse in later rounds. Hard to quantify... And I'm a little scared to watch the round 3 game I played that was recorded (it's not up yet). And my later opponents are certainly capable of capitalizing on poor play.

That said...

Whatever you do, for God's sake, don't listen to any advice from Geordan.

Listen to Jeff.

Jeff informed me on Saturday that I don't make mistakes. Still waiting to get that in writing to show my opponents when they try to claim otherwise.

I drink a pint of water between each round of a big event. It means I run to the bathroom after I'm done with each round, but it seems to be working.

That and pre-shelled pistachios.

Believe it or not, studies show that a full bladder helps the decision-making process.

If tired after a night shift, I will often drink a lot before the drive home, ensuring I need to pee while driving, keeping me awake.

Brush your teeth, it'll freshen you right up.

Know people who play 40k and say those can be over in a more reasonable time.

I don't think so. A 40k tournament is typically going to be an all day thing as well. You just play fewer games, because a 40k game takes a lot longer then X-Wing does.

If it is an all day thing, that is still shorter than some X-wing events that finish at 2 in the morning or have to be concluded a separate day because it is already midnight and people want to go home.

That's up to the event organisers though. I've never been to one that ended past 8pm (and that was because it started later than most at about 5pm)

It only seems to be some US ones that end really really late for some reason.

Unless it's been a small 3 or 4 round tournament with no cut, I don't think I've ever been to one that ended before 8PM. It's usually a good 8+ hours from the start of the first round to until the end of swiss with another 3 -6 hours after that for elimination rounds.

Jeff informed me on Saturday that I don't make mistakes. Still waiting to get that in writing to show my opponents when they try to claim otherwise.

"Eli don't make no ******' mistakes." - Jeff Wilder, 2/16/16

All set! Good luck enforcing it!

Ask your Doctor if you are healthy enough for X-Wing activity. If a game last for more than 4 hours seek medical help.

I'm not sure this will help ... one thing I've noticed is that when I'm good X-Wing form I tend to use a lot less energy during a game. In the last few months I've played a ton of games on Vassal, and in my Dice Dojo Store Shampionship this weekend the plans, dial decisions, and in-game decisions flowed pretty well. By round four I was feeling pretty ok. So, play and practice a lot, burn less energy during the game?!

Know people who play 40k and say those can be over in a more reasonable time.

I don't think so. A 40k tournament is typically going to be an all day thing as well. You just play fewer games, because a 40k game takes a lot longer then X-Wing does.

If it is an all day thing, that is still shorter than some X-wing events that finish at 2 in the morning or have to be concluded a separate day because it is already midnight and people want to go home.

That's up to the event organisers though. I've never been to one that ended past 8pm (and that was because it started later than most at about 5pm)

It only seems to be some US ones that end really really late for some reason.

Unless it's been a small 3 or 4 round tournament with no cut, I don't think I've ever been to one that ended before 8PM. It's usually a good 8+ hours from the start of the first round to until the end of swiss with another 3 -6 hours after that for elimination rounds.

Yeah all the UK ones are usually 5 or 6 games of swiss and no cut, due to time and such. Around 10am to 5/6pm depending on lunch/breaks.

And the open isn't running till late either (unless the second day overruns).

my 2 cents...

Eating well the morning of the event is so important, not just grabbing a cheap pasty on the way in - I think something with grains and nuts perhaps? slow release energy (i used to carry a mars bar or two in my case also, in case i needed a boost during the day)

Sleep well - not just the night before, but maybe the week leading up to the event. I'm a full time worker so, in the week leading up to an event I go to bed an hour earlier each day.

Sit down - during the day of the event, sit down as much as possible. You don't know when you wil next get a chance to have a rest so, if you see a chair grab it!

Caffeine - I know you said no, so this is just for me - I drink a lot of caffeine anyway (maybe 10 cups a day) at work so... if i DONT drink caffeine at an event i feel a crash...

No one has yet mentioned the true key to being capable of lasting til the late rounds. Start drinking at lunch. Keep drinking between matches. Call an Uber after the tournament so you don't get a DUI.

Heck if it works for MTG and L5R event it should work for X-wing. Right?

I'm only being semi-serious. I can and do drink at some events (Not in the store because I hear drinking in front of kids is bad mmkay) and I tend to do well when i do. Neither am I talking about getting smashed but that may have more to do with my back issues and needing to dull the pain that comes from leaning over for hours on end.

Edit: This only applies to those who are of legal drinking age in states and countries where it is legal to consume alchoholic beverages.

After my first regional almost 3 years ago, I identified this as a huge weakness of my game. I went WWWWLL (and I had the first loss in the bag before I absolutely blew it) and at the end of the night thought that I just got totally dice screwed out of both of those losses. But then the next day I was analyzing what actually happened, and realized that I blew it with my own stupidity... Thus the realization that I need to work on my stamina.

For Store Champs, they're a dime a dozen, so I don't do any pre-tourney prep. But for regionals+ I make sure that I sleep well, but that I also get up early enough that I don't feel rushed in the morning. This includes me getting a place close by to stay since I don't want to be expending energy driving 3+ hours. Minimizing the outer world stress though is just as big imo as the well rested. You won't do well if you're concerned about ______.

Then during the tourney, while I don't force myself to finish my bottle of water, I pretty much go through an entire 16.9oz bottle each round. It almost came back to bite me in the butt at Gencon two years ago when I desperately needed to pee, to the point where I almost considered forfeiting the round (it almost went to time, so taking the 5-10min that it would take to go to the bathroom and back in the middle of the round wouldn't be fair). I also bring some trail mix or mixed nuts and have a handful between each round. It keeps me even at all times so I don't have to worry about crashing or being hungry or what not.

Do not reproduce during the 3 years that proceed a tournament. A youngling is a sure-fire way to be sleepy.

On this - I run the local X-Wing night here in Brighton, and not to toot my own horn, I'm pretty good. Several consistent tourney wins under my belt, and am aiming to get to Worlds this year.

I recently played in a Winter tournament and my 3.5 year old has been getting up in the night at least twice for the last 3 weeks.

I came dead. ass. last.

I just couldn't focus, nobody to blame but myself.

So yep... Sleep deprivation will kill you.

That said, I can't wait for him to get a little older so we can play together though. He already carries around my "cold" dice in a dice bag and we use his micromachines toys as proxies (we just roll dice, no movement yet)

No one has yet mentioned the true key to being capable of lasting til the late rounds. Start drinking at lunch. Keep drinking between matches. Call an Uber after the tournament so you don't get a DUI.

Heck if it works for MTG and L5R event it should work for X-wing. Right?

I'm only being semi-serious. I can and do drink at some events (Not in the store because I hear drinking in front of kids is bad mmkay) and I tend to do well when i do. Neither am I talking about getting smashed but that may have more to do with my back issues and needing to dull the pain that comes from leaning over for hours on end.

Edit: This only applies to those who are of legal drinking age in states and countries where it is legal to consume alchoholic beverages.

I'm totally the opposite of this.. drinking (even mildly over a long period) reduces my interest in playing "properly" and leads to stupid mistakes.. your constitution is obviously greater than mine!

My big issue is overthinking and in long tournaments pain. Both are reduced by a few drinks. If you're well practiced with your build then you know the best move in a situation, you just have to stop overthinking it and actually execute it.

Of course YMMV.

During my years playing a sport on international level which was heavily focus based and also required full days at a time I developed kind of a system for this...

With due respect, from a physiological perspective I'm not sure this will help with X-wing. The problem that your body suddenly needs a great deal of energy: in a tournament, you're standing still or sitting. It's only slightly more demanding than a Netflix binge, so there's no real need for carboloading before a tournament.

(Also, proteins have approximately the same energy density as carbohydrates--the energy is just less immediately available to the body.)

During a tournament, I feel as if players should do whatever helps keep them feeling sated rather than hungry and thirsty. Otherwise, calories are calories: what you're eating isn't as important as making sure that you are eating. Candy, nuts, energy bars, crackers, berry soup, whatever--just nibble or graze consistently.

On top of this I practise my list until I know it like the back of my hand. That way I can be more focused on what my opponent is doing with their ships rather than what I should be doing with mine.

This is great advice, though. If you know your list and you know the strategies you'll need, you can adapt quickly and effectively without trying to solve new problems. That really cuts down on the mental fatigue.

I take some caffeine in the morning (and am still wide awake past midnight, so I'm not going to take more), have snacks and get dinner, and bring water.

My principal suggestion would be to cut out the caffeine as much as possible. Part of this is me generalizing my own neurophysiology (ADHD and an anxiety disorder) to everyone else, but... caffeine screws me up.

It has two effects even in a normal brain: it blocks the signals that tell you you're getting drowsy, which is why people take it, but it also stimulates your autonomic nervous system. The latter causes anxiety, increases your metabolism, stimulates your bladder, and decreases your hand-eye coordination.

Long-term use decreases sensitivity to those side effects, but doesn't get rid of them. And there is nothing on that list that's good for someone about to play in a tournament. And even worse, when the caffeine wears off, you're going to be hit by any residual fatigue or drowsiness the caffeine was masking.

So if I were you, and I really wanted to get rid of that mid-afternoon crash, I'd cut my morning coffee in half or even eliminate it entirely. You'll feel a bit more tired than you're used to, but getting a couple of good nights' sleep ahead of time will make a huge difference.