There’s a mystery surrounding what poker players eat.
We know what they think, how they bluff, how they calculate. We even know what time they sleep — or don’t. But few stop to ask: what fuels a brain that must make complex decisions for 12 hours straight, with thousands of dollars at stake and a camera in its face?
The most honest answer is: it depends.
If it’s a live tournament, the kind with scheduled breaks, the player rushes to the hotel buffet and piles onto their plate the same way they pile up chips: with fat, haste, and a certain disregard for caution. Sad burgers, reheated fries, cold soda. Fast-burning fuel for minds under pressure.
If it’s online, welcome to the menu of chaos. Nutella jars, energy drinks, Doritos bags, 3 a.m. delivery orders. All of it wrapped in the mantra of “just one more session.” The grinder’s kitchen is often a war zone — and the stomach, a casualty of battle.
But does it have to be that way?
Poker, after all, demands mental performance. It’s a mind sport. And every sport requires the right fuel. Nutritional science has been shouting this for years: food and cognition are inseparable lovers.
Want focus? Start with the basics:
- Breakfast with protein and healthy fats: eggs, avocado, olive oil.
- Lunch should be light: vegetables, grains, fish, and some greens that aren’t just decorative.
- No sugar during the session — high glucose might spike alertness for ten minutes, then drop you into an emotional crash.
- Drink water, not Red Bull.
- Snack on nuts, not cereal bars filled with syrup disguised as “healthy.”
Yes, food affects emotional reads. Tilt comes faster with an inflamed gut. Hunger is the enemy of logic — even grandma knew that, without ever hearing of GTO.
Some professionals have already woken up to this. Fedor Holz, for example, follows an anti-inflammatory diet and meditates between sessions. Maria Konnikova, writer and player, defends nutrition as part of the “architecture of focus.” Even behind the scenes at BSOP, there’s talk of biofunctional meal prep and full-time nutritionists.
Because deep down, the secret is simple: playing well requires thinking well. Thinking well requires clean energy. And clean energy comes from the right food. It sounds obvious — and it is. But in poker, the obvious often gets overlooked.
The truth is that the next great evolution in poker may not come from the latest solver or a new strategy from the button. It might come from the plate.
Your mind is your main asset.
And if you’re not feeding your mind properly, you might be playing against yourself.
Worse still: on a belly full of junk.
