How to Survive Wine/Poker Hangover

Poker players are passionate people. Sometimes in one of those moments of passion, they can do foolish things that come back to haunt them.

This was my case in Las Vegas when I fought the odds and made the final table of a major poker tournament. The battle to make that final table was so fierce, I decided I needed a drink.

The bar at The Orleans Casino Resort is very fetching. My favorite drink is Robert Mondavai Chardonnay and I relaxed in a plush leather sofa by indulging myself with Mr. Mondavai's grapes.

Management had locked up the chips for the evening. We were to resume our competition at noon the following day. I was third leader in the chips department and felt pretty good about my chances.

The cocktail waitresses knew about my final table finish and congratulated me. They kept the wine coming and by midnight I was well connected with my altered spirits.

The next morning, I got up by inches.

A wine hangover should never be described. It must be experienced for a person to appreciate it. Let's simply say I was going through an abundance of pain and needed to get myself together for the noon competition.

At 9 a.m., I went to theresort's health spa and began using all the equipment available to shape myself up. When I explained my situation to the spa manager, he understood and recommended the hot sauna followed by an ice cold dip in freezing water. When these effects wore off, I was given a whiff of oxygen and a body massage.

By 11;45 a.m., I was feeling human. I arrived at my seat while the poker room manager was introducing the poker players to the crowd. We played the tournament for blood and I wound up in third place, pocketing $35,000.

When we took our first break, I hurried back to the restroom. I was the sole occupant and decided to pump some oxygen into my train by doing pushups. I was up to 35 when the door opened the a porter walked in.

He became startled when he saw me on the floor on all fours. When I explained why I was doing it, he grinned.

'Man, I been in this town a long time and I never saw anyone doing that before,' he said. 'I thought you were having conniptions.'

I don't recommend wine hangover when you are scheduled to compete for major money in a final table setting. But if it happens, it's nice to know there are some measures you can take to give yourself a reasonable starting chance.

Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.

(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).