In chapter 25 of A-Game Poker, Elliot Roe shows how building systems for high-quality sleep can be one of the biggest hidden edges in poker, especially in a world where most players are under-rested and unaware of how badly it harms their performance.
1. Why Sleep Is a Massive Edge in Poker
Roe starts by pointing out the core contradiction:
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Poker peaks when the rest of the world is asleep:
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Late-night cash games.
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Long live sessions.
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Deep tournament runs.
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Many pros:
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Live “night-shift” lifestyles.
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Face irregular endings (early bust vs 5 a.m. finish).
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Serious amateurs:
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Work a day job.
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Grind in evenings and weekends.
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Essentially have two jobs.
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On top of this, high performers often:
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Cut sleep to “create more time.”
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Tell themselves productivity is up when, in reality, decision quality is dropping.
Roe’s central argument:
Deliberately optimizing sleep is one of the highest-return systems you can install—for win rate, health, and life satisfaction.
2. The Myth of the “Short Sleeper”
Roe tackles a common belief among grinders:
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Very few people are biologically wired to need little sleep.
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Yet an enormous number of poker players assume they’re in that tiny group.
The problem:
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Sleep deprivation affects judgment so much that:
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You feel “fine.”
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But your thinking, discipline, and emotional control are already impaired.
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So if you’re not sleeping enough:
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You’re likely underperforming without realizing it.
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Fixing sleep alone can feel like a fog lifting from your life.
3. What Sleep Deprivation Really Does to You
Roe summarizes research to show how damaging poor sleep is:
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Staying awake too long:
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After ~19 hours awake, test performance resembles someone legally drunk.
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After ~28 hours, performance is similar to someone significantly over the legal alcohol limit.
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Chronic “just one hour less”:
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Losing one hour of sleep nightly over 10 days can impair performance as much as an all-nighter.
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Health and behavior effects:
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Hormone changes push you to overeat (hundreds of extra calories per day).
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Memory, creativity, and emotional regulation all suffer.
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This matters for poker because:
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Many “mindset issues” (tilt, poor discipline, low focus) are amplified—or even caused—by lack of sleep.
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Cutting sleep doesn’t create more productive time; it creates longer stretches of low-quality thinking.
Roe frames it simply:
Skimping on sleep is a losing trade for both your results and your long-term health.
4. Treat Sleep Like a High-Performance Event
A key mindset shift:
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Most people see sleep as:
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A necessary interruption.
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A passive “do nothing” time.
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A-Game Players view sleep as:
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A performance tool.
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A deliberate event that directly feeds A-Game.
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Roe stresses that:
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Given the choice between a perfect morning routine and a strong sleep routine, he’d pick sleep.
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From a performance standpoint, sleep preparation deserves the same respect as your pre-session warmup.
5. How Much Sleep You Actually Need
Roe breaks down some basics:
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A typical person needs:
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Around 7.5 hours of actual sleep per night.
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This usually equals ~8 hours in bed.
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Why:
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Sleep cycles are roughly 90 minutes.
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Most people function best with about five full cycles (5 × 1.5h = 7.5h).
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Add ~20 minutes to fall asleep → roughly 8 hours in bed.
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So your target isn’t just “go to bed whenever and hope”—
it’s scheduled cycles and enough time in bed to complete them.
6. Circadian Rhythm and Consistent Wake Time
Your internal body clock (circadian rhythm) affects:
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When you feel sleepy or energized.
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Hormone release.
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Body temperature.
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Digestion and appetite.
Inconsistent sleep times:
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Disrupt this rhythm.
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Create a jet-lag-style feeling even without travel.
Key principle:
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Consistency of wake-up time is critical.
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Ideal (for a “normal” schedule):
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Wake sometime between roughly 6 and 8 a.m.
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For poker players:
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That may shift later, but consistency remains more important than perfection.
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Step 1 of your sleep system:
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Choose your regular wake time.
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Subtract 7.5 hours → target time you should be asleep.
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Add ~20 minutes to fall asleep → when you should be in bed.
That gives you a concrete schedule to aim at.
7. Optimizing Your Sleep Environment
Roe then covers the physical setup for high-quality sleep.
7.1 Bed and Mattress
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Your bed is your “hardware” for sleep performance.
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A poor mattress is like trying to play nosebleed stakes on a 15-year-old laggy laptop:
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Technically possible, but very costly.
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Action step:
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Treat a good mattress as a serious long-term investment.
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Find one that’s comfortable and supportive for you.
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7.2 Light
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Ideal sleep environment: completely dark.
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Common issues:
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Tiny LEDs on electronics.
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Street lights or morning sun.
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Solutions:
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Unplug or cover small lights.
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Use blackout curtains or blinds—especially if:
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You sleep during daylight.
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You live in a bright city.
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7.3 Temperature
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Cool rooms help your body follow its natural sleep signals.
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A slightly colder bedroom usually leads to deeper, better sleep.
8. Caffeine, Alcohol, and Timing
Substances can quietly wreck sleep quality even if you fall asleep “fine”:
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Caffeine:
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Aim for your last caffeinated drink at least 8 hours before bedtime.
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Use it strategically for exceptional sessions, not as a constant crutch.
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Alcohol:
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Avoid drinking within roughly 3 hours of bedtime.
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If you do drink:
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Match each drink with a glass of water to reduce negative effects.
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The idea isn’t perfection, but awareness and deliberate use.
9. Building a Nighttime Routine
Roe suggests giving yourself about an hour to wind down before sleep, treating bedtime as the start of a performance event.
Helpful components:
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Reduce screens and blue light:
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Ideally shut down devices in the last hour.
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If that’s not realistic, consider:
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Blue-light-blocking glasses.
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Software or settings that reduce blue light.
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Relaxation practices:
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Meditation or breathing exercises to lower mental arousal.
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Light stretching or calming rituals.
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Journaling:
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Great for people whose minds race at night.
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Writing thoughts down “offloads” them and makes it easier to fall asleep.
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Fiction reading:
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Calms the mind and shifts you out of problem-solving mode.
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Non-fiction, especially poker or self-development, tends to wake the brain up instead.
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Overall goal:
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Shift gradually from performance mode into a relaxed state where sleep comes easily and deeply.
10. Sleep as a Competitive Advantage
Roe contrasts typical players with A-Game Players:
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Typical grinder:
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Views sleep as something that gets in the way of playing or studying.
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Tries to minimize it.
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A-Game Player:
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Understands that better sleep = better decisions, more emotional stability, higher win rate.
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Protects sleep just like bankroll or mindset.
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In a field filled with tired opponents, the rested player has a real edge.
11. A-Game Exercise: Create Your Sleep Routine
Roe’s assignment:
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Open your notebook or document and design your first version of a sleep system:
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Decide how much time you’ll allocate to a nighttime routine.
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Choose which elements you’ll implement immediately (environment tweaks, caffeine cut-off, reading, journaling, etc.).
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Remember:
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You don’t need perfection from day one.
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Your system will evolve—implement, review, adjust, repeat.
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If your schedule is irregular because of poker, don’t beat yourself up; work with your reality and optimize from there.
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