How you play during the game itself is obviously important, but the five minutes before your game can be just as vital. Even when it’s not a tournament game or one for high stakes, you generally still want it to go down well.

Thinking about the five minutes before your game can help you to get into the right mindset to play better. It’s true for every sport: It’s why coaches psych up their players with a massive “we’re-all-winners-even-if-we-don’t-win-this-game” speech beforehand. (It’s also why it’s the defining scene in 99% of sports movies towards the end…)

And of course, it works.

Here are a few things to do five minutes before the game if you want it to go better.

1. The Right Soundtrack

Were you played any of the baby classical music tapes as a child? It might have been a fad of the time, but research shows that the right music boosts brain function in people no matter their age.

Music matters to brain development and function to the point where music is one of the few memories retained in many cases of severe dementia.

This is why people have good songs, bad songs, movie-climax songs, depressing songs, love songs and psych-up songs. You’ll know what yours is, and using the five minutes before your game to listen to the right soundtrack can get you in the right mindset to perform better for the game ahead.

Listen to a song that puts you in a winning mood, a song that you prefer for bridge practice or if you prefer, choose one of those typical Sounds of Nature albums if that’s what happens to calm you down.

2. Have You Stretched?

The average bridge game means you’re going to be sitting down for a while. A lot of bridge players I know have back or hip problems that doesn’t make this the ideal experience and it can be distracting from the game at hand.

Before your bridge game, do some stretching exercises. Nobody has to see you do it, and it can help to make the next while of sitting down more tolerable.

3. Hydrate, for God’s Sake!

Hydration is important. And bridge games are played in all weathers and climates: At some point, the main tournament area might get really, really hot – and this leads to dehydration, which leads to everything from loss of focus to eventual loss of consciousness. Obviously, this is bad. We don’t want anyone keeling over at our bridge games.

Always hydrate before the game – and avoid natural diuretics like cranberry juice like the plague.

4. Pressure Check

Nobody embarks on a race without stopping to check their tire pressure first. Don’t make the same mistake with your bridge game, either.

Check your heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar as a standard a few minutes before your game even if you don’t have any health problems that you know of. All of these health factors can fluctuate, and it’s better to know where they’re at – especially in an unfamiliar environment to your body.