I've done quite a bit of drinking in my life... actually hold one hospital record from my college days... and have done a bit of research on the subject.
The best cure for a hangover is a preemptive one... Don't drink. <-I rarely subscribe to this one.
If you are going to drink, whether you drink on an empty stomach or not matters a great deal. The contents of your stomach and digestive tract will determine how quickly alcohol is absorbed. As a result one's "tolerance" is much better during say a bbq eating a juicy steak than doing 10 shots of grey goose at a bar on a empty stomach.
So if you will have to drink a lot (I work with and have a lot of russian friends, so drinking kind of comes with the territory) try not to do it on an empty stomach. Fattier foods work better in this regard. It's also not a bad idea to take a double dose of multivitamins, fish oil pills, calcium, vitamin d, and some potassium.
Now that we've covered the pre drinking prep, lets move on to the actual drinking. If you're trying not to get drunk... drink slow, max of one drink every 15 minutes or so. DO NOT DO A ROW OF 21 SHOTS in one minute... trust me it doesn't always end well. Space out the drinks as much as possible.
The type of alcohol you consume will also make a difference... now this part I've noticed a great deal of variation in. Personally I get a horrible hangover from red wine or agave tequila. Generally the less you mix drinks the better off you will be. Personally I stick to cognac or vodka whenever possible. The quality of the drink makes a great deal of difference... drink crap and you will feel like crap the next day. The cheaper stuff generally has more impurities (aka free radicals).
Last two bits of advice for the period actually drinking... try to stick to a 1 drink(IMO 1 drink = 3 shots): 1 glass of water ratio. Second bit... try to stay away from straws, and just drink from the glass.
Ok, so now you had a good meal, took some vitamins, went out and partied like crazy and are stumbling home... Another glass of water is not a bad idea, but you could do better. Drink some Gatorade or any other sport drink, it will help a lot more than just water.
Now at this point I also often take 1 pill of naproxen, 200mg or so. After that all you can do is get some sleep.
When you wake up... some nausea is not uncommon. If extreme, believe it or not, 1 shot of a hard drink will actually help.
If you can though, it is better to get a healthy breakfast... my personal preference is an omelette with some peppers, and onions, a banana, a glass of orange juice and milk, and likely a side of bacon. A cup of coffee also never hurts imo. Try to also take your vitamins at the beginning of your meal.
Now personally I find that the minimum helpful amount of sleep to get is 3 hours. So if you get home at say 4am, get up 7am, eat, do whatever... back to bed at around 9, sleep until 12... you'll be in shape to go out and do it all over again the next night.
