The Online Poker Depression

shaydy

I've noticed over time that there seems to be a hidden virus for us online poker players, it kind of hits us with a ninja style stealth........

There seems to be two forms of symtoms;

The first being the dirty feeling of not wanting to sit up in front of that screen and logon, just feeling sick of playing and have had enoungh of the beats (noone else gets them with this virus just you;) )Some call it burnout, but this is the craftyness of the ninja virus.

The second symptom is the deadliest, it causes you to logon fire open a couple of tables and make crazy calls, and only calls infact youve turned into a big fish, your actually sitting in front of your screen in a big fish outfit!

About two months ago I seemed to have fallen into this black hole where poker just wasn't fun anymore. My initial reaction was "ok shaydy, take a break from poker for a while this should bring the spark back" so i cashed out and didnt play for a month but even after a month the drive seemed to be low so with the advice of some boardsters I took up a bit of live poker, nothing major just a few regular home games and the odd pub crapshoot and I loved it. The buzz of live poker is quality and it has brought the buzz back. Ive started back online recently and have also found that i'm seeing hands and how they are played differently, more clearly, the sharpness seems to have some back.

Even still sometimes the simplest of hands can make me doubt how I played them which probably explains some of my posts , but thats the love of the game its always a challenge.

I had read Marq's recent blogs on AntesUp, in particular 'Welcome back to the begining' and realized i could totally relate to it (great read btw Marq;) ).
It also reminded me of an excellent post Gholi made eariler this year about how he had become obsessed with poker and how it had effected his life.

I don't think theres a player out there that doesn't get this dry feeling at one stage or another, and is probably one of the most difficult skills to conquer in the poker game.

I suppose in the end its about balance and that should cure the virus, but its a difficult balance and I think thats probably where the best players excel. They have the balance down to a tee, the human emotion button can be switched off at will.

I found a simple move to a different poker envoirment and not just the screen in the box room office in the house brought a positive effect on my game and in particular my love of the game.

Just some thoughts I thought i'd share.

All the best
Shay

smurph

Great post Shady very very frank. I went through that for a long time. In fact I took two months off and went and did other things.

I found i was going into the Fitzwilliam more and more, and due to lack of sleep my work was being effected and also I was doing alot of donkey play due to being mentally exhausted.

When I came back I was a much more relaxed player, still prone to the odd strange plays but definitely I feel you did the right thing.

The computer will always be there, and there will always be a card game on in some casino or club somewhere. Go when you feel like going.

Lafortezza

I go through swings of where I'll play 20k hands in a couple of weeks and then not play for another couple of weeks.
I agree that if poker is not going well, you're losing gradually and it just doesn't seem like anything is going your way, the whole game becomes unpleasant to sit down and play.

The flip side is when I'm hitting big hands, getting paid, and making all the correct decisions, I could play for days straight.

It a good plus point of being a casual player, where your winnings are extra money for nights out/holidays/treats. If poker is not going well and you're not enjoying it I can't imagine the horrible pressure of having to sit down and play if you did it for a living.

luckylucky

Yeah I think we all can relate in some shape or form to ur feelings here shady, I'm playing right now in a $5-$10 limit game, I really don't like playing limit poker, it's like watching paint dry but I'm browsing the internet and writing stuff etc and I can do this far easier when playing limit than a no limit game.
I'm tempted to quit the game but there just seems to be 1 donk after another joining the table and i'm running good as a result but by fcuk am i bored, i'd much rather be playing a no limit or sit n go right now but find it's almost criminal to leave this table

staringelf

nice post. i know how you feel about the live poker thing. live poker is about a thousand times more enjoyable than online poker. i don't enjoy playing online anymore and if i didn't rely on it as my sole income source i know for a fact i would never play online poker ever again. quite sad really because i really do love the game.

i think its just too much of a people game which is the fun element of it and that is very much removed online. sure you can still play the person and get inside their head but its just not the same as seeing the reaction in front of you.

for people new to the game, online poker can be exciting but when you get used to all the 2 outers miracle rivers and its all "been there done that" it gets VERY tedious.

live poker on the other hand is the shizzle and i don't think i could ever get bored of it. its just unfortunate that unless you're playing very high stakes live poker is nowhere near as potentially profitable as online poker.

patmac

Good post agree with everything especially the live part which I usually play on a Tuesday night but could'nt go because I had a meeting at 10 o'clock so played online for a few hours with little enthusiasm. So tonight I'm gonna kill a few aliens on the PC instead.

ionapaul

Killing aliens / nazis / zombie-nazis (oh Return to Castle Wolfenstein, how I loved you!) is the 2nd most interesting thing you can do on a computer. Online poker is a lowly 3rd on the list.

ollyk1

ionapaul wrote:

Killing aliens / nazis / zombie-nazis (oh Return to Castle Wolfenstein, how I loved you!) is the 2nd most interesting thing you can do on a computer. Online poker is a lowly 3rd on the list.

I assume reading boards is number one??

Lazare

ionapaul wrote:

Killing aliens / nazis / zombie-nazis (oh Return to Castle Wolfenstein, how I loved you!) is the 2nd most interesting thing you can do on a computer. Online poker is a lowly 3rd on the list.

Porn and Poker. A good hand required for both.

Excellent post btw OP.

NickyOD

shaydy wrote:

I suppose in the end its about balance and that should cure the virus, but its a difficult balance and I think thats probably where the best players excel. They have the balance down to a tee, the human emotion button can be switched off at will.

No it can't!! Without emotion you are not a human being. Whoever said you need to leave emotions behind before sitting at the poker table didn't ahve a clue what he was talking about. I've been to the very bottom of that dark depressing hole you're talking about believe me.

The simple answer is that Variety is the spice of life.

Too much of anything will make you depressed. . If you find yourself logging on to play poker purely because you've got nothing better to do then you need to find other activites to balance your time.

RoundTower

It probably depends why you are playing:

If you play to pay the bills it is just like any job, surgeons probably get sick of surgery and occasionally do sloppy work as well.

If you are playing for fun (you may think you are a winner but probably aren't) just stop and do something else if poker isn't fun. If you can't do this you have a gambling problem.

vill@in

I was wondering if, when you refer to poker, I'd imagine you play mostly NLH. NickyOD reckons that Variety is the spice of life (and all that!). I wonder would a differ type of poker offer enough of a thrill.

I've only ever played Holdem and Omaha, but would like to try stud or other games. Would doing that help the slump?!

accensi0n

vill@in wrote:

I was wondering if, when you refer to poker, I'd imagine you play mostly NLH. NickyOD reckons that Variety is the spice of life (and all that!). I wonder would a differ type of poker offer enough of a thrill.

I've only ever played Holdem and Omaha, but would like to try stud or other games. Would doing that help the slump?!

Have a go and let us know.

I'm a poet and I didn't know it.

Imposter

vill@in wrote:

I've only ever played Holdem and Omaha, but would like to try stud or other games. Would doing that help the slump?!

I find playing other games (just like moving up levels) has me concentrating more on the nuances of the various games. I will think about situations that i've not seen before and learn somethnig that improves all my poker games! I will advise anyone to play the individual games a bit before giveing HORSE a try. At a mimimum play some Omaha Hi/Lo and some Stud hi. Then you should have some sort of an idea on stud and hi/lo games.

Your slump is likely a combination of a bad run mixed in with a depressed state of mind caused by the start of the bad run. If you approach a new game with this state of mind, you'll probably lose. If you approach it with the view that you have to really concentrate and learn stuff about the game then you should learn stuff and possibly have fun! I know some people who hate stud although i'm not sure why.

pok3rplaya

Yeah good post. I find I suffer from the first symptom alot when things aren't going so well. I find it's effects are often underestimated too because they can't be measured over 1 or 2 hands. Playing under the influences of semi-perma tilt as I call it can be highly detrimental to profit margins and effective over thousands of hands.

jackowens

Well guys .................have to agree with ye all.........everyone hits a bad patch be it online or playing live avents.You just need to be able to chill for what ever lenght of time to get your head clear as for certain there is no point in attempting to play poker unless all is well with the auld head and that is speaking from experience.