Giving up online poker

mise_me_fein

Hi All

After spending the last few weeks on the PC for hours, probably days I've come to decision that this way of living is really bad for you, even if you win a decent amount of cash. By decent I mean about €200 a week - most people lose so I reckon this is ok.

Is anyone else having issues regarding addiction? I mean I love poker but this is just not a way to live. I'm going back to playing real poker every now and again. At least there's a social element there.

zuutroy

Poker is what I do when other people would be watching TV, reading a book, or surfing the net. It doesn't replace other stuff so I dont mind. You can easily play 5k hands a week without it being a problem. It's just a past time (for now! mwuahahaha) Keep the brain sharp, make a few quid, deal with horrible variance....all good craic.

Bandara

if your not enjoying it give it up.

If you are enjoying it but are not winning as much as you should, get coaching.

Whats your PT stats like? post them up and the PT experts will be able to help you out.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

valor

Reggie stop using gimmick accounts, you can tell us the truthz

RoundTower

if you're winning it's better than World of Warcraft, if you're losing it's worse.

mise_me_fein

Hammertime wrote: »

if your not enjoying it give it up.

If you are enjoying it but are not winning as much as you should, get coaching.

Whats your PT stats like? post them up and the PT experts will be able to help you out.

PT stats, what's that?

I think the amount of time I'm playing is affecting me. I know I'm ok at poker. I've won a lot of tournaments with big fields in them but when I play a lot I become inconsistent. Anyway, even when I win I feel like sh!t getting up for work the next day coz I can't get off the PC until after 2.

To tell you the truth I'd love to go home a put on the PC tonight and start again but I've sworn to stop it for at least 2 or 3 weeks at least.

shoutman

PT is pokertracker, it really is a key software tool for anyone who is remotely serious about getting good at poker. It basically tracks you and your opponents and thus allows you to easily enough see what leaks there are in your games.

Washout

sounds like your bored with the robotics of the game. the day in day out monitony....you want to play recreationally and enjoy at the same time.


1) if you like playing online tournies then look at tournament schedules and selectively pick and set yourself a timetable for the week which you will find managable. you dont have to play every single night.

2) if you find tournaments are finishing too late then turn to sit and gos. there are tons of options here from single table to 45 player S&Gs. you can start early and they will finish at a reasonable hour.

newbie2

mise_me_fein wrote: »

Anyway, even when I win I feel like sh!t getting up for work the next day coz I can't get off the PC until after 2.
.

Discipline is the key here. If you're disciplined enough to get up for work each morning you can be disciplined enought to stop playing cards at a reasonable hour. Pick MTTs that start earlier - SOme of them can take up to 12-13 hours to complete. If your playin cash - pick a time to quit and then quit.

Do you love the game soooo much that you can't stop playing or are you chasing your money? I have to admit that when I started playin on the tinternet I would stay up or hours playin and then have to get up for work the next day. It took me a while to cop on but when I did, I found I enjoyed cards eve more.

Hope this makes sense. I'm playing a quick STT while typing..

Washout wrote: »

sounds like your bored with the robotics of the game. the day in day out monitony....you want to play recreationally and enjoy at the same time.





1) if you like playing online tournies then look at tournament schedules and selectively pick and set yourself a timetable for the week which you will find managable. you dont have to play every single night.



2) if you find tournaments are finishing too late then turn to sit and gos. there are tons of options here from single table to 45 player S&Gs. you can start early and they will finish at a reasonable hour.

and what this poster says.....

coolhandc

take up a new sport or start going to the gym.i dont know how many times people say there never playing internet poker again and then a few weeks there back on playing,myself included.but if you think your life is suffering because you are playing the whole time then give it a break for a while,or just play less,if you limit yourself to one or two nights a week,you might find as i did that you play better coz your more fresh,and also that its the only night you have a chance to win money playing poker so you gotta work hard to keep those stats up!

5starpool

I have the opposite problem to you OP, I want to play online more but can't bring myself to do it, so I play about 30 or so hours a week live.

In the last 4 months I have played online a total of about 3 hours I'd say.

ciankid

Hi
I was jst wondering does any1 know how to get by proxys for poker programmes in colleges because i want to play on party poker cos its d only decent site dats accepts laser!! If you do know could you tell me how by sending me a quick e mail at ciano_f@hotmail.com Would greatly appreciate it

thanks Cian

DeVore

OP, sounds like you turned your hobby into a job...

DeV.

RoadSweeper

you'll be bCK :P

Ace2007

5starpool wrote: »

I have the opposite problem to you OP, I want to play online more but can't bring myself to do it, so I play about 50 or so hours a week live.

In the last 4 months I have played online a total of about 3 hours I'd say.

FYP

Marq

move up levels.

[nicK]

Marq wrote: »

move up levels.

never fails to amuse, honestly..

Doc Farrell

DeVore wrote: »

OP, sounds like you turned your hobby into a job...

DeV.

And two hundred a week for many hours, waking up feeling wrecked, isn't really worth it, is it? You can make that as a waiter or valletor over a weekend.
Unless you're making 50 grand a year then its a terrible job and even if you're making a grand a week you coud be destroying your prospects of a more interesting career down the road.
I grinded for a a few years and towards the end it was horrible, sleeping five hours a night, out of shape, grouchy as hell. Now i just play for fun every weekend. Do yourself a huge favour and just keep it as a hobby that makes you a little weekend money. cheers

Doc Farrell

Doc Farrell wrote: »

And two hundred a week for many hours, waking up feeling wrecked, isn't really worth it, is it? You can make that as a waiter or valletor over a weekend.
Unless you're making 50 grand a year then its a terrible job and even if you're making a grand a week you coud be destroying your prospects of a more interesting career down the road.
I grinded for a a few years and towards the end it was horrible, sleeping five hours a night, out of shape, grouchy as hell. Now i just play for fun every weekend. Do yourself a huge favour and just keep it as a hobby that makes you a little weekend money. cheers

Although I agree with you Doc on the person here in question. There are people as you know that are cut out to do it full-time and alot of them post on here.(Most of them post in the bad beat section because the ups and downs are always there!)

The Al Lad

mise_me_fein wrote: »

PT stats, what's that?

oh jesus thats the wrong question to ask in here ...prepare to be slaughtered

If your getting sick of it a 2 week break will do you the world of good, even a week break, just get away from the laptop and it'll be like a weight off your shoulders, then after a short break you'll get the hunger back for it and come back in the right mood, frame of mind and wanting to play, it'll be better for your bankroll this way too

Alan

mormank

Marq wrote: »

move up levels.

is this all you say!! you must be playin MASSIVE levels by now...if you take your own advice!!

hotspur

mormank wrote: »

is this all you say!! you must be playin MASSIVE levels by now...if you take your own advice!!

He was last seen playing God HU 1soul/2soul, he had God on full blown monkey tilt not seen since the drunken late session where he lost America to Satan.

Logie-1

On day 8 of 21, I promised myself I would not play online for 21 days and I am looking for things to occupy my time because I am finding it very difficult. I even washed the dishes the other night. I tell myself and my mates that I am well in front online which in real money terms I am but, I am self employed running my own business for over 15 years, I was allways one step ahead of my compettiors but since I started to play online if I am not playing all I think about is poker, hands I folded, hands I played wrong, pot odds,bad beats, getting up for work with my head full of 5hit etc etc as a result I am down big time, my business is suffering badly so its time to get the proper ballance between playing fun poker and playing addictive poker, I dont want to give it up as I really enjoy it.

redzerdrog

hotspur wrote: »

He was last seen playing God HU 1soul/2soul, he had God on full blown monkey tilt not seen since the drunken late session where he lost America to Satan.

lol:D

hotspur

hotspur wrote: »

He was last seen playing God HU 1soul/2soul, he had God on full blown monkey tilt not seen since the drunken late session where he lost America to Satan.

LMAO^^

patmac

Just to say I'm giving up onlne poker after two years. I have been keeping track of it all recently and in the last month I've broken even, which is basically 100 hours of my life gone. The highlight was qualifying for the Irish Open with €1700 spending money for €6 last March, but this was tempered by the large quantities of suckouts and badbeats which seem endless at the moment, I'll still play a little bit offline but mainly for social reasons, so that's it, good luck and thanks for all the advice, shame it was wasted on me. The relief is good, but the realisation that I'll be stuck in this job and not be the multi-millionaire poker player is a little depressing but I'll get over it.

patmac

patmac wrote: »

Just to say I'm giving up onlne poker after two years. I have been keeping track of it all recently and in the last month I've broken even, which is basically 100 hours of my life gone. The highlight was qualifying for the Irish Open with €1700 spending money for €6 last March, but this was tempered by the large quantities of suckouts and badbeats which seem endless at the moment, I'll still play a little bit offline but mainly for social reasons, so that's it, good luck and thanks for all the advice, shame it was wasted on me. The relief is good, but the realisation that I'll be stuck in this job and not be the multi-millionaire poker player is a little depressing but I'll get over it.

Patmac, you were obviously playing cash games a majority of the time? I had this problem in the middle of the year but still well above even from two 1st places & alot of placing in some ppp mtts. I dont really play cash anymore unless I am jarred..... or off work for consistant period. Maybe just play the odd mtt online and forget about the cash ?

patmac

KaG1888 wrote: »

Patmac, you were obviously playing cash games a majority of the time? I had this problem in the middle of the year but still well above even from two 1st places & alot of placing in some ppp mtts. I dont really play cash anymore unless I am jarred..... or off work for consistant period. Maybe just play the odd mtt online and forget about the cash ?

No gave up cash a long time ago resorted to MTT's and Sit 'n go's but keep getting sucked out on the bubble or when deep, some high finishes on Pstars $12 and $20 180/45 games but not enough to make any kind of decent living. It's just the waste of life that could be put to good use, I mean if people stopped to work out how much money per hour they are making, especially when they take into expenses like braodband etc, is it worth it?
Also the stress of being deep in a tournament and your AA, KK, QQ get beaten on the river by a flush etc, around the bubble time wouldn't be good for you I would imagine.

patmac

patmac wrote: »

No gave up cash a long time ago resorted to MTT's and Sit 'n go's but keep getting sucked out on the bubble or when deep, some high finishes on Pstars $12 and $20 180/45 games but not enough to make any kind of decent living. It's just the waste of life that could be put to good use, I mean if people stopped to work out how much money per hour they are making, especially when they take into expenses like braodband etc, is it worth it?
Also the stress of being deep in a tournament and your AA, KK, QQ get beaten on the river by a flush etc, around the bubble time wouldn't be good for you I would imagine.

O really.... I know what your saying about getting knocked out late in these tournies with big hands and it has happened more regularly then not(DO NOT MENTION KK, I HAVE SEEN ALL THE WILDEST CALLS I CAN HANDLE). Its annoying because I try not to get involved once I have built my stack but when you get those big pairs you obviously have to. I play on PPP myself and normally do the 745 €50 buy in 35k guar which is decent. I can honestly say I have made the bubble more times then I havent since its started a few months ago. I'd also sometimes play the €10 30k guar at 830, this however is totally different to the 745 one. The standard is MUCH poorer and it is pure madness prior to the break. If you can get a stack and sit you can come out with something(I've won this once when it was 25k guar and once last year when it was only 15k guar). Two weeks ago I came 13th or so when I was second in chips pushing after a raise to my ''tactical'' early call with KK to be called by Ace 2 by the leader and losing(I dont think he even won it)......

I used to play cash ALL the time but I gave that up in April and have since been up a nice amount since just sticking to MTTs.