Fustrated, Tired, Hungry and Numb - 5hrs of poker

[JanelleBB7]

So I am not trying to be a poker "brat" here, but I am starting to get a little fustrated. The last three nights i have been virutally breaking even... which is fine ! Certainly better than losing! BUT.. since I am still a newbie to cash poker, I didn't anticipate the time and emotion that I would be investing into the game of poker.

When I was playing for play money I would come on play for an hour maybe 2 hours and go, and that was that. But now I find myself on for hours ( like most serious online players.

The point of this post is this : How can I learn to cope with the grind? When I am winning big, the hours fly by and the numbness in my rear doesn't seem to bother me, but when my stack stays virtually the same or does this little roller coaster action of up one minute and down the next, I feel a little fustrated, tired, forget to eat so I am hungry, and my butt goes numb. Even though I try and move around a bit and get the blood flow going, I am just not used to so many hours sitting.

Help!

[Marcus Tranter]

I assume you are playing ALWAYS for a bonus?
This is one way to help convince yourself you are still investing your time wisely!

GL, Marcus.

[Ruy Lopez]

^^^ Yes be sure you're getting bonus/rakeback. This is by far the easiest way to increase your ROI, etc. Also, it is a grind. The skill edge in poker can take thousands of hands to manifest. Only a small percentage of players beat the game over time and it's not easy to manage the ups and downs.

[SellingtheDrama]

Set yourself reasonable goals. Once you have played x hands or x hours, you play until your next big blind and rack up. Period.

Take a break 15-30 minutes, whatever. Do something else that involves not-computer. Then if you want to/have time - play more.

And not to be depressing - but if you are committed to playing good tight poker, its always a grind.

[JanelleBB7]

lol yeah I am just whinning. I was so fustrated last night. I did expend my bonus already, and I did sign up for rakeback ( haven't received it yet). I am not sure how much I will make from the rakeback but I wasn't counting it into my profits yet.

Last night was just the first time it really got to me sitting there waiting and waiting for a decent hand. I played maybe 7 hands and when you wait that long to shove into the pot and someone catches their miracle cards you just want to scream because your ass is numb, you're tired, and the profit you made on all your previous good plays just went out the window.

[Marcus Tranter]

This phenomenon (spelling?) is called variance.
Just keep asking yourself this one question, every time you make a bet or commit chips to the pot...

If I make this exact same play in exactly the same situation for the next 10,000 times that it occurs, will I make money?

GL, Marcus.

[SellingtheDrama]

I could tell ya stories that would make you want to scream or quit poker [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

The reality is that its a long term game and there is really a huge choice that you need to make - do you want to play to have fun, or play to make maximum money.

You can obviously compromise - but it tends to come down on the side of giving up EV (money) and not really adding to the fun.

If you are getting really bored waiting to play a hand - start playing mental games - trying to identify the action, remembering the past hands that player has shown and figuring out what they have. That will keep your mind engaged in the game.

[Chunky]

[ QUOTE ]
Last night was just the first time it really got to me sitting there waiting and waiting for a decent hand. I played maybe 7 hands and when you wait that long to shove into the pot and someone catches their miracle cards you just want to scream because your ass is numb, you're tired, and the profit you made on all your previous good plays just went out the window.

[/ QUOTE ]
Have you considered playing multiple tables?

[Albert Moulton]

5 hours is a short session.

You can expect to have very long break even, or even losing streaks, and still be a long-term winning player. By "long" I mean over thousands and even tens of thousands of hands.

So, it's just the way the game goes.

[rodders133]

`The second best thing to playing and winning, is playing and losing. The most important thing is to play.`