Does poker consume your life?

[homeboy604]

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To the OP
I am older than most people who frequent forum. I would not claim to be as good at poker as the people who post on this forum. However I have gone down the same road as you and here is my advice

Enjoy it!

Money doesnt buy you things...it buys you time. Time is the most precious commodity we have as you dont know how much you have left. So much of most people's time is spent earning a living (i.e. money). The less time you spend on earning a living the more time you have to actually live!

Use the money to buy yourself time...time to explore your options...time to have fun...and time to figure out who you are.

Play less. Enjoy life more. 19 is a great age and I wish I could do it all over again.

You will probably never have such a great opportunity again to earn so much money in such a short time.

Just remember that the 52 inch plasma screen you buy will be in the junk pile 20 years from now but the memories you have from spending time with people you like/love will last forever.

Good luck!

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this is great advice.
for me, the best thing that poker does is buy time.
with poker, i work half as much as i did at me job, but make double the money. this allows me to do so many things i could never do before.
i recently hit the wall a bit after playing the most hands ive played in a month in october(52k.)
i took about a 1.5 weeks off, and now want to play again.

with all of your money, you dont have to play poker. take time off!
not being able to play only a few hours at a time is a real problem for you. this is something you will definitely have to work at.
hope it works out...

[Python49]

Ok this thread is pretty depressing because its turning such a valuable opportunity to make money at very young ages into a NEGATIVE thing. Guys, if poker is consuming your life it is NOT poker that is the problem, it is your TIME MANAGEMENT skills. This is just the f*cking truth guys. If you play poker even just 3 hours a day and you 8 table for example you are playing 2400 hands a day. Lets say you only play 25 days of the month, you are still seeing 60,000 HANDS for the month.

Now OP, with how much poker consumes your life how many hands are you actually getting in? I'd bet its more likely you are just using your time inefficiently. Now that its been shown you can get in all the hands you need in a month in 3 hours a day on avg just playing 25 days of the month, lets compare this with MOST people. The average working american has to work 8am-5pm at a job they do NOT like, making LESS than you do with MUCH less freedom. You don't think they have much more of a reason to be down? The typical american is truly consumed by their jobs because they actually HAVE to be.

Hell, my professor was talking in class the other day mentioning to us students:
"listen kids, the real world is tough.. when you get out there and are working 50 hours a week a central part of your life and identity will revolve around your job since you will be there all the time. You have to make sure you are doing something you like".

Now lets look at this, as a poker player you have the ability to travel, to play just 3 hours a day at YOUR convenience... maybe an hour in the morning, an hour in the evening, an hour at night and make GOOD money at 19 years old. It's clear that the problem is not poker. This is not uncommon however and I also am guilty of not managing my time as well either, but because of this I am able to relate to this post because it hits close to home for me.

I came to realize that if I stopped spending so much time reading 2+2, talking on AIM, reading forums, making posts like this one, and spent my time doing more productive things, id get much more balance out of life. You can do so much more in a day than most people when you only have to commit to poker for 3 hours a day. You can travel and work at the same damn time. Take a trip to atlantis and play online 3 hours a day there and then for the rest of the day go hit the damn beach and talk to girls.

We are lucky to be able to make money at this, its not even possible for the majority of people our age. It just comes down to self control and balance as others have said. Set goals, figure out things you want to get done, set a schedule, and stick to it (hardest part ofcourse).

I have a room mate who works at burger king and goes to school... he's making PENNIES and his entire day is filled up with work and school. He probably makes $300 total on the month after taxes and i'm sure he would say he's "consumed" with his job as well. Think about the miserable computer programmers or lawyers out there working 60+ hour weeks who are 100% consumed by their job and often do not even enjoy it. I know a computer programmer that fits this description and he feels like a slave to his job, he can't travel when he wants, he can't take breaks when he wants, he cant get a raise when he wants, etc....

When you notice yourself spending hours in front of the computer but not playing poker it's time to change (if its causing a problem in your life). Learn to get off 2p2 when not in strategy forums, stop reading OOT, stop checking other players blogs, stop looking at pretty graphs in BBV, get on... play your poker, and get the f*ck off and do other things in life. You will be much happier as well since your life will not be revolving around poker.

This will take discipline and a while to form the habit but it can be done. Ofcourse its hard to log off after 3 hours when you're stuck but thats not pokers problem, its a self control problem. Once you view it from the perspective of just work and putting in your 3 hours or whatever you allot to it per day and can stick to it, it will benefit you in more ways than one. Good luck with this.... I am planning to work on fixing this as well. I spent an hour before reading this thread just sweating high stakes poker [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[fanmail]

Not everyone can play 8 tables (sidenote). However, your point is excellent. We could all benefit from a little time management and perspective. Thanks.

[Niwa]

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idonked, I would suggest waiting to see how the legislation plays itself out before making these kinds of decisions. On-line poker may be going away - at least as we know it.

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lol, mr. bill reminder.

[iDONKEDyoo]

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idonked,

try having sex

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lol. i actually had a gf at this time...got rid of her

am sooo much happierrrr nowww

[Pokerdemic]

There's a big world out there that's not on the internet. And few people have the type of money to travel the way you could. Study abroad. Or just go visit museums in France, smoke pot in Amsterdam, drink beer in Germany. Go on safari in Africa or climb mountains in Tibet. Visit the galapagos islands, and then the Amazon basin before you hit up carnival in Brazil.
I spent a year teaching English in South America, and very little beats floating down a black river in a boat listening to monkeys howl and bats skim the water while the sun sets over the Amazon. Plus you could do a fulfilling volunteer trip--something in medicine.
Much of this will clear your head and get you geared up to finish school. If you hate travel, definately try to re-join the sports team, as exercise will help kill the funk you've been in.

But if you are dancing salsa and drinking rum on a steamy night in Costa Rica, and you're still looking around each corner for a casino, consider biting the bullet and calling GA.

[king_of_drafts]

Poker emo posts are the worst

[leo.]

Get some balance in ur life. Poker, school, social, hobbies. U can fit them all in. Play less

[Love2AceYou]

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19 year old with a quarter million clicking a mouse?

my heart BLEEDS FOR YOU

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Money only seems the key to hapiness when you don't have it.

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I wasn't saying he should be happy, I'm saying he's bitching about having money and playing poker.

Join GA OR TAKE A VACATION

DRAMA QUEEN [censored]

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I was in GA. It wasn't pretty. I got some great stories though!!

[praios]

hehe you are exact like me...