Someone started a thread in the twoplustwo.com poker forums, basically whining about what a rotten someone has when they play poker for a living. The following is an exchange that happened in one of those forums. To make it a bit easier to follow, I will put the comments of the three different posters in different colors.
Originally Posted by ~Caligula~
whether or not playing poker professionally is a ****ty life, depends entirely on the individual.
scenario1: you wake up at 4pm daily, switch on your pc and light up cigaretter no. 1 of 32 for the day (yesterday's remnants spilling out of the ashtray on your desk). You fire up 8/12/24 tables and grind away without even looking outside at the sun.. You never call your friends anymore.. You eat takeaways daily because you couldn't be bothered to shop or cook anymore. When you make good money or run well, you're hyper-ecstatic. However, a bad run and you're morose or even suicidal.. questioning everything in your life.. even your own sanity.
Scenario 2: You wake up at 7 or 8 every morning like the rest of the world. You eat a healthy breakfast, walk the dog, walk yourself.. go for a run. You clean your "office" and read the paper/novel. You analyse yesterday's play and plot your aims for the day. You either go to a local casino to play sociable poker for a few hours, or play your usual online games. You take regular long breaks. You go out in the evenings with friends.. revelling in the fact that IF you're hungover or tired you don't HAVE to wake up early in the morning. You travel regularly with a laptop so you can carry on earning, but at the same time you see the world, learn new things and meet new people daily. You take advantage of the gift of a non-fixed profession.. a job without borders/bosses/obligations. You spend every third or fourth day on a new hobby (if you can't spare this kind of time, you shouldn't be playing professionally).Option one is depressing. Its no better than flipping burgers, only you work alone.. Your mind and body WILL atrophy.Like any other job, you can and should take some time off. But if you're playing a live cash game, it's not a good idea to bail after two or three hours Option two is a gift.
Posted by Poker Clif:
I agree with the thrust of your argument, but the danger is that this could lead to approaching poker as an easy, part-time job. And that's a bad mindset for several reasons.
1. If you're playing cash and you have a couple fish at the table, that's not the time to play for a few hours. Make the money while it's there to be made.
2. If you play MTTs, short sessions aren't an option.
3. Your scenario doesn't include much time for reading/studying/recordkeeping. It's amazing how many poker players try to do their income taxes while having no idea how much money they made the previous year, and don't have a single receipt for expenses/deductions.
4. If you've never been your own boss, I would suggest being very disciplined at first. If, after a few months, everything is going well and the money is rolling in, then you can cut back your hours. If you start out lazy and quit playing every time one of your friends calls, you'll wind up having to fix your habits AND retrain your friends. It's best to let the people in your life know from day one that poker is a real job.
All of that said, yes, you should have a life. Lots of people work 30, 40 or more hours a week and still have a life. I want to get in good enough shape to run my second marathon. I went out for my anniversary last month. I will be going to three birthday parties (my grandchildren) this month. I hope to start playing more live poker soon, both to make money and to associate with real, face-to-face people.
So yes, definitely, have a life. You don't have to grind for 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, to make Supernova Elite.You can if you want to, but it's not my idea of a good time. Just make sure you understand that if poker is going to be your living, you have to treat it that way, be serious about what you're doing, and make choices with that in mind.
Posted by RedVortex:
I was thinking the same thing Plus, in poker even when your making money, it's a good idea to play more to get a cushion that will help you move up (so that its a bit easier to play less). And poker pros MUST keep up with trends in poker. Like when three-betting weak on the button became hot **** two years ago. If you didn't keep up with your hw, you might give people a lot more credit when credit is not due. Fantastic post Poker Clif.
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