Micro Approach To Time Management

I wish that I could get settled into some kind of routine.  I don't necessarily mean working the same amount of hours, starting at the same time, every single day. There are a few players that do that*, but it's not an option for me.  For better or worse (and there is some of both), I will always be Available Guy.

I'm really fighting to keep some control of my time and schedule, and a big part of the problem is where I play.  The online sites available after Black Friday all have their problems.  One might be very slow in getting players their money when they make a withdrawl (2 weeks or more.)  Another might have clueless service representatives, or buggy software, or poor tournament choices, or a small player pool (which makes it hard in general to get a tournament or cash game started.)

Americas Cardroom is good with cashouts, but they have every other problem listed above.  Many players consider Americas Cardroom the only real choice, because as bad as it is, "At least I know I can get my money."

What does this have to do with time managment?  MTT and SNG options are poor, and the few tournaments that are running are sometimes unplayable because of a poor blind structure or other issues.  So, for example, I might finish a SNG, open another one, and wait half an hour (or more) for it to start.  When I played on PokerStars, it was unusual for a SNG to take more than five minutes to fill up, and during peak times (nights, weekends and US holidays) it sometimes took less than a minute.

When I open a SNG on Americas Cardroom, I never know how long I'll be waiting for it to start.  So what should I do while I'm waiting?  I don't want to get involved in a book or study topic where I want to take some time, go slow and really try to understand the things being taught.  If the SNG fills up in a few minutes and I'm working on my records, it's a pain to save my work, change what I'm looking at on the computer, move my papers around, and start the tournament.

A few days ago I was alternating data entry with playing SNGs.  The time between my first and second SNG was 32 minutes, but between the second and third it was only five minutes.  The five minutes didn't even make it into my records, because I round my time to the nearest quarter hour.  And for someone like me who struggles with staying focused, switching tasks every five minutes is not a good plan.

Switching between administrative and playing time as much as I do helps fill the time between SNGs, and it helps me make the most of my available poker time.  It's not a great solution, but, like America's Cardroom, it's probably the best option available.

I sure miss PokerStars.

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*Many of those players have school-age children, so they work while their kids are in school, or otherwise schedule their time so it does not conflict with family activies.  Most professional poker players prefer flexible hours, and the idea of "being my own boss" is very important to them.