08-28-2001, 04:24 PM
I'm a daily lurker and an occasional poster. I'm fairly certain that the question I'm about to ask (the question shows up several paragraphs from now :) )has an answer of "suck it up and focus", but I thought I'd ask anyway. Some may think this should go in the internet forum, but I've posted it here b/c methinks it's a beginner question, since I'm truly a beginner.
I've set forth my poker experience in earlier posts, but to recap: I've played in home games all my life (I'm 31) and started taking the game seriously about 3 months ago. I study and play at least 5 days a week.
Since I live in Houston, my only opportunity for frequent poker sessions is on the internet. I've kept a $100 buy-in at Paradise alive these last few months, never going over $350 and never dipping below $50. I'm happy with the results b/c I expected to do nothing but consistently lose for at least a year. I keep meticulous records which show that, after 200+ hours of play, I'm a little above even .
Anywhoo, I've been to Vegas twice in the last two months and did very well at the 3/6 Mirage game (35 hours) and lost a little under 1BB per hour at the Bellagio 4/8 game (10 hours of play). I understand these are short term results and ultimately meaningless, but they made me happy and prompted this question:
For those of you who consistently win online (at any level) how do you deal with the online boredom? As I said, I played in B&M rooms twice this month, and the significant difference for me was my opportunity to *see* the players--the expressions on their faces, how often they opened, their starting requirements, etc. I was at least able to generally categorize most people at the table and was quite surprised at how close I was at reading the hands. It was a great experience and it is a monumental struggle for me to do the same online.
When I play, I play two tables at once, and start out with a pad and paper, trying to categorize the players I'm facing. At the low limits, my spreadsheet has turned into a 20 page leviathan as more and more new players show up and then disappear. After about 30 minutes, I get bored of following the games, and end up reading RGP (this site takes forever to load at home) or playing a mindless non-poker game while waiting for a good hand.
I'm sure that if I could discipline myself to focus only on the game, I'd see measurable results. At the same time, without the "physicality" of a B&M room, I find following the online games terminally dull. I know I will be able to work up to the point of focusing only on the game, but in the interim, any suggestions (other than visualizing the pot of gold at the end of the road of banality) on how to deal with the boredom, or help with the focus, would be much appreciated.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far and I look forward to your comments.
I've set forth my poker experience in earlier posts, but to recap: I've played in home games all my life (I'm 31) and started taking the game seriously about 3 months ago. I study and play at least 5 days a week.
Since I live in Houston, my only opportunity for frequent poker sessions is on the internet. I've kept a $100 buy-in at Paradise alive these last few months, never going over $350 and never dipping below $50. I'm happy with the results b/c I expected to do nothing but consistently lose for at least a year. I keep meticulous records which show that, after 200+ hours of play, I'm a little above even .
Anywhoo, I've been to Vegas twice in the last two months and did very well at the 3/6 Mirage game (35 hours) and lost a little under 1BB per hour at the Bellagio 4/8 game (10 hours of play). I understand these are short term results and ultimately meaningless, but they made me happy and prompted this question:
For those of you who consistently win online (at any level) how do you deal with the online boredom? As I said, I played in B&M rooms twice this month, and the significant difference for me was my opportunity to *see* the players--the expressions on their faces, how often they opened, their starting requirements, etc. I was at least able to generally categorize most people at the table and was quite surprised at how close I was at reading the hands. It was a great experience and it is a monumental struggle for me to do the same online.
When I play, I play two tables at once, and start out with a pad and paper, trying to categorize the players I'm facing. At the low limits, my spreadsheet has turned into a 20 page leviathan as more and more new players show up and then disappear. After about 30 minutes, I get bored of following the games, and end up reading RGP (this site takes forever to load at home) or playing a mindless non-poker game while waiting for a good hand.
I'm sure that if I could discipline myself to focus only on the game, I'd see measurable results. At the same time, without the "physicality" of a B&M room, I find following the online games terminally dull. I know I will be able to work up to the point of focusing only on the game, but in the interim, any suggestions (other than visualizing the pot of gold at the end of the road of banality) on how to deal with the boredom, or help with the focus, would be much appreciated.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far and I look forward to your comments.