Pro Poker Player schedules?

[deacsoft]

I've been thinking quite a bit lately about coming up with a daily schedule for myself. In the past I've only been playing x amount of hands per week and simply wrote, read, and studied when I found the time or just felt like it. I'm starting to find problems with playing too much and not studying enough or reading too much and not writing enough, etc. I believe that my productivity could increase greatly if I am able to come up with a schedule and set aside specific times for everything. Naturally, things will come up and an adjustment will need to be made here and there. I've long been trying to treat my career as a professional poker player as my own business in which I am the president/CEO, accountant, and sole employee. I'm beginning to feel amazed that I've been this successful for this long without any kind of solid routine.

I'm hoping some of you can share your insights with me on this topic. The main questions being as follows:
1) Do you have a daily schedule/routine?
A) If so, what does it consist of?
B) If so, do you believe it is beneficial to you?

2) For those of you with no schedule, how do you balance your time?
3) Do you think a schedule could improve your productivity?

Any other thoughts or insights are also welcome and appreciated. Thanks all.

Cheers,

deacsoft

[okayplayer]

[ QUOTE ]

I'm hoping some of you can share your insights with me on this topic. The main questions being as follows:
1) Do you have a daily schedule/routine?
A) If so, what does it consist of?
B) If so, do you believe it is beneficial to you?

2) For those of you with no schedule, how do you balance your time?
3) Do you think a schedule could improve your productivity?

Any other thoughts or insights are also welcome and appreciated. Thanks all.

Cheers,

deacsoft

[/ QUOTE ]
1. Yes. I play nights, after dinner usually around 7 or 8pm, for 8hrs, sleep and then have the whole day for whatever I want. I think it is beneficial to me, but I'm that type of person (schedule/routine oriented). I think the games are better at night as well, and I am a night person and can enjoy the afternoons. I treat it as a job, therefore I make sure I put in 40hrs a week. If something comes up where I end up going out, I can make up the time later.

3. I think it can, but I think it is largely dependent on personality. If you like the freedom of playing poker because you don't have a schedule, then by no means should you force yourself into one. However, it can put you in a mindset that you know that from X - Y, you will be playing poker and you may be more focused and prepared mentally.

[deacsoft]

117 views and 1 reply? No one follows a schedule? Am I off my rocker here or what?

[eric5148]

[ QUOTE ]
1) Do you have a daily schedule/routine?
A) If so, what does it consist of?
B) If so, do you believe it is beneficial to you?

[/ QUOTE ]

I get up, eat cereal with apple juice, then lift weights for about an hour. This week I went to the driving range 3 times (and I was killing the ball /images/graemlins/smirk.gif). Then I dick around on 2+2 for an hour or so. If it's a Wednesday, I research for my golf bets for the tournament that week. Then I either do some blackjack whoring or play video games for awhile. Then I play poker for somewhere between 1 and 6 hours, whatever I feel like, with dinner somewhere in there. Then I listen to Loveline and dick around on 2+2 or golf clubmaking forums. Then I jerk off once or thrice and call it a night.

[ QUOTE ]
2) For those of you with no schedule, how do you balance your time?

[/ QUOTE ]

See above.

[ QUOTE ]
3) Do you think a schedule could improve your productivity?

[/ QUOTE ]

Hell no, then it would feel like a job. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[MicroBob]

I'm kind of with you.

I don't have a schedule and I just try to get in X number of hours per week. If that is playing SNG's or 3-tables or 5.5-tables of 6-max or whatever then sobeit.


I've been less productive of late though and am likely to formalize my schedule a bit more.
Perhaps writing out my week schedule in advance....with adjustments to it whenever the hell I feel like it of course (hence, the joys of playing online-poker full-time for income).

If I decide to go to go to the minor-league baseball game Saturday night (which my GF and I are making plans to do) then I can easily scratch that 'shift' off the schedule.

Even though I can adjust it at my will I think formalizing my schedule a bit will still prove helpful.


I'm not THAT unproductive to be honest about it. Last night I didn't feel like going to bed and spent the better part of midnight to 3am getting in some additional hands.
but I am aware that I can be more productive so might write things out a bit.

If that isn't effective or makes it feel too much like actual 'work' then I can cease to do it obviously.

[timprov]

I just moved from semipro to neopro in March, so who knows if my answers mean anything.

1.) I don't keep a schedule, apart from taking Mondays off, due to an ever-increasing number of medical problems that prevent it. (There are still at least three sleep disorders I don't have. As a completist, this is bothersome.)

2.) I play when I feel like it, do things with family/friends when I/they feel like it, and read/study much of the rest of the time. It works out well enough.

3.) I don't know. As it's impractical, it's an academic issue. I do enjoy, and take advantage of for a life outside of poker, the scheduling flexibility I have, so I think that would have to stick around.

[goodguy_1]

Here is my reality and it aint too cool for most people but it works for me:
[ QUOTE ]
1) Do you have a daily schedule/routine?


[/ QUOTE ] No My optimal schedule would be to play 9pm est-5am est 5/6 days week.But my reality is that my hours are a mess.I am night person have been ever since I was a 16 year old kid staying up watching Johnny Carson show-and doing bongloads-heh.I start cranking about 10pm productivity-wise...problem is my hour tend to rotate throughout any one month.By that I mean I can go thru a 24 hour cycle by sleeping progessively later each day..I usally start out the cycle after a reset day..where I'll not sleep for along time and try and do normal hours ie getting up early morning.Quickly over the next few days I manage to stay up later and later getting up later and later.This usally keeps me working in my optimal productivity time periods and optimal poker playing times but it can be hell.I really dont like going to bed when it's light out and I dont like getting up late in the day and not being able to do chores about town.I have been working on being more disciplined on this thu..Getting up everyday for me at noon or so is a goal-hard to beleive eh?

My overiding goal when it comes to schedule thu is getting enough sleep to play well and swim everday about 2000-2500 yards.I dont care what your schedule is if are not rested you are fighting an uphill battle.So as long as I get my 6 1/2-7 hours sleep everthing else seems to work out.I definetly think maintaining the 12 noon wakeup and playing hours of 10pm -5am would be good for me!!That way I could have more sunlight to do more outdoorsy type stuff instead of just making sure I get a swim workout in...fun stuff not regimented stuff..Right now I've been ging to bed around 7am/8am ..not too cool really.

[ChoicestHops]

Ive been wondering this question myself. At Party there's only 30k or less players until about 2 CST. Right now it's 12:45 CST and there's only 35k players, but not many juicy games.