poker and life

[ccwhoelse?]

how do you, not applicable to all, balance poker with other things as it does require a lot of time and patience.

[MrGo]

I'm sure it varies with each individual. Players with families and other top priorities will obviously put them first and poker somewhere behind. People like myself with no wife, children, house payment, etc... find it easier to play poker.

[archmagi]

The answer shuold be different for everyone, and you are likely to find the answer in why you are playing poker? Then you can set the proirties straight.
For me, I wouldn't change my nights out or my lazy Sunday morning with anything, so I usually end up playing weeknights after work.

[Michael Davis]

Truth is, most don't do it that well.

[MrDannimal]

Just recently, having realized that I wasn't getting as much done as I thought I should be, I've made a rule that I can't play until after I've gotten some things off my To-Do list.

Even before that, though, I only played after my daughter was in bed (so I started after 9pm). My wife is usually writing then, so I'm not bailing on her.

I also needed to set a stop time, because if I played until 1 or 2am, I was tired the next day and it threw me off (either I took a nap after work and couldn't get to sleep that night, or I was just dragging).

Like has been said, it's all individual. Just sit down and think about where you think poker *should* be in terms of priority in your life, compared to everything else, and then set up some "rules" to help keep it in that spot.