Even if your an online pro....
 

How many years could you really do it for before burning out?

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

As a recreational player, the idea of multitabling for 8hrs a day has zero appeal for me, as it smacks of being a miserable existance.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

Ever stare at a computer for 10 hours straight?

I could only imagine how long it could take!

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

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How many years could you really do it for before burning out?

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I could probably do it until I stop making massive amounts of dough.

Krishan

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

or until the accumulated massiveness gets big enough!

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

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How many years could you really do it for before burning out?

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Making lots of money would prevent the burned out feeling I am guessing.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

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How many years could you really do it for before burning out?

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Making lots of money would prevent the burned out feeling I am guessing.

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Going to Jamaica in the middle of winter doesn't hurt either.

Krishan

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

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How many years could you really do it for before burning out?

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I could probably do it until I stop making massive amounts of dough.

Krishan

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or until the accumulated massiveness gets big enough!

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True, there is a very definite end to poker as a job in my life monaterily.

Krishan

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

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As a recreational player, the idea of multitabling for 8hrs a day has zero appeal for me, as it smacks of being a miserable existance.

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I'm not a pro but I think a lot of them don't play for 8 hours a day.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

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As a recreational player, the idea of multitabling for 8hrs a day has zero appeal for me, as it smacks of being a miserable existance.

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No one plays 8 hrs a day long term. And if any, very few.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

3hrs a day (averaged over 30 days) multitabling can put you up around 35-45k hands/month... more than enough for most pros.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

The key to avoid burn out is to be good enough that you don't need to play more than 2 to 4 hours a day. If you have to play 8 hours a day to meet your nut, it will be a miserable existence.
Almost all the miserable poker pro's you see are simply not very good. The best players love it and it shows.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

im burnt out and i make alot of money so i dont know how all these guys do it.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

I haven't done it (yet), but I suspect the answer is inversely correlated with the enjoyment you get out of whatever other livelihood options are available to you. Which is a fancy way of saying that my guess is that the players who complain about putting in 4 hours a day have never had to earn a living by grinding out a real job.

Compared to the 50-70 hour weeks I spend <u>working</u> at my job (which is a pretty good one -- lawyer at a very large DC firm), I have to believe that <u>playing</u> 30-40 hours a week over an extended period of time would be cheesecake.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

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Ever stare at a computer for 10 hours straight?

I could only imagine how long it could take!

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I'm not a poker pro, but I stare at a computer for 10 hrs straight for my job and it's very true that there is only so much you can take.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

I'm thinking of most likely going pro when I turn 18 and to me more than 6 hours a day (and even 6 hours is alot) is crazy. I would prolly play no more than 30-40 hours a week. There's more to life than just poker, especially when you have money. And that's what you should have at your disposal if you are a poker pro...

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

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Ever stare at a computer for 10 hours straight?

I could only imagine how long it could take!

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I do this 4 cdays a week anyhow working a support desk, and have done for the last 7 years. compared to dealing with the daily retards I see on the tech support desk everyday I reckon the life of a multitabling pro is pretty cushy. if I ever get good enough to beat the game for more than my current salary I'm out of there!

Mat

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

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How many years could you really do almost ANY job before burning out?

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Burn-out happens.
poker certainly isn't the end-all, be-all for me. It's how I make my income though, and if I get better at it than I can make more income.

It's also far more appealing than many other occupations out there which I deem to be a potentially far more miserable existence.


I'm in Florida right now visiting my family.
It's about the 6th or 7th time this year that I've taken a little trip where I was able to 'take my job' with me.
This flexibility is not available at most occupations....much less just the general flexibility that you can work whenever the hell you want throughout the week...3 hours one day, 7 hours the next, 1 hour the next and then something comes up so I'll get back to it later...etc etc.


The burn-out aspect doesn't really concern me that much because I know it can be much worse and much more depressing in many other jobs.
Until I find something I actually enjoy more that also pays comparably than I just suck it up and enjoy it (and the lifestyle) as much as I can.

I guess it's a miserable idea for some to be staring at a computer screen all day (although I take my computer out of the house to a coffee-place or something sometimes) but most of my old friends are kind of jealous of my ability to just sit down at a computer any old time I want and make money (although it obviously isn't that easy).


My bits of jealousy of them comes from the fact that many of them have jobs with a true purpose. but they are putting in massive hours and always look pretty gosh-darned tired.
Then there's another friend of mine who I visited recently who is in sales and marketing. She makes decent money and makes the best of it and has some friends there, but it just sounds like a mostly miserable existence (meeting sales goals, dealing with hyperish tight-ass bosses, general stress involved, etc etc)

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

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Ever stare at a computer for 10 hours straight?

I could only imagine how long it could take!

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I'm not a poker pro, but I stare at a computer for 10 hrs straight for my job and it's very true that there is only so much you can take.

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Apparently, though, at least ten hours a day.

--Zetack

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

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im burnt out and i make alot of money so i dont know how all these guys do it.

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One way to keep it interesting is to vary it up a bit. Travel to some of the tournaments and play in the great side games. Playing in different places (combined with a little sight seeing) makes it much more fun. And if you're up to it, start learning new games or starting playing some tournaments to keep it interesting.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

My goal is to be done by the end of 2008.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

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Compared to the 50-70 hour weeks I spend <u>working</u> at my job (which is a pretty good one -- lawyer at a very large DC firm), I have to believe that <u>playing</u> 30-40 hours a week over an extended period of time would be cheesecake.

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Trust me, it soon feels like work when you 'play' 30-40hrs a week.

Don't forget that multitabling is more mentally intense than just about any other job, and soon takes its toll.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

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One way to keep it interesting is to vary it up a bit. Travel to some of the tournaments and play in the great side games.

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Excatly what I was getting at in my post. But everyone seemed to dump on the idea that I even think of leaving the house.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

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Trust me, it soon feels like work when you 'play' 30-40hrs a week.

Don't forget that multitabling is more mentally intense than just about any other job, and soon takes its toll.

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I haven't done much multitabling, but when I have, I found that, the poker aside, the mere act of bouncing from table to table annoying. It takes much of the fun out of the game.

In addition, people here make it seem as though you just jump on the internet and off you go. From what I've seen, finding profitable tables is a job in itself, as people tend to dart in and out of games more often online than in a live setting.

A good game at the moment can deteriorate in a hurry.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

Compared to my old job at a movie theater, this is easy work.

Especially around the holidays. I had many 10 hour days and one day I worked over 13 hours! That whole time I was ripping and running, and had to be in four places at once. So looking at 4 tables is a piece of cake. Only thing that I don't like are the downswings, but not everything is perfect.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

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Trust me, it soon feels like work when you 'play' 30-40hrs a week.

Don't forget that multitabling is more mentally intense than just about any other job, and soon takes its toll.

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I haven't done much multitabling, but when I have, I found that, the poker aside, the mere act of bouncing from table to table annoying. It takes much of the fun out of the game.

In addition, people here make it seem as though you just jump on the internet and off you go. From what I've seen, finding profitable tables is a job in itself, as people tend to dart in and out of games more often online than in a live setting.

A good game at the moment can deteriorate in a hurry.

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Table selection is a semi-important consideration...but it's not THAT bad.

I frequently have sessions where I stay on 4 or 5 of the same tables for a very long time because there are almost always a couple players who are pretty terrible (50/5 or something perhaps) and 1 or 2 others who don't really frighten me even though they are a bit better than awful.


On Party and Stars in the evenings there are over 60k players online. I don't know know how NOT to find some bad players.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

I played for about three years in casinos, and loved it, but went to work to make more money. This time around, I have played mostly online - without a paycheck since Sept. of 2002 - and I'm getting crankier every day. I played 1400 hours last year and will hit about the same total this year - but it's not as much fun.

I've only has a few "vacation" days since our trip to Tahoe and then NM in July (after WSOP in June), and I also am getting my BS degree. We'll be in Hawaii for two weeks in mid Dec. and I'm hoping I'll feel more like playing then.

Right now I'm just not having any fun, and my results are definitly reflecting my frame of mind. You can't make yourself love something - regardless of what it pays. On the other hand, I don't want to give up the freedom. Hmmmm [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

Dogmeat [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

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Compared to my old job at a movie theater, this is easy work.

Especially around the holidays. I had many 10 hour days and one day I worked over 13 hours! That whole time I was ripping and running, and had to be in four places at once. So looking at 4 tables is a piece of cake. Only thing that I don't like are the downswings, but not everything is perfect.

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I'm not saying there aren't worse (or much worse) jobs than playing poker online. I'm just saying that online poker seems like a good way to make some extra money, but a not so good way to make a living. I live in Manhattan. Rents here aren't cheap. I just don't see being able to cover my nut "strictly" from online poker.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

Great responses, as for myself, I have played online off and on since 2000 but wasn't a winning player until last year. Yeah it took a while but experience is priceless. Even then I'm still not a big winner and couldn't make a living from it yet. It just seems like a grind that I couldn't do for too many years. As for live play I think I could last a lot longer and after all, it's easier to win. My goal is to work just enough to get benefits and play poker part time. This way I don't or won't pay any taxes on my winnings, screw the IRS. At least it will never be enough that will drastically change my life style but it would be nice if it could.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

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Compared to my old job at a movie theater, this is easy work.

Especially around the holidays. I had many 10 hour days and one day I worked over 13 hours! That whole time I was ripping and running, and had to be in four places at once. So looking at 4 tables is a piece of cake. Only thing that I don't like are the downswings, but not everything is perfect.

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I'm not saying there aren't worse (or much worse) jobs than playing poker online. I'm just saying that online poker seems like a good way to make some extra money, but a not so good way to make a living. I live in Manhattan. Rents here aren't cheap. I just don't see being able to cover my nut "strictly" from online poker.

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I agree. It is hard, especially if you don't have the talent to play high enough. I do think that playing live, one wouldn't burn out as quickly.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

Yeah, since 1984 in corp. USA. At UTC, GTE, FedEX, Conseco, IBM, and Citicorp as a programmer/analyst. LOL!

I could go as long as it's profitable enough. LOL!

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Ever stare at a computer for 10 hours straight?

I could only imagine how long it could take!

[/ QUOTE ]

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

Well, it's not really *playing* if your livelyhood depends on it.

Every work a week or a month at your firm and lose money, get a negative paycheck?

Also, the status factor you have with your "real job" is an intangible benefit that, at least until WPT, no poker player could enjoy.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

Amen to that. Having done Level 2 Support at Big Blue, I agree. Except that variance can be a killer.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

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Also, the status factor you have with your "real job" is an intangible benefit that, at least until WPT, no poker player could enjoy.

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This is the last thing on a poker pros mind.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

Also playing live you can get the otheres players numbers and call them afterwards

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

As for how many years i'll play i don't really know. I could take a year off if i wanted to but i really like playing and there's still alot to learn and the games are all still really good.

I usally only play for about 20-30hrs a week. Any more than that and i find is too much. I also change up games frequently. I don't set a schedule or anything but i try and play at least 1 session of each of these

1.No-limit Hold’em cash game
2.Tournaments (usually NLHE)
3.Pot limit Omaha/8
4.Pot-limit Omaha
5.limit Hold'em
6.Razz
7.Seven-Stud High
8.Seven-Stud Eight-or-Better
9.Omaha Eight-or-Better
10. Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw

It helps to keep me thinking and interested and it's made me become much better at poker versus just being better at hold'em.

professional slacker
 

I've been pretty lazy when it comes to getting in the hours, only 60k hands since August. I guess I'm a "pro" since poker is my only source of income, but I only put in a few hours a day, if at all.
Just don't think of poker as a "job," and you will never burn out. I'm just a recreational player who also happens to be unemployed.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

I play 50-75k hands a month and think every day that my job is the best in the world. Do I look forward to when I won't have to do this for an income, sure. Is there any other job for which I'm qualified that could come anywhere close to poker profit-wise? No.

The advantages to investing 3-4k a month far outweigh any feeling of "burn-out"... at least in my book. I'm 20 and compound interest is and will be a beautiful thing.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

As long as I keep myself in check, and get out of my pit, I'm normally ok.

I go a little batshit from time to time though.

Re: Even if your an online pro....
 

No doubt. But it is on the minds of the ladies you meet, and the Mortgage Broker, etc.