Even if your an online pro....

[joop]

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

[phish]

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.

[TStoneMBD]

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

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.

[jba]

[ QUOTE ]
Ever stare at a computer for 10 hours straight?

I could only imagine how long it could take!

[/ QUOTE ]

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.

[b33nz]

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...

[MadMat]

[ QUOTE ]
Ever stare at a computer for 10 hours straight?

I could only imagine how long it could take!

[/ QUOTE ]

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

[MicroBob]

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

[/ QUOTE ]


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)

[Zetack]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Ever stare at a computer for 10 hours straight?

I could only imagine how long it could take!

[/ QUOTE ]

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.

[/ QUOTE ]

Apparently, though, at least ten hours a day.

--Zetack

[phish]

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

[/ QUOTE ]

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.