Return to Poker

asdf1234 · #1 12-26-2004, 06:51 PM

I've been away from poker for about 5 months now for various reasons and would very much like to get back into the swing of things. I was wondering if anybody out there has gone through a similar hiatus and what you all feel the best way to return to playing form as soon as possible is. Thank you in advance for your replies.

Reef · #2 12-26-2004, 07:15 PM

reread your poker library. If you don't have one- get one. Start out at micros. Only one table (two max). Do that for the first day. If you feel good about your play, move up the next limit. Progress up at a comfortable rate. Also, post hands in the forum

AAeyes · #3 12-26-2004, 07:28 PM

Because of my work schedule I have often had to take off for a month or two at a time. This may sound weird but I always knocked the dust off with a quick review of TOP and then playing slightly higher than my normal game. I started this habit when I was regularly playing 10-20, but the 20-40 game at my cardroom was too tough for me. Something about it would charge me up a little and keep my head in the game. I also found that rereading 2+2 after sitting in that game I would almost invariably pick up something I had somehow missed in my first thousand reads. For wahtever reasons I've had some of my best sessions in those 'return to the ring' games and found returning to my normal stakes would always be a lot easier. I don't know that taking a shot when you've been off the game would be advisable for everyone, but it's always worked for me.

Best Wishes

AAeyes

prairieboy · #4 12-27-2004, 12:26 PM

I just got back from an 8ish month hiatus (insane work & travel schedule). Things to note:

1. You are rusty. You don't feel it now, but when you start to play, whoo boy.

2. You've had a nice long break so your attitude will be different (better or worse depending) than it was when you stopped playing. Monitor yourself pretty closely for a while to be sure you're going where you want to go.

3. As mentioned by an earlier poster, hit the books & forums.

asdf1234 · #5 12-27-2004, 02:19 PM

Well, after reading a few select portions of TOP, HEPFAP, and SSHE, I decided to head out to Canterbury for a few hours. It seemed to go pretty well (although I'm probably just being results oriented...). I was definitely rusty for the first couple of orbits, but I think I managed to play reasonably well for the rest of the session. It'll probably take me a little while to get back on my game, but it's a start.

Thank you for the advice, guys, I'm glad to be back in the game. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

pokerjunky · #6 12-27-2004, 02:53 PM

I just started playing again after taking a few months off. I was in sort of a permanent tilt mode from all the bad beats and started playing too loose and aggresively and lost all the money I had been working so hard to get. I decided to give it up for a little while to get over my obbsessive-compulsive disorder. Now after reading SSH and browsing this forum I'm back stronger than ever, and I know longer sweat the bad beats.