How do I put in more hours/week. (Long/Introspective) - Page 5

Jeff W · #41 08-29-2005, 05:23 PM

Bobby,

Good post.

1. I play short sessions. I usually play 1-2 hours at a pop. I have a very short leash(too short) and I suspect that I mistake taking bad beats+losing in unavoidable situations for tilt and quit sessions early.

2. I miss 0-1 days/week, but I often miss sessions. When I miss a day, it's usually because I have underwent some hardships during the week. I suffer from a semi-conscious belief that I am entitled to win every time I play and so I become frustrated when I lose and my results do not reflect my self-image. This leads to taking sessions/days off inappropriately under the guise of "playing my best at all times" when I should be playing through hardship and developing mental toughness.

I know I have quite a lot of psychological baggage for someone who has been playing limit hold'em for a year, but all these problems are correctable.

autobet · #42 08-29-2005, 05:25 PM

I have my TV right next to my monitor in my bedroom, so I can play poker and listen to the TV at the same time. I also have the TV on when I am playing in the living room on my laptop.

I'm sure I would put in less hours too if I had to seperate TV from poker.

4thstreetpete · #43 08-29-2005, 10:25 PM

I'm having a hard time putting in the hours as well. I've actually missed about a full week this week.

Sometimes I don't understand why it is so hard to put the hours in online. When playing live I've had many sessions where I've played for over 16 hours straight and once about 22 hours. I wish I could do it online but if I play more than a 3 hour session I just have to quit.

At home I'm spending too much time just donking around, checking 2+2 etc.... Hopefully having this week off will help me put more hours in later. Maybe that's what you need too. A break once in a while is nice.

2ndGoat · #44 08-30-2005, 07:07 PM

<<I'm going to give it a shot starting tomorrow. I will make a 25-hour schedule for this week(Monday-Friday) and I will stick to it. I will update my progress next weekend. >>

Sucks that it has to come to this, given one of the reasons that most of us that quit the real world was to work without a schedule.

I've been dealing with low-hour-syndrone myself, but as of last week, I've found the cure for me is that "persperation not inspiration" deal. I've set schedules but I never keep to them.

Good luck with your efforts.

2nd

Justin A · #45 08-30-2005, 11:29 PM

[ QUOTE ]
<<I'm going to give it a shot starting tomorrow. I will make a 25-hour schedule for this week(Monday-Friday) and I will stick to it. I will update my progress next weekend. >>

Sucks that it has to come to this, given one of the reasons that most of us that quit the real world was to work without a schedule.

I've been dealing with low-hour-syndrone myself, but as of last week, I've found the cure for me is that "persperation not inspiration" deal. I've set schedules but I never keep to them.

Good luck with your efforts.

2nd

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah but at the same time it's nice to be able to make your own schedule, and at the same time have the option to not make a schedule at all.

MicroBob · #46 08-31-2005, 01:17 AM

exactly.
if something comes up....or you need to juggle things around...then do it.

If you want to get out of town for a stretch...then take your job with you.

My GF and I are arranging a couple of upcoming vacations.

Me = Well, my schedule is whatever the hell I want it to be. I can go wherever and whenever.

Her = She only gets so many days off per year. And there's not very much flexibility to allow her to take more. She has requested off for my birthday way ahead of time to make sure she gets it approved. She also has to take a certain number of days off before the end of the year or else she loses them.
Her boss is a pain in the ass...and is condescending.
And this is a job that she actually enjoys and thinks is pretty decent.
It just happens to come with all the typical burdens of a normal 'job'.

In other words - putting yourself to a set-schedule to play your poker is hardly the end of the world and also hardly makes it significantly less-good independence-wise than it was before.

James282 · #47 08-31-2005, 06:22 AM

The richer you get, the less you'll feel like playing. At some point, you need to take a look at why you play. Do you play because you want financial security in the future? Because you love living the free and easy life? Something inbetween?

Complaining about not putting hours in is ridiculous IMO. Do it or don't do it, but don't force yourself to if you don't want to. You're not a little kid who needs to be forced to do his homework. You're an adult with a job. Work 10 hours a week, 30, whatever. Set your own hours and stick to them, bcause we're not going to be able to help you with this.
-James

Budget Boy · #48 08-31-2005, 10:07 AM

I notice a lot of internet players put in pretty light hours. I play live and put in over 100 hours a month in addition to my fulltime job, and if I didn't have a girlfriend I would play a whole lot more. I think this has to have something to do with live vs online play. Multi-tabling online must just be a lot more mentally draining. If you're making a decent living playing online poker 13 hours a week though, good for you.

Surfbullet · #49 08-31-2005, 03:09 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I notice a lot of internet players put in pretty light hours. I play live and put in over 100 hours a month in addition to my fulltime job, and if I didn't have a girlfriend I would play a whole lot more. I think this has to have something to do with live vs online play. Multi-tabling online must just be a lot more mentally draining. If you're making a decent living playing online poker 13 hours a week though, good for you.

[/ QUOTE ]

Multitabling online is far more strenuous IMO, and at times more boring. I personally have put in 10-14 hour marathon sessions live that break only because all of us have to go to class....whereas my longest online session is maybe 4 hours or so.

Surf

edit: it's also tempting to play light hours when you can log 1000 hands in 2 hours or so.

Jeff W · #50 09-01-2005, 12:42 AM

[ QUOTE ]
At some point, you need to take a look at why you play.

[/ QUOTE ]

I play because poker is far superior to my other career options(none). I have no resume to speak of and I earned <3.0 GPA in college, so my occupation outlook is limited.

Eventually, I want to earn enough money so that I can start generating passive income while still maintaining a comfortable bankroll.

And, as much as I hate to admit it, I am driven to become an excellent poker player. I have never felt confident in my abilities and I need to put in a ton of hours to get to the point where I will feel happy with my game and my accomplishments.

[ QUOTE ]
Set your own hours and stick to them, bcause we're not going to be able to help you with this.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, you are right. I feel confident that I will work all this out.

Unfortunately, a member of my family has taken seriously ill and I must travel to Florida for the next two weeks. I will meet my 25 hr/week goal for this week and both of the next two weeks despite this setback.