Advice for a (fairly) new player

[th3 mol3]

Thanks for the truely sound advice guys, you've made me wake up a bit... I'm definetly going to carry on with university.

I wasn't intending on playing poker full time, I would rather have a stable job with poker on the side, as you suggested. It's just hard to cut down my poker hours at the moment because I'm doing quite well, and I'm not used to having this amount of money. Any suggestions as to how I could try and get over my addiction? I've got loads of work to do over the next few weeks, and it's not getting done because it's so inviting to play a 'few' hands of poker [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[RacersEdge]

[ QUOTE ]
Any suggestions as to how I could try and get over my addiction? I've got loads of work to do over the next few weeks, and it's not getting done because it's so inviting to play a 'few' hands of poker


[/ QUOTE ]

Withdraw all your money and buy yourself something with part of the profits. Any empty account will make it hard for you to jump on the computer and start playing.

[th3 mol3]

That's a good idea... I doubt no poker for a few weeks will have me crawling up the walls, and I've been thinking about buying this lovely bass guitar:



And with an instrument as beautiful as that in my possession, at least poker won't be the first thing on my mind [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[bholdr]

One poster said to withdraw all your money... DON'T! you'll just end up redepositing someday... and there is nothing wrong with playing poker...


try treating it like a job. i set time aside and play, a time to start and a time to stop then- and i never just hop onto a poker table while i'm working or surfing the web (unless the table's extra-fishy!).

If i were you, knowing what i know after having played seriously for a year, i would seek to limit my variance (swings) and learn how to make a consistant profit. this means no playing 3/6 until you're bankroll is at least 2k (i prefer much more), for starters, 1/2 is probably a good choice, esp if you multitable (i make much more playing 4 tables of 1/2 than i do playing 1 or 2 3/6 games). also, bonus whoring is a great way to increse profits and pad losses- if you really enjoy poker (there is a difference between enjoyment and addiction) you should learn how to maximize your profit and then treat it as a part time job- it's a great way to earn mad money for a student ($$$ to take your GF out, buy beer, have fun), as long as you don't need to depend on it to pay your tuition or anything...

It's also important to study yer ass off when attempting to go this route: read TOP, HEPFAP, SSHE, SS, etc...

I wish that online poker was this big when i went to school. instead, i dug ditches and painted houses.

remember:
study the books;
part time job;
bonus whoring;
mad money not bill money;
poker is fun,
and hopefully profitable.

GL to you.

[th3 mol3]

This sounds like a better idea actually. At the moment I play whenever I feel like, and it's starting to get out of control. I tend to lose focus after playing for a few hours as well, so it's probably for the best.

Bankroll isn't really an issue at the moment, it's currently at just under $5000 (I've cashed some out over time) and I usually play two tables of $3/$6. The swings I referred to were from playing no limit cash games, with limit I think I've got them under control. I'm planning to do some bonus whoring when I finish this academic year, so I'll have some cash for the summer.

I've been reading SSHE and Championship NL & PL HE by T.J. Cloutier (I like to play the occasional tournament), as well as browsing these forums, so I'm pretty well educated thx to you guys [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] God knows how many hours of poker I’ve watched on TV over the past year as well, lol [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]