Does Playing Profitable Hold'em Get Easier?

PokerProdigy · #1 03-28-2005, 01:29 AM

Hey, this is another one of those questions for the successful poker player, or anyone else that can help me answer this question.

I have a goal to become a very good poker player (specifically hold'em). I am sure that many of you here on the 2+2 forums have the same goal. Yet, I have noticed that in order to achieve this goal one must work very hard, for example read books, get tons of experience, analyze hands, etc... Now don't get me wrong because I AM NOT COMPLAINING about this fact, because if it were easy then anyone could do it and nobody would make any money at it. As they say "anything worth having is worth working for." I even heard Mason Malmuth say in a couple of his books "that being a professional poker player is like a 24 hour job."

Now, to my question. Do you think (or know for a fact from your personal poker experience) if this process gets easier? Do you think that people who have worked really hard for a couple years can just start sitting back and making money while studying very little and analyzing it alot less? Does the Phil Iveys, David Sklanskys, Chip Reeses, Phil Helmuths, and Doyle Brunsons of the world only think about poker at the table? Or do you think that in order to be a good to great poker player, you must always (no matter how much studying you've done nor how much experience you have) study? For example, just like a professional athlete must (in most cases) still lift weights and exercise, as practice and games/meets/competitions alone are NOT merely enough to succeed? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

bicyclekick · #2 03-28-2005, 01:32 AM

complacency killed the poker player.

It maybe gets easier, because get more familiar with the right way to things, but it's still a lot of work.

PokerProdigy · #3 03-28-2005, 02:02 AM

You're a successful poker pro right bicyclekick? Do you still feel like you're able to enjoy the other things in your life? Or is it just poker 24/7? Thats part of the question that I am trying to get to. [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

bicyclekick · #4 03-28-2005, 02:10 AM

[ QUOTE ]
You're a successful poker pro right bicyclekick? Do you still feel like you're able to enjoy the other things in your life? Or is it just poker 24/7? Thats part of the question that I am trying to get to. [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Pro in the sense that I solely derive my income from poker...but I've been going to college the whole time. I'll be graduating this spring with a BA in computer science and then taking some time off to play poker, travel, and enjoy life.

I definately feel I'm able to enjoy other things in my life. After all, that's the reason I'm playing poker. So I have more time to enjoy myself. I do occaisionally have the "hmmm, The tables are fantastic and I could stay in tonight and my ev would be about 3k OR I could go out with friends." So far, friends have almost always won out over poker and that's probably the way it should be, as hard as it is sometimes.

Just friday there was a super fish and he's played a couple sessions before and he had about 8k to bust...which at 1/2 would probably take him about 30 minutes on average...so I did stay a 20 minutes longer knowing my rate would be huge while my friends who I told I would play ddr with played without me...and they understood.

I play more poker than most players I know...so I usually get plenty of time in and don't really have to worry about doing other things...which at this point in my life are often far more important.

PokerProdigy · #5 03-28-2005, 11:01 AM

Cool. Because I am also a college student and just want some time for school work (gotta keep the grades up) and a social life. And just like you, I wanted to be a good poker player so I'll have some more time for these things, unlike some of my friends (who are also in college) that have to bust their ass just to make $7.00 an hour.

rmarotti · #6 03-28-2005, 11:27 AM

[ QUOTE ]
complacency killed the poker player.

[/ QUOTE ]

greg nice · #7 03-28-2005, 11:46 AM

dude
you do more talking about poker than playing poker
enough with the bs posts with dreams of becoming a pro. just start playing already. christ

badvb750 · #8 03-28-2005, 11:59 AM

[ QUOTE ]
complacency killed the poker player

[/ QUOTE ]

Complacency will kill you in any profession where the variables are always changing.

Grisgra · #9 03-28-2005, 12:32 PM

Of course it gets easier than when you're just starting out, but that's because there's a lot to learn psychologically as well. And frankly, after you've mastered a given limit at a given site, you're no doubt "profitable" and if you're happy there you can just chug along at your 2BB/100 or whatever with very little study. The game will change a little bit but probably not to the extent that it'll require great study to adjust to.

So to that extent, yeah, it gets easier. On the other hand, if you plan on continually moving up in limits and challenging yourself . . . no, not easier, not at all [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]. Except for that psychological stuff.

PokerProdigy · #10 03-28-2005, 08:52 PM

No, I actually do play alot of poker (considering I am a full-time students). But, one reason I ask some questions like this (and I relize they sound kind of strange because NOT many other people post these questions) is because these are the type of questions that I never here the great pros and writers (Like Sklansky, Malmuth, etc...) talk about. If I have a question about odds, preflop strategy, etc... it's alot easier to find these questions on my own from a book (even though I still ask questions on the forum about these topics as well), but when it comes to some of these questions that take experience to answer, I figure I might as well post them on the forum because I don't personally know any poker pros that can answer these question, nor any books that talk about these topics.

And besides if it annoys you then why do you reply, instead why don't you just read another post?