New Member
Hi all,
I'd like to introduce myself as a new member. I've been playing recreationally (i.e. once a month) for about a year, but I'm starting to get more serious about poker. I play usually once a week in a home game, plus three to four times a week online. All in all, I'd say I'm playing about 20 hours a week at this point.
I'm looking forward to being a member of this forum. If any of you here in the K-W area are ever in need of an extra player, please give me a shout on MSN.
Thanks!
I'd like to introduce myself as a new member. I've been playing recreationally (i.e. once a month) for about a year, but I'm starting to get more serious about poker. I play usually once a week in a home game, plus three to four times a week online. All in all, I'd say I'm playing about 20 hours a week at this point.
I'm looking forward to being a member of this forum. If any of you here in the K-W area are ever in need of an extra player, please give me a shout on MSN.
Thanks!
Comments
'greed is good' LOL
thanks,
CO
uh oh, maybe the girlfriend is right I may be playing way to much.
How much would dave play? I think I'll ask him how he treats his hours and his "work" schedule.
i would call that a parttime gig
Some important questions to ask yourself might be:
1. Are you a long term winning player, or a long term losing player? If you are a long term losing player, then the number of hours you play has financial relevance. Clearly you can be a losing player for different reasons (just beginning and learning, play for fun and don't care to much about improving), but for anyone who is a losing player, poker should be considered a financial expense. There is nothing wrong with this in itself; for example, you may consider that you are paying for the entertainment value that poker provides. What is important to this discussion is that (for a losing player) poker is actually an *hourly* expense. Put simply, a losing player who plays twice as much, loses twice as much in the long run. This may make "playing poker too much" a double edged sword.
Hint: If you don't know if you are a long term winning player or a long term losing player, then start keeping track of your results beginning with your very next poker session.
2. Do you find yourself missing out on other things because of time spent at poker? Obviously playing poker is one choice of how you spend your time. What I am trying to get at here is, do you often *regret* missing out on doing something else during times you were playing poker? Or more broadly speaking, do you feel like you lack time in general for any other activities?
3. Are you getting less sleep, missing meals, or not accomplishing similar "necessary" tasks? I'm not talking about staying up late to play cards once in a while here, but something more intrusive like getting less sleep than you think is usual on a more regular basis (like every day, for example) because of poker.
4. Do the people close to you feel excluded or otherwise disadvantaged due to your playing poker? You (Gonzo) have already alluded to something along these lines. Why are they concerned? Is it financial? Is it to do with how you choose to spend your time? Do they have more fundamental (ethical, philosophical, religious, spiritual, historical) difficulties with poker and/or gambling? If you care about these people, listen to them. And if they care about you, they will do the same. Talk about it. A lot.
This is a complicated, and difficult issue, which I find is often (at least on the surface) brushed off or treated too lightly by a lot of poker players. I realize that a lot of people will read this post like I'm trying to come of as some kind of Gambler's Anonymous, but that's not my intention. I play poker. I play quite a lot of poker, and it's an amount that I think is probably right for me and those around me.
I think that every poker player can get a lot of information from an accurate, honest and complete answer to just one question.
Why do you play poker?
ScottyZ
Great handle. I don't think 20 hrs/week is too much, but I don't know much about you. There was a time during the winter (almost 4 months) when I played 5-max 25/50 games online roughly 60 to 70 hrs/week, in addition to my 'job'. I'd work from 11:30 to 6:00, play from 7 until 4 or 5 in the morning, and sleep for 6 hours or so before doing it all again.
My girlfriend was there the whole time pretty much, and didn't have a problem with it. I think this is because she saw the fruits of my labour arrive via FedEx on a pretty regular basis, and because I assured her that my apparent obsessiveness was temporary, which it was.
Those players weren't going to have money to throw away forever, and sure enough, it dried up after a while, as the weak players busted out.
Now, I average maybe 10 hrs/week, if that. It's nice outside! For me, poker's like a light switch that you should be able to turn on and off. When you're playing, play your best game possible, and play for as long as possible if it's profitable and is not interfering in too adverse a way with your life. When you're not playing, it's good if you can forget about poker altogether, so you never find yourself in a movie theatre with a hot date thinking about the money you could be making online.
This post was intended to make you feel that 20 hrs/week isn't anything to worry about, at all, as long as you're very honest with yourself, and about your intentions.
It could be worse. You could be some crazy 70 hr/week addict, like me.
Regards,
all_aces
First, thanks for replying to my inaugural post! Second, I entirely agree with what ScottyZ said. It is very important that you never lose perspective. I play poker the amount that I do because I'm lucky to have a decent amount of spare time, and because I'm lucky enough to have a girlfriend that supports my poker playing.
Maybe 20 hours is too much for some, but not enough for others. I agree that you shouldn't measure your amount of playing against others'. If you have the time to spare, and if you enjoy it, then play all you want. Just don't let it affect other aspects of your life, which are more important.
For me, poker is a hobby. And if I happen to make money while doing my hobby, great! If I happen to lose, that's okay too, because I only play with what I feel I would spend on other hobbies. It's not so much the monetary aspect that attracts me to the game, but the mental aspect. I love matching wits with the other players at the table. Maybe I'll match wits with some of you someday.
Thanks again for your replies, and I look forward very much to being a member of this forum.
P.S. Go Flames!
Now that you've ran the gauntlet, I think it's safe to say you have the same attitude about poker that many healthy people do.
Back to the grilling for a moment, though. This thread is pretty heavy stuff for a 'new member' post. Welcome, and for our next thread, how's about covering the basics of alcohol and drug addiction?
Regards,
all_aces
I've got no problem with drug & alcohol addictions. Just keep the time spent on each one under 20 hours per week.
I guess my post was really motivated by Gonzo's post
and not so much by Gecco's original post. So, maybe this actually counts as Gonzo's initiation.
I didn't mean to be "picking on" either Gonzo or Gecco specifically or anything like that. I was just trying to bring up some ideas which tend to be universal concerns for poker players and/or gamblers.
But in the end, I'm thankful for one thing in this thread. Now I've heard of someone playing poker 70 hours per week! Now I can easily justify playing 60 hours per week myself no sweat. 8)
ScottyZ
No, of course not. Me neither. I just thought it was funny that Gecco's first thread somehow wound its way into the depths of the mindset of the compulsive gambler, that's all... lol.
There's really nothing to justify until you hit 140 hrs/week. Anything less means you're just plain lazy.
i am new too, just didn't want to start a new thread because that would just bump someone else down.
I play poker about 20+ hours a week online now as well since school is out.
I am hoping to make $1000 in the next 4 months (pay off my books possibly).
Well, i'll see you all around the forum!
GL @ THE TABLES!
Welcome to the forum! (No, I'm not on the payroll...) I was just thinking about the fact that I visit twoplustwo and RGP a lot less often now. I think the reason is, if I mention Rama, Yellowhead, Brantford, or Regina on those boards, nobody knows what the hell I'm talking about.
Regards,
all_aces
ps: Are you a chronically addicted gambler?
Poker is fun, but I won't risk my life or somethign along the line for it.
I am also apart of the ITH forum, and have heard of RGP and 2+2, I think 2+2 has weekly/monthly tournament with ITH.
This is a great place to talk to other fellow poker players.
welcome Tilter
pay off your books as in your bookie? :?:
thanks,
CO