Did you ever ask yourself how poker fits into your life? Is it your profession? A secondary source of income? A hobby? A hobby with financial rewards? A combination of those things? This is a question I asked myself recently and a thorough analysis of the answer has resulted in an improved lifestyle, a renewed love of poker and a general boost to my well being.Let me share the story with you. I guess I’m not the ‘traditional’ online poker player. I’m 36, have my dream career, currently working towards my doctorate and have a great wife and two awesome kids. I don’t consider myself wealthy but those I love never have to go without. I’ve always enjoyed sports and have tried to stay fit. I’m doing okay.
I have also played poker my whole life. My parents are five card draw and seven card stud players so I grew up watching them play with their friends almost every Saturday night. My mother still owns the other old ladies in her housing estate when they play five card draw on a Tuesday.
Online poker was a great find for me. It enabled me to fit poker in with an extremely busy lifestyle. So for me, Poker is a hobby that has had a little financial reward. But somehow, it wasn’t working out like that.
I’m a visual learner so let me show you how the busy pieces of my life should fit together in a diagram:
Somehow though, the diagram below represents what was actually happening:
Messy huh?
Let me explain this to you. There has been no impact on my family from my love of poker. That one was easy for me. I did get the occasional grumble from my wife, but she plays too so it’s not so bad. I never play when my girls are awake. I spend quality time with my family as often as I can. It was the other important things in my life that were suffering.
So what exactly am I talking about? I’m talking about playing MTTs during the week in the evenings that finish at 1:30 in the morning, and then getting up and going to work tired. I mean not putting in the amount of study I should because there is an tournament I want to play. Not going for a long walk along the bank of the river near my house because I’d rather be holed up in the office playing a $3 rebuy tournament. Basically, letting poker get in the way of other important things in my life, when all it should be to me is a hobby.
I needed a remedy. I managed to put it in context with this thought. Would I prefer to have major achievements in my career, be fit and healthy and finish my doctorate, or ship the $8.5k Guarantee tournament on Full Tilt Poker? The answer to that question, for financial, personal and professional reasons, was obvious. Poker had to be put back in its place.
So what did I do? In the end it was simple. I stopped playing poker during the working week. Now, I play a session of MTTs on a Friday night and another one in the early hours of Sunday morning (the joys of the Australian time zone). That’s it.
What has happened as a result?
1. I’m sleeping longer and better than I can remember. Waking up refreshed and having no fatigue issues at work. I’m really on top of my game (no pun intended). Getting some exercise back in my routine has had a massive impact as well.
2. I’m getting more of my doctorate done than ever before. For the first time in a few years my university supervisor is actually off my back about how much work I’m producing (which is a nice change I can tell you).
3. My love of poker is as strong as it has ever been. I really look forward to my two sessions and I think I am playing much better as a result. Poker has no feeling whatsoever of being a ‘grind’. It is a heap of fun and if I have good sessions I make a few bucks as well. Sounds like a good hobby to me.
So stop and have a think about how poker fits into your life. We are all different and for many readers poker will be far more important and will require more time. Just make sure that it is in the right place. I would hate to see anyone spend five or ten years missing out on what’s really important, stuck in front of a computer monitor. Life is too short.
Footnote: I hope no one has read this piece and thought ‘gambling addict!’ I really don’t think that is accurate or true. I have reduced my playing schedule by about 75% with no problem at all. As I said, I am very pleased with my new reduced schedule. Gambling addictions are serious matters and if you find that there are important things in your life being put on hold because of poker and you feel you are unable to change that, then I strongly suggest you contact a support agency where you live for help. Gamblers Anonymous is always a good place to start.
* thearthurdog Arthur Russell is a post-grad university student in Queensland, Australia who enjoys online poker in his free time.More Articles by thearthurdog
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