Playing poker is often thought of as a glamarous lifestyle. You don't have to wake up at 8am every morning and go work for that POS boss in that job you hate. Instead, you set your own schedule, have tons of freedom, get to play a game for a living, and (ideally) make boatloads of money doing it.

And for a lucky few, it's probably just as glamarous as advertised. Freaks like Ivey and Antonios and Durrr (haha if he's not broke yet) are traveling the world and making millions. Anyone that has won a live 10k for a million must be living the dream. Online assassins like gboro put in relatively low volume, yet seemingly have a 20k+ score every week or two. These guys create an aura about the game, which I think drives most of us who play.

But what about everyone else? For the rest of us mortals, even those of us who win, poker can be such a grind and a really humbling game. Some grinders that I play with have said things like "I don't feel anything anymore" or "I am numb because of poker" or referred to themselves as "poker zombies". In the nightly hundred grand, I recently saw several very successful players blaming Moneymaker for turning them into "what they have become"... obviously joking around to an extent but I wonder how much truth was behind their comments. Another example that comes to mind is online icon Shaun Deeb recently taking a break from the game and writing that he hates what he has become.

Someone I know through the poker world made supernova elite at the very end of December, and when I congratulated him, his only reply was "poker has stolen my soul". He has since quit the game and is only playing 1-2 days per week, and on top of that is having trouble finding a job because he has no work experience in the past several years outside of poker.

Sorry that this post is long and rambling, but it's late and I'm in a pensive mood. I want to know from all the grinders out there, how has poker affected your psyche and mental well-being? Has poker retained that level of excitement and mystique throughout the years? Can you relate to the examples from above, or do you think these are exceptions rather than norms? Do you regret your decision to go into the poker world? All responses are much appreciated, especially those from people that play poker daily and rely on the game for a significant portion/all of their income.

Thanks for reading...

yes

Very nice read. I relate.

Ive played poker the last 2 years to make it through school where. Played full time over this past summer. I can say without a doubt it has made me an angrier person in general. Especially early on when I was playing for my money. Everyone talks about how you need to control your emotions at the tables, which I do most of the time almost all of the time, but what I found is after 8-10 hours of breaking even or losing, oncew my session was over, it would take me hours before I had mellowed to a state where socializing was possible.

Before I played poker 20+ hours a week I would go out 2-3 days a week, and have a good time with friends, but as I started playing poker more and more, I started to think to myself well I could go out on friday night orrrr I could stay in play some of my favorite Mtt's and maybe spike an overlay. Orrrr maybe I'll stay in cause I want to play the weaker games at night when my roi is higher.

Poker has alot of value, but it takes alot of patience and dedication, and what you receive from poker whether it be money, or analytical ability, you have to give up something in other aspects of your life. You have to decide whether its worth it to you or not. Personally where as everyone else is saying I'm graduating college as a backup in case poker doesent work out, I'm personally graduating college in 4 years, and using poker as a backup, with the job market as it is if I cant find work for awhile it wont be as hard to handle because Ill be able to dedicate enough time to bring money in consistently so I dont need to worry.

it's called balance, you can burn out on pretty much anything if you don't have it...

learn to play postflop

 

Originally Posted by z06fanatic

i love poker. Im a recent graduate that plays about 30-40 hours a week of MTTs currently, and enjoy it. The variance isnt the greatest, but I play smaller fields, avoid tougher tournaments, and keep my ABI lower then most with my roll. People will always say the grass is greener, but poker players really have a very easy going lifestyle. They can work when they want, never have to leave the house, don't have to deal with moronic employees, theres no payroll, no one can steal from you (well outside of hackers), no need for insurance, customers aren't bothering you all day, etc. Really people who play poker and do well have it very easy compared to other careers.

i disagree, for an actual job, you don't have a chance of losing money. in poker, you will ALWAYS have that risk.

 

Originally Posted by lordxixor101

Well, I'm not a pro, just speculating from reading the boards here for years (and chatting with some pros on here).

1) There are unhappy people in every facet of life. So, there are definitely going to be unhappy poker pros. The problem is, unhappy people seem to talk the loudest. So, you hear from them from time to time.

2) Poker is work. Don't think it isn't. I always find it funny that you can 'make your own schedule'. Yet, to be really successful, you better love working on Sundays (when your buddies are watching NFL games), and you better not mind pulling some late nights occasionally. Sure, you don't have to get up at 8am, but I don't think pros make their schedules as much as advertised either (if your a cash game player, it's a bit easier, but still expect to pull some significant weekend time).

So, I'm sure their are poker zombies. For the non pros, I think it's important to keep balance in your life (take notice if family (especially a signifcant other) starts disliking you playing, and try to self correct). For pros, it's like any job, take the good with the bad.

Very well said. Poker is a fun game for many people, it's a hobby that can be very profitable. However if you are playing the game as your only source of income you have to take the negatives that come with it. Other then a small percentage of people most folks hate their jobs for very similar reasons that full timers hate poker. The difference is that at a regular job you're a robot who has no control over anything. You have to take that 30min-1hr lunch at a certain time, you have to be there at a certain time and leave 8hrs later and no matter how much effort you put in the hourly rate stays the same. Poker on the other hand is a grind as well, you have to put in the time to be successful, however YOU are fully in control of yourself and you know that the time being put in will result in a higher and higher and higher cash flow. I think the biggest problem with us players is that we fall into that robotic state which most people are forced into at their daily jobs and we forget the maneuvering power we have at our work place. I think a good way to combat some of these down sides people have listed is to try and change your schedule up, go out for lunch in the middle of the day, go out with your friends to the bar, go to the gym, it will 100% make this game a lot more enjoyable.

P.S. While you're out there socializing, listen to how many people hate their lives because of their job.

Honestly, 4 days out of the week my dreams are online poker...Computer animated dreams...No lie

 

Originally Posted by elimherr

well if you think the grind sucks so bad go get a 9-5 or restaurant job or whatever and see how u like it. I'm pretty sure you'll start hating life even more having a "real" job. Like a young bear who loved spaghetti and meatballs once said "how do u know if you've never even tried it"

i don't get why people think getting a 9-5 job is such a terrible thing. if you start applying yourself and your skills to your specific job, you will learn the pleasures of getting sweet promotions and recognition for saving companies millions of dollars, potentially being a high-end exec. right now i'm working on my 3rd internship, i have a total of 4 years of experience with full time and part time jobs, so once i graduate, i'll be working in the corporate world, and i'm actually excited, even though it's going to be a 9-5 job. most people that complain about it are whiners.

 

Originally Posted by tru4yooh

i don't get why people think getting a 9-5 job is such a terrible thing. if you start applying yourself and your skills to your specific job, you will learn the pleasures of getting sweet promotions and recognition for saving companies millions of dollars, potentially being a high-end exec. right now i'm working on my 3rd internship, i have a total of 4 years of experience with full time and part time jobs, so once i graduate, i'll be working in the corporate world, and i'm actually excited, even though it's going to be a 9-5 job. most people that complain about it are whiners.

obv u have never actually worked a 9-5 internships arent the real deal. however gl.

yes

I wish my job was only 9-5. I would kill for that schedule. The daily grind sucks, if you can make money playing cards more power to you. You'll lose your soul a lot quicker sitting in a cubicle everyday while giving a courtesy laugh to every lame joke a senior manager tells you or listening to another "how f'd up I was last weekend" story by the marketing coordinator just out of college.

Oh, shit here comes my boss!! Better log off here and pull up another spread sheet regarding my sales pipeline.

poker > 9-5 imo