You gotta make time for the family stuff, tweak your schedule to accommodate them. Give up a little bit of your mtt sched to gain seeing nieces and nephews and the rest of your family. I know you have to be disciplined with poker but it is also a job that gives you flexibility so take advantage of that. At 25 def consider if there is something else you might want to do instead of this, and if there isn't anything you would rather do then keep on doing it.

I think it is a fucking grind tho for most, and unless you are ballin out of control winning major million dollar tournaments your not gonna wanna do it forever. Obviously we all will play poker forever, but having to grind out a living online when you are 40 seems depressing, unless you are killing it obv. So basically I think if you are printing paper it will feel rewarding but if you are just grinding hard at 40 I'd prob feel disappointed. I think you gotta just work hard and invest wisely, in a business, real estate, or whatever to have something else going on.

Ya bukowski's post is all pretty good....
The other thing you need to consider is its not like if you weren't grinding tourns you'd have all the freedom in the world. You would be in some other type of standard job that is considerably more mundane, boring and repetitive.
Its a pretty good way to make a good living , imo.
Balance is huge as well. If you're grinding 12 hours a day 6 days a week I think you're doing it wrong. Tweak your schedule to play 4 days a week, one of the nights just the nightlys instead of all day. You'll have lots of time for friends and family and still enough volume to make good money and stay fresh with your game.

PGH' post is good too

i got married after the wsop last year and its been a lot different grinding now. i just really try to balance everything. some days where i would play a full lineup are no half days to spend time with the wife or do things around the home. its also a good thing to step away from poker and recharge and i found the best way is to just spend my time with my wife and family, just keeps you sane to go for at least a few hours without hearing a bad beat or final table story. ive also began to do things more when i have my time to myself like if i have an hour or 2 before i go to bed and im the only one up ill review my shit when normally id do it during the day.

poker is just like any job but a helluva lot more time consuming so its all about balance. maybe time away refreshes you, as it did for me when i took nearly 2 months off. all you can really do is make you and the ones around you happy, everything else is just numbers

Some great posts in this thread.

I don't have much to add other than I think its normal for anyone who's grind more than a couple years. I too have had trouble staying motivated, and question what the hell I'm doing. All I can say is, if you were in another profession you'd probably be questioning the same things. In the end its all about what makes you and those around you happiest. Add up the pros and cons and go from there. I know poker has given me many opportunities, and in the end I'm very thankful that I can play a game for a living. Try to workout, take some vacations, and surround yourself with people outside the game. That way you can stay healthy, and somewhat refreshed.

I've been researching/thinking of ways to invest for the future. Ideally, in the next couple years, I'll have something in place that will make enough passive income to take care of basic needs and play poker 2-3 days a week to supplement that income. By setting these goals it helps keep me motivated to get up and grind.

Props to every grinder out there. As they say, "poker's a hard way to make an easy living". There's a lot of truth to that.

I would think if you love the game but are unhappy then it is something unrelated to poker. Personal problems or something to do with balancing life and poker. I put up a thread about reducing stress in poker about 6 months ago, because poker was just getting to the point where I didn't even want to sit down and start a session anymore. Most of the replies weren't helpful but there were maybe 2 or 3 who suggested seeing a psychiatrist/psychologist because it seemed like my problems were unrelated to poker. After seeing a psychologist for 5 months, I can definitely say they were right. I can't say that it was all underlying issues, because the tourney grind is something I grew to hate relying on to make a living, but I'd say the vast majority of why I was unhappy was due to unresolved issues from my past.

I haven't completely resolved these issues yet, but I feel like I'm definitely on the right path, and without seeing that psychologist I don't know how many years it would have been before I figured it out. I would suggest seeing one to figure out why exactly you feel the way you do and you will in turn learn how to fix that. BOL Supream

Yea ... and I feel really bad for my classmates in this economy. Perhaps some of them are just being modest about their job prospects because they don't want to offend those who can't find a job, but it feels like <40% of my classmates have a job lined up, and of course a fair amount of those employed will be making ~40 K a year doing government work, while having to pay back substantial student loans.

thanks for all the responses... alot of good points that i pretty much knew.. so i guess its good to remind myself of a certain things this game can cause and do for you... one of my big fears is falling behind in this silly game bc it does evolve over time.. but i think im finally ready to become a member of society again and make the kind of living i want from poker.. i know i am really lucky to pay a game for a living.. i am going to try to not be so consumed and play 4-5 days a week like a normal job.. i really do love this game and the competition it brings.. you jus have to ride the poker progression.. thanks again for all the posts and im sure i will see you guys at the virtual felts...

hey supream and all -
I TOTALLY FEEL U MAN - feel like im going thru lots of similar feelings and stuff.....
yeah i mean i think a lot of it comes down to balance and prioritizing things
grinding a ton online can be a very lonely and introspective activity so u just gotta figure out what matters to u and makes u happy and keep those two in check
i enjoy the game and i enjoy playing and i enjoy making money, it makes the time pass by, but i also feel like ive sacrificed a lot in terms of social life, doing things out in real world, friends, etc
so its tough and can kinda haunt u/get at u - just gotta make sure to pursue other things and have strong connections and support to keep u sane and give u something to look forward to
just try to clearly keep in mind ur goals and what u wanna get out of it, etc
ive given serious thoughts to quitting or cutting down and doing something else as well but we'll see - i think a lot of that feeling can be indeed caused by non-poker related problems, personal issues, etc
i used to play HS SNG and at least i could play shorter sessions and have more free times on a day, but the decision to play MTTs can def be long hrs and grinding, so just gotta not play too much and occupy ur life with other things that r important to u long term and satisfy u inside....
GL with this, hope it helps, im trying to do much the same right now
BEING 24 IN THIS STAGE OF LIFE CAN BE WEIRD DIFFICULT TIMES, LOT HITTING U ALL AT ONCE!!