Poker Discussion
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CarbonPoker · Full Tilt · Cake Poker · PokerStars · Ultimate Bet · Players Only · Bodog
Ever since I got home from my trip to Niagara and Foxwoods, I've almost completely lost my drive/desire to play poker. I find myself not wanting to play online, even on Sundays. Id seriously rather sit on my ass watching tv than play online. Even when I do force myself to play because its "what I should do" I find myself not caring at all and losing interest while playing, and tilting like a mother****er.
I guess what I'm wondering if any of you personally or know people that this has happened to, and what happened. Did they quit completely and haven't played since? Did it take a lengthy break to spark their interest again? I dunno I'm just starting to lose hope that I can continue to play a lot of poker and enjoy doing it, which is obviously something I would like to do because of the money it provides.
What i'm going through in poker is a recurring theme in my life... I have a very obsessive personality, get very good at something, and drop it really quickly forever. Started with sports, specifically golf... then MTG... then a few video games (nerd)... and then poker... but I really, really don't want it to happen to poker.
Any thoughts/opinions/suggestions would be greatly appreciated, Its kinda a depressing situation =/
Thanks,
Scott
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It is a common occurence for many poker players. The longer a person plays poker, the more difficult it is for poker to be as appealing as it was in the beginning. We play poker, because it offers opportunites other professions do not allow. However, if we lose interest and no longer enjoy playing, we are better off finding another means of income. I don't need to highlight your accomplishments, but without a desire to play poker and a love for the game, your results will not be what they are capable of.
I have been playing poker since August '01 and professionally for 2.5 years. I still love playing poker almost every day I play. It's not a straight-forward answer, but most of my efforts are to condition myself to look forward to playing poker and to enjoy playing. I may not be the most skilled, but if I can stay in the game, I will have my fair share of success. Enjoy poker. It's why you started playing to begin with. Good luck.
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GP/TC etc speaks the truth IMO.
I tried to say that too FWIW but he say's it better.
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These two obv making excuses for busting early in the Sowers Open.
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jalman you play mostly HU tho, that has got to get old fast
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yea I had AK vs AQ all in on Axx flop 2 mins in lol
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yes, it happens to me once a week or so. i often find myself depressed wondering whats the point of it all. reminds me of something david williams said which was something to the effect of, 'all i do is sit at a table all day long and pray for aces'.
if you can afford to take a lengthy vacation, do it. thats my only advice. invest your money so you can play poker because you want to play, not because you have to.
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^^^ agree.
It will mix things up for you and give you a new challenge.
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I think this thread describes a very large percentage of poker players who have been playing consistently for 2+ years. It's good to read other players - even the very best - go through it too.
Maybe you never regain that passion all the way back. We all remember how it was the first six months or so. You lived and breathed it. You could play ten hours straight, take a 30 minute break, and then be itching to play again.
After you live through it once, I don't think that same feeling comes back.
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i think it describes any poker player worth a shit... this is what the old guys mean when they tell us we don't know what we're in for over the long term...
everyone at evvvvery job goes through this. taking some time off in paradise (vegas, bahamas etc, for me it was hawaii, too) is an excellent way to make u relaxed/lazy/disinterested in poker. i briefly went through the same thing in the past month, to be honest. it usually also comes after a peak in success (deep run/big win in a huge tourney) followed by a brief downswing (unable to recapture that exhiliration for a week, two weeks, month, etc) .
i told scott that unlike everyone's suggesting, i think time off is the worst possible idea. it was probably 'time off' (ie bahamas) that got you here in the first place. i don't think youre burnt out right now, i think youre just enoying not playing too much (if thats possible), and i think that if you play through these feelings (as long as you still play well) youll recapture that 'passion' once you start making a few FTs again, etc.
just my 2c,
AJK
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Sounds like you need a VACATION Scott, just like in the real world. Take one for 3 months. Poker will always be here. Do what's good for you and not what people who dont live the life expect. Here's a start -- Play golf every Sunday for the next two months. If that doesn't work, start investing the money you made and move on. Poker is not the only thing to live for in life. With nothing else, life is sad and short.
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I've had the same problem lately. My passion just seems lost somewhere. I used to play a full schedule and now I can't even sit down and play 1 afternoon's worth of MTT's. 2 days ago, I played the 100r, took 1 bad beat in the rebuy hour and just unregistered from everything else. Yesterday in the Stars 1k, I got bored like a half hour in and just tilted my chips off before going to watch tv instead. Your obsessive personality sounds similar to mine and right now I'm at that point where it feels like poker has reached it's peak. Jennifear suggested trying out new forms of poker, which is something I've done in the last week. I've begun learning HU cash and PLO. However, I'm still not motivated to play long sessions. I still feel in the long term I could make a ton playing MTT's but I just can't find the motivation to do it. Everytime I play these days I feel like I'm just mailing it in. I wish I had some sort of solution to this b/c the last week since I got home from Bahamas has been extremely boring, and I don't wanna go through this for the rest of my life.
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since when did you get good at golf?
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SC,
You have played a ton of poker in the last year or so and you are a smart guy so I'm sure you know that feeling burnt out after a period of time is only normal and to be expected.
You mentioned that you really didn't want to stop playing poker as you had with other things you became good at and had been obsessed with but then dropped. I think that is the key. You don't want to drop poker from your life as you may have done with other things so you need to able to find a way to encorporate poker into your life with out it being all of your life.
Being a young guy you have a ton of things to do and look forward to. So do them and don't let any part of life that you can experience pass you by. Good choices hopefully of course but just enjoy other things when you feel you want and need to enjoy other things.
Think about your future and what you would like to do along with poker. Not instead of it but aside from it.
If you need to take a break to get the hunger back then do that. You are obviously competitive so try to give that part of you enough of a break to get that drive back.
Doing other things that interest you will probably help your poker game in the long run.
One other thing is to try to do positive things for yourself and others. Surrounding yourself with positive people you connect with and that don't just hang on to you because you are successfull.
Helping other people can be very motivating and satifying. I"m not talking about teaching poker. You could always do that of course but Poker requires some selfishness.
Finding a way to do some giving in a constuctive way to people less fortunate can make a huge difference in the way you live. I'm also not talking about writing a check. I'm talking about getting involved.
It can give you a very different perspective if you find a cause you really care about other than yourself. You are young and may have already discovered that but most young people really don't get an opportunity to think about things in that way because they are usually struggling with getting their own lives together.
What every you do, I hope your funk lifts soon.
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he is just running bad and wants sympathy obv
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