Finding a balance

[Hydrotrip]

I wanted to get a thread going about one of things that is most important to me as a poker player. I imagine we have all taken swings in and out of the ditches playing cards, sometimes on top of the world, sometimes wrapped up in an ice cold run, broke, and without any options. I have, for the most part, , done a decent job in the last 2 1/2 years to not fall back into that pit. And over time, I have learned the most important thing, to both happiness as a person and success as a poker player is finding balance between your family, social, sexual, occupational (or educational) lives and the life in the world of poker. I remember when I first started, I would just throw like 10 here 20 there on Bodog, try to make some money, and have it eChecked into my checking account the next couple days if it worked out. And I was usually playing half or full roll games. Probably not a good idea, but if my memory serves me right, I actually did okay for a kid that had no idea what he was doing. That led to the 1/2 game at the riverboat, and then the 2/5 game, and then to Vegas for a Christmas break, then back to the riverboat games and the res games in Catoosa and Miami, Oklahoma. A few months ago I started to see that I was losing my passion for my social life, and I was starting to leave some friends behind while I was so caught up in the juice. I'm sure everyone here knows how it feels when a family member or friend tells you that all you do is play poker, and for some us, it feels like that is the only thing running through our blood. But, I've tried to make a turn around and meet again with the other things in life that I used to cherish so much more, like my family, friends that DONT play cards, and the enjoyment of just spending time with other people and listening to them, rather than just trying to see the monetary value in every situation and debating whether going to a party is progressive and +EV. Maybe I'm just crazy and I'm the only one who has been spun up in this trap before, but I'm working on finding a peaceful balance, and I'd like to hear some of your stories.

[allinking17]

A balance between poker and everything else is extremely important. In my honest opinion when i think about poker only, usually my day becomes bad and i just dont want to do anything but start winning in poker. It seems that no matter how much i have won that day i will always be thinking of the few hands i didnt win or the ones i got rivered on. By having something other than poker to think about, whether it is family, friends, or another hobby, i can somewhat cleanse my mind. Therefore the next time i play poker everything flows smoother and my decisions become that much better

[GloBug]

well if u notice most pro players are married to other pros. it is hard to do both family and friends vs poker. well it took my wife to tell that i was lost in poker for me to understand because i was playing so much that i thought it was okay. i always thought well at least im not out of the house. but i was wrong. i have since balanced both and all parties are happy.

[BnLM5]

well if u notice most pro players are married to other pros. it is hard to do both family and friends vs poker. well it took my wife to tell that i was lost in poker for me to understand because i was playing so much that i thought it was okay. i always thought well at least im not out of the house. but i was wrong. i have since balanced both and all parties are happy.

What a thoughtful person you are Glo Bug! I didn't realize that a balance of projects, hobbies, poker, could exist evenly with family and responsibility. It is good to know that there are people out there that care more about something or someone other then themselves. Your post made me smile.

[eejit101]

All my decisions in life are odds based

[navuta]

I wanted to get a thread going about one of things that is most important to me as a poker player. I imagine we have all taken swings in and out of the ditches playing cards, sometimes on top of the world, sometimes wrapped up in an ice cold run, broke, and without any options. I have, for the most part, , done a decent job in the last 2 1/2 years to not fall back into that pit. And over time, I have learned the most important thing, to both happiness as a person and success as a poker player is finding balance between your family, social, sexual, occupational (or educational) lives and the life in the world of poker. I remember when I first started, I would just throw like 10 here 20 there on Bodog, try to make some money, and have it eChecked into my checking account the next couple days if it worked out. And I was usually playing half or full roll games. Probably not a good idea, but if my memory serves me right, I actually did okay for a kid that had no idea what he was doing. That led to the 1/2 game at the riverboat, and then the 2/5 game, and then to Vegas for a Christmas break, then back to the riverboat games and the res games in Catoosa and Miami, Oklahoma. A few months ago I started to see that I was losing my passion for my social life, and I was starting to leave some friends behind while I was so caught up in the juice. I'm sure everyone here knows how it feels when a family member or friend tells you that all you do is play poker, and for some us, it feels like that is the only thing running through our blood. But, I've tried to make a turn around and meet again with the other things in life that I used to cherish so much more, like my family, friends that DONT play cards, and the enjoyment of just spending time with other people and listening to them, rather than just trying to see the monetary value in every situation and debating whether going to a party is progressive and +EV. Maybe I'm just crazy and I'm the only one who has been spun up in this trap before, but I'm working on finding a peaceful balance, and I'd like to hear some of your stories.

Im having some of your troubles right now.
All my friends, thinks the only thing I do is play poker.
And somehow it is true.
I spend a lot of my time playing poker.
And Im also trying to find this necessary balance.

[Hydrotrip]

All my decisions in life are odds based

Everything in life is 50/50, it's either going to happen or it's not.