When it comes to poker, most of just think of it in terms of strategy, technique, luck and all of the other things that play a factor in whether or not we win/loss a hand.  There is however a very important side to the game that many of us ignore when first getting into the game, and that is the lifestyle that comes with playing a lot of poker.  If you are a casual player, poker really won’t affect your life that much.  You’ll a few online tournaments or hit the local card room maybe once a month and then on with the rest of your life.  However, it is very easy for players to get heavily addicted to the game, and while I don’t really discourage that, you should be prepared for what that love affair can bring.

If you’re a loner, I heavily suggest that you stick with online poker. Grinding out endless hours with live opponents can get tedious on a number of levels, especially when you are subjected to their countless personalities, many of which are negative and angry.  As humans, we adapt to what we know and take on the traits of those that we spend a lot of time around.  So if you spend all day with happy people, you will be happier.  Well, don’t expect to find a lot of that happiness at the live tables.  Instead, expect to get called a donkey every half hour and eat at least one meal per day in the poker room deli by yourself or with another miserable regular who loves to spend all his time recounting bad beat stories.

Poker can also be a mental grind if you play too much.  Sitting in a chair for hours on end and having to concentrate intently for that entire period can be very taxing and leave you tense, tired and irritable for all the other things you do with your life.  Because of this, you need to make sure that you’re still doing things in life that give you pure pleasure.  Poker’s only fun when you’re winning, while other things are fun almost all the time.  Don’t abandon the other enjoyable things you like just because you want to play a ton of poker.  Go read a book during the day and then log into some SNGs at night, just keep a good balance of positive influence.

By: Chris Iaquinta

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 21st, 2010 at 11:10 am and is filed under Poker Basics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.