Poker the lifestyle

[Fonzi]

Over the course of the last month poker as you know has dominated my life. I'm sure I'm not the only one. Many of you play every night and consider your online opponents as good friends. I'd like to explore how poker affects your life both in good and bad ways in this forum.

I also hope to have a new friend come in and post about taking a big risk by becoming a full time player.

[targetguy1]

well i play online and working 40+ hours a week and then spending another 4-5 hours on some days playing online sometimes. just those 2 things alone cant take it toll on the family and bonding time. its sometimes starts some of the dumbest fights my fiance and i get in to. its a brutal lifestlye and i know i am one who couldnt live it 24/7

[KingBorgo]

Originally Posted by targetguy1

its sometimes starts some of the dumbest fights my fiance and i get in to

Easy way to fix that...

[ttwarrior1]

Bad, went to the casino with credit card money and a drunk went all in without looking with a 3 5 offsuit, 700 bucks, nobody calls , i have aces , I call. flop comes 3 55 and i lose 500 bucks. I then get laid off the next day. No money to pay it.

I then win 6 of 8 online tourneys in a row on carbon and fulltilt. Mainly freerolls and 1 dollar tourneys .

I just need to stay out of the casino and stick to tourneys and cheap online stuff.

My whole family except a couple or 2 hate gambling . if i was to go to the world series of poker. most moms' or relatives would come. Only one cousin out of about 400 cousins would come for me.

[Fonzi]

400 cousins? Someone was real busy in your family.

[KeepBlinkin]

my mother hates when i play poker all day long, specially when there is money involved, she of course doesnt know about one of my favorite hobby's "gambling at sports". i told once that poker was a game of skill asnd not gambling and she get really lol ever since i never spoke with her about poker.

[mundybags1]

i seen something on fortune yesterday how you can win 5 live tournaments around the world. that would be a great poker experience.

[Dodgey]

Well... here goes... I simply love Holdem. It is the game I've always been looking for. A mix of skill, judgement, patience, balls, management. The lot.

I started about 2 or 3 years ago. I lost $100 learning how to play on PKR. I'm also kind of sensible so I told myself I'd put $100 more into the game, and if I lost I'd quit. I've never re-deposited.

I'm currently travelling, so I can only play when I have reliable internet. Which I currently do. Back at "home" I'd play most nights. Somtimes all evening, sometimes one game. My PC was setup in my living room so I'd be "with" my wife, watching telly and chatting all the while so it's never been intrusive in my life. She spectates when I make final table. She's not alowed to talk though! :-)

I play most every chance I get when we travel, but always, it's in "down" time. i.e in a hammock, in a hotel room while she watches tv. Never is it something I do at the expense of experiencing real life. Easy to acomplish - I pretty much always stop playing if I lose a game.

I've played live in Vegas, Fort Lauderdale and London. I won big (in my terms) in London, but was the bubble boy in Vegas and a donk in Ft.L!

Currently I'm planning a Vegas "month" next year - my fair lady is going on a riding/ranch type break and I'm going to enter MTTS in Vegas for 4 weeks to see how I get on and how much I can work on my live game (which is a different world from online).

I feel I've balanced my regular life with my poker. I don't piss off those close to me, I've not lost any money, I've won money. But most importantly , I'm in control.

Poker is yet another obsessive hobby to add to my list! (model helicopters, computer gaming, snow boarding, electronics, beer).

Has it affected me badly? Maybe at the start when I'd get in a mood after being busted, or donking off a tournie lead, but now, and it's taken a good year or two to master, I don't get annoyed when I get a bad beat. I think that's because I'm getting bad beats, not donking out, though I still do it here and there :-)

Has it affected me positively? - I think so. I've learnt a lot about control and taking time to think about things - not just in poker. I've also made a few new friends through poker. Of course, the flip side is I now no longer trust anyone wearing sunglasses :-)

[pjr54]

I love this game of poker, but I try to keep it in balance with other things in my life. Due to major health issues including a quadbypass, this now has to take care of the competitive side for me. I still work parttime and it is in the evening and really kills my playing time. I get to play only 2-3 evenings a week. I also have a wife and family to balance and sometimes can cause friction as well. It is always important to remember that your family should come first, then other interests. I have made money and never invested a dime of my own money and for most this is the way to go unless of course you can really afford it.

[mundybags1]

i also love to play poker. i play most of my games on fortune and they have some great promotions there as well if any of you are interested in checking them out.