blonde poker forum

Hi all,

I regard my self as a fairly decent player and have done pretty well in both live and on-line games (tourneys and cash games) recently with my bankroll growing steadily (but not as fast as I would like).

My problem is finding the energy to play a tourney after a days work (as most tourneys finish in the wee hours of the morning), and simmilarly finding the energy to and will to stay awake during the day at work (as most tourneys finish in the wee hours of the morning).

Unfortunately my bankroll isn't anywhere good enough to make the radical step towards chucking my job in to concentrate on my poker playing, so I need to stay at work for the time being, but the late nights playing cards are beginning to take their toll (I even dropped my Motorcycle this morning as I was so tired  :'().

What do (did) you guys do to get around this problem?  Did you just put up with it until your bank roll was decent enough to allow you to stop work or work part time?  Did you take the plunge and trust your ability and quit work?  Or do you do like I am doing now and burn tha candle from both ends?

I know what I would prefer to do, but I just can't see any way around the need to work for now.

Please part with your words of wisdom.

Regards

Steve (Pommy)

P.S.

Any spelling or grammar errors (if any) are a direct result of playing Omaha at Reigate last night until (very) late.

Burning at both ends not condusive to a good game mate.... playing more does not always equal winning more!

Put a limit on the time you play and build your BR up to a level where it's comfortable.  Then consider going part time if possible, I'd avoid going full time if I were you.

The job should come first. Try to be more selective about the poker you play. Not advice I have ever adhered to myself, playing next to nothing myself at the moment due to working obsessively - feeling the need to play!

It doesn't help when your job sucks big time...nothing like a bit of incentive though ;D

OK, I'm not the right person to comment on this because I have chosen the "burn candle at both ends" for too long. However I am my own boss and work pressure for me is not what it was a few years ago now I've got a few quid in the bank. Nevertheless.......

However I've made a few changes recently...

only playing live twice a week on school nights unless it's a festival...let's face it you can find a decent freezeout online any night of the week at 8.30pm ish if MTTs are your thing and you save travel expenses and any other incidental costs

if I play live on a school night, not playing cash after the tournament

not drinking midweek

making sure I catch up on sleep at weekends etc so I can start the next week fresh, and so on

Generally though from my own experience I would advise that if you are going to attempt to do a full daytime job and play every night live one or both of your work or poker is going to suffer

You've got to have the discipline to be choosy....I promise you  that you will enjoy your live play a lot if you are fresh and have the anticipation of looking forward to it as it's a bit rarer for you

ALL THE BEST   :)up

Just send me the money in Neteller, save yourself some time...

i'm looking for an answer to this aswell.

I find i win consistently when i first log on after work but as my tiredness grows i get worse and worse, this is particularly bad when an mtt is getting to the business end and i just can't make a good decision.

During a weeks holiday recently i played whenever i liked and wasn't tired and i was winning everything.

Leave it a couple of hours when you get in....you'll be fresher at the end of the evening

say you're home at 6, MTT at 8.30pm...relax,recharge and then log on at 8.25pm.

Sort of works for me

Getting some fab responses here gang, thanks for those already, keep 'em coming.

On a slightly different, but almost simmilar topic ???, I am on holiday for 4 weeks back home to Aus mid October to mid November, and will be taking my bankroll with me to bleed my fellow aussies dry.  I'll be much more relaxed, and can spend as much time as I like to recover from the previous night.


You will not believe how much I am looking forward to that break.
 ;D

you are Australian? you kept that bloody quiet!!!  >:D

Okay, this is a topic that I feel I have had some experience with.

I currently consider myself to be working two jobs. I work full time during the day and then hit the poker tables at night. I am the proverbial candle burner.

At first, this was a real struggle. The late nights, fatigue, lethargy, etc, effected both my game and my work. I was irritable during the day and totally zapped at night. My job became more of an effort and my poker diminished in quality.

To combat this, I decided to make a few changes:

(i)   Play less live poker

If you play live and do well, you probably won’t be seeing beddie byes until 3-5am. Maybe even 6am if you have far to travel. Personally, I need at least an hour to wind down, otherwise I just can’t get to sleep.

If you throw into the mix petrol, smoky clothes, few games, etc, then perhaps it would be best to frequent the online tables. There’s nothing wrong with playing live, but if you have to get up at 8 the next morning, then the sleep deprivation will eventually catch up with you.

(ii)   Play less multis

Multis are very time consuming and can often drift into the early hours of the morning. They also don’t allow for too many breaks. If you’ve been working all day, come home, have your tea, and then spend 4 continuous playing a multi before going to bed, then you’re really not giving your brain enough rest.

My suggestion would be to focus on cash games and STTs. Obviously with cash you can come and go when you please and breaks aren’t dictated by a clock. Unlike multis, STTs won’t last much longer than 45 mins, therefore giving you ample time between playing to take a break.

(iii)   Get healthy

One reason why work and poker doesn’t mix too well is because the individual isn’t looking after himself. Don’t let poker take you into the early hours of the morning. Get some early nights so you can feel fresh tomorrow, both for work during the day and poker in the evening.

Do some exercise. It’s an old cliché but it really rings true with this sort of problem. ‘Healthy body, healthy mind.’ If you feel good, you’ll play good. I always play worse when I’m feeling down, angry, frustrated, etc. Put yourself in the right frame of mood by doing some exercise and feeling good about yourself.

Eat properly. Eat breakfast. Plenty of fruit. Don’t cut out meals. Don’t eat tea at an ungodly hour. Don’t let an obsession with poker control when you feed yourself. It’s very hard to cook when you’re in the middle of a comp.

(iv)   Play in moderations

When you’re working, there is often the tendency to play more than you should. People think they have less time to earn their poker wage and must do it asap. Not true. Don’t force the issue. Don’t play as soon as you get home to the time you go to bed. If you only feel like playing for an hour or two, just play for those 2 hours, no more. If you’re tired, don’t play. Take a day off. Take the early night instead and ambush the tables the next day when you feel on top of your game.

(v)   Be Patient

If work is taking up a lot of your potential poker time, then you’re just going to have to build up your bankroll gradually. Don’t play out of your comfort zone and don’t sit down with more cash than you can afford. Patience. Patience. Patience. Both within the game and in your every day life.


Briefly, this is what I do:

Work 5 days a week, full time hours. Get back around 5.30-6pm. Play online for a couple of hours. Relax. Play for an hour or 2 more. Now and then, if I feel in the mood, I’ll take on a multi or 2. Watch tv or read a poker book in between poker. Go to bed 12.30-1am.

If there is a festival, big freezout, etc I want to play, I make sure I can get leave for the day after. I don’t want to have to be going to work shattered, win or lose. I also try to target weekend live comps. The Walsall £300 2 day event for example.

I do my best , although often don’t succeed, in  eating well, exercising, going to bed before 1am, and relaxing my brain. Anything to avoid morale or energy levels from dropping.

This formula enables me to make a steady and consistent profit online, and take the odd big win live.


I have often considered chucking my job in and playing poker full-time, but it’s currently too much of a risk. You need a sizable bankroll to do this and a great deal of consistency in your game. A more realistic option is to play semi-professionally and work part-time, so if you hit a run of cold cards, you’ve at least got some sort of income to depend on. However, before you decide, carry on as planned. Play in moderations, remain patient, and see how much you earn. Then after a while, reassess your situation.


Good luck. Hope that helps.

snoops

 8)

What a superb post

says it all, very eloquently

Put this in the list of articles on the front page


Well done Snoopy!!!

Huge post by snoops (longest ever on blonde?)
I have always lived by the maxim "work to live not live to work". Do whatever makes you happiest mate.

Fantastic reply snoop, almost described me to a tee.

I'll be taking a lot of the input from this thread to mind.  I really appreciate the help guys.


The clue was in my forum name, Aussie slang for someone from the UK.

But I don't really advertise the fact that I'm an aussie too much these days (cough Ahses cough).

Actually I have dual citizenship, but born in Aus  :)

Cracking post snoop, esp the health advice

like everyone else i found getting the balance right quite tricky.

i have a full time job and play lots of poker. i sometimes play late at night but only online. i only ever play live at weekends and probably only about twice a month.
 
my job is a simple one, its one that when i finish for the day i dont worry about it until the next. im actually a postman so i am up very early in the morning (420am  :() so playing late at night can be very tiring, even so i still do it. i get home from work at about 12pm most days, and im tired. i sleep then for maybe 3 hours and i dont play until the evening, normally after the kids have gone to bed, by this time i feel fresh and ready to play which i think is very important. i feel i have got into some sort of routine

i would love to give up work to play poker and if i had a massive win i would but i see no need at the moment because i can do both.

my wife dosen't actually work she stays at home and looks after our 2 children which she loves doing and wants to do and because this year i have built a decent bankroll and i make a steady profit (touch wood) from poker she hasnt had to go back to work after having our second child 6 months ago.

 it pleases me greatly that (at the moment) i can support my family from this. but i know that it may not always continue but we are enjoying it well its does.

i dont know if this helps your question but it is just how i balance things. good luck Dan :)

It's an interesting problem. Seeking advice on this was actually how I got to know Tikay and Julian. I worked in a bank when I started to get serious about my poker. hated every second of it so tried to get as much poker in as I could in the hopes of making enough that I could quit the day job. Like alot of beginners I had a few early wins and thought pro poker was just round the corner for me. The job got so stressful my health was being seriously effected so in the end I quit and took a mind numbing but stress free job in a box factory while I thought about what I wanted to do and concentrate on developing my game. unfortunately that worked out the wrong way too. The only night I could get out and play live was the friday night £20 chip throwing rebuy and after being up since 5am at the end of a physically demanding week I was falling asleep at the tables and playing terrible poker. that problem was sorted for me in Feb when I was made redundant (no money) so what little bankroll I had went into the bills account.

For me Starting my shirt business is a way of me working within the poker industry and in the early days, not have to rely on result to pay the bills. I'm not out of the woods yet but hopefuly it'll mean I can play as much poker as I like and still provide for the family.

now if every member of Blonde would just but 1 shirt I'd be on my way to a bankroll ;)

that pretty much sums up my attitude to poker atm. long may it continue.

Post of the week from Snoopy there, it has made me think, because I burn the candle

at both ends, probably without realising the detrimental effect it has on work, poker

and the people around me.

So its time to re-evaluate the situation. Cheers Snoopy  :)up

In honour of Soopy's post I have also decided to spell his name correctly hence forth.  >:D

Hey Dan, you have a twin ;D

how did you finish yesterday?

yesterday was in the afternoon though not night
i doubled through 1st hand after the rebut frenzy with AJ against A7 then lost a fairly big pot i had 1010 put in a biggish raise 1 caller cl A hit flop  asp 9h 3d flop he put me all in i folded he showed  9c td  >:(

Ty. Very kind words.  :)

Juggling work and poker effectively and following a disciplined regime is so so hard. I certainly learnt the hard way.

And what honour to have my name spelt correctly. I even started to sign some of my posts with snoppy.  8)


Just a note. 'Killer Online Poker' is worth a look. Not too many strategic revelations, but it didn't half give me a slap in the face.

Heat-warming post, Dan. Sounds like that wife of yours is a lucky gal.  8)