^^^ understanding variance is definitely a huge part of mastering mental game issues. i do think there is a lot more to it for most people though: reasons they avoid shot-taking, quitting sessions early, performance anxiety, etc.

Thank you very much indeed.

Thank you for that, HokieGreg
B+M players often mention the problem of managing their life outside poker, due to the lack of hands/hr they get there. After Black Friday hit, I think it may have helped many prioritize and set what you call their "life balance" but some also trudged deeper by trying to grind 2/5 or 5/10 live cash games. I hope for their sake, when you come across that smelly guy in the casino, calculating his bb/100 on some iphone app, and proceeding to not toke his $1 because of it, you can remind him that there are important aspects to life outside of that table and direct him to this thread

Thank you for the post, very relevant and something that is often not discussed well/at all. One of the hardest things I find mentally is not wanting to grind every promotion on the planet, though this has been easier without full tilt around anymore. Before black friday though, as an mtt player it seemed like there was always another promotion around the corner or something that was like "well, I can't skip ftops, nor miniftops, nor double guarantee week, nor usacoop, nor scoop" etc. etc. and I definitely was trying to get into a more structured schedule.

This is something I definitely need to work on better in the future, but it always scares me that i'm not going to have the motivation i have today, since there have been periods in my career where i flat out don't want to play so when i actually want to i always want to devote 6-7 days of playing/70-80 hour weeks.

I will say there are exceptions to needing balance, and my example here will be Ivey who in every interview mentions he tries to play 60 hours a week minimum. Durrrr, nananoko, azntracker, and shaun deeb are other notable long term examples of players who just grind like crazy year in year out with great results and i doubt their results would improve/they will have more longevity in the game from playing less. I guess the best of the best can always just keep grinding and even their B and C game will be so far ahead of the competition that it won't hurt them as much.

I don't know why I stumble upon this just now, but it was a very good read, made me think a lot and might make me actually DO something for once.

Thank you.

Great post! Thanks

Epic post, well written and highly motivational, thanks

I honestly don't know why I haven't read/commented on this earlier. I remember starting to read the day you posted it but for some reason or another it has slipped my mind.

Such a high quality post Gregory, but wouldn't expect any less from you given the time I have spent and what I know about you. I have learnt a TON from you not only about poker but just talking about mental game and this post really highlights how strong your mental/life game is. Thanks heaps mate! GLGL.

glad to hear so many of you enjoyed this article. thanks for the kind words.

This really does make sense... I think im going to add a schedule like yours to my game... instead of relentlessly grinding every day.

Help grow the mental muscle!

Great post, you need to be fit and ready when you do play, playing non stop will just mentally drain you

I have seen myself slipping into this lifestyle a couple of months back but then I realised that who I would normally consider to be my best freinds then slowly began slipping out of my life because of over-doing it

Get that equlibrium, it won't ever be a perfect equlibrium but good enough for you

I just read your article regarding this in WPT UK - looking forward to next months

bump

this article was in this month's edition of WPT Magazine in the UK and Canada

now i gotta figure out how to get my hands on a copy...

They sent me 2 copied by accident this month, but i'm in the UK.

I have no problem posting it to you tho if you would like.

Send me a PM, and thanks for the initial post

sue them for copyright and ask a copy