I was 'pro' for about 6 months and it went pretty well mostly at the beginning. By the end of the 6 months it was a struggle to force myself to keep playing and maintaining my minimum hands per month quota. As a result I feel the quality of my play steadily decreased the more I played. The less I play, the more I enjoy it and the more I play, the less I enjoy it.

hate poker, like money.

who the **** enjoys poker

I'd probably pay 5-10k/month for the feeling of enjoying poker and wanting to play more.

For a comparison between playing poker and working for a living, maybe you should ask someone (like me) who does both.

I spend most of my time at my job silently wishing I was off playing poker, either in a casino or online. I NEVER spend ANY of my poker time wishing I was at work.

And I've currently got one of the best jobs I've had in my life.

That must count for something.

I don't really like it that much, but I know for a fact I'd HATE 99% of other jobs 100x more.

Lately its been hard for me to play. I dont have any motivation to play a significant ammount of hands. I just wanted to play at least 2h per day, almost everyday.. but somehow dont really feel like doing it.

Any tips would be apreciated.

Many people who believe that they want to be their own boss are not aware of how horrible of a boss they are. I know, it's supposed to be everyone's dream job... work at home, make your own hours, be your own boss.

However the reality is that most people just are not cut out to do this long term. For the first year or three, it is liberating... then discipline devolves, work habits intermingle with your home life... and it becomes a nightmare for many people.

Certainly some people are excellent at being their own boss; but in my experience, only 1 person in 10 who thinks they want to work on there own is actually capable of it -- whether we're talking about poker or any other field.

As for poker, I still enjoy it... but I don't make nearly enough money compared to what I make at my day job. I think patience is a large issue for me... when I am calm and patient, I'm a winning player. When I'm tired/tilted, I spew like a monkey.

...but yes, I still enjoy it.

I never have and never will enjoy poker. I even find it morally wrong to play. What keeps me going is the idea of being able to make money from home and making your own schedule.

I dont think I could ever stop enjoying playing. Its a game to me, and I like to challenge myself at things I suck at lol. The losing part frustrates me sometimes, but when the next hand, or tourney starts.... back to normal for me. Then again I dont sit in front of my cpu for 8 hrs a day doing it as a job either. So that could be the reason I still enjoy playing.

Yes it beats a really crap 9-5, obviously, and there is no better feeling than being your own boss. But there is so much more satisfaction in running your own small business or something as at the end of the day, you make your own luck.

I totally agree with Alec Torelli in that it feels about 2.5x worse losing than winning and this is what seperates the men from the boys in making a good living from the game.

I still love it after playing recreationally for the past three years (on-line 3-4x per week and live 1-2x per week). As of Nov I can retire and have considered playing to make up for the difference in my income. However, I'm concerned that the added stress on me would change my winning style. I still have two little ones at home.

i enjoy it, swings makes life suck sometimes but hey its still fun and good money just sitting home/or wherever and make money, beats many jobs

Although it's not quite the same, this kind of reminds me of a conversation I had with a literature major at university many years ago. He had already read a great number of literary classics (20 years later, I may have almost caught up to the books he read in college). He proclaimed that he didn't enjoy reading any of the books he studied, and he didn't have any interest in reading for pleasure. He read only to understand.

Not only did I find this sad/pathetic, I also saw it as a fundamental error. If you can read a book like Don Quixote and not enjoy it, then you can't claim to understand it AT ALL. But then, that's academia for you.

Now, back to poker, if you take a completely passionless approach to the game, and have no apparent real interest in the game beyond the notion that it's some kind of ticket to free money (which is hardly the case), then there's a good chance that your game is flawed. I think you have to love the game on some level to become something more than competent.

By the way, if you ever catch yourself making absurd statements such as "poker isn't gambling," you may really be straying off the path. (No one's said that yet, but ya never know).

suxx

I have 1 table of $1-2 PLO going while at work. Started with $50 last week and up to $350. I started grinding .10/.25 and .25/.50. When I tried to move up to .50/1 I hit the brick wall...it was strange. I said F**K it and moved up to $1-2 and the action seems to be less aggro, and less raising pre-flop.
The mortgage industry is busto right now (sort of trying to rebound) and my boss knows that I grind out poker for a few extra $$ so he's cool.
My ideal situation would be to keep my job and have enough of a BR to take a monthly trip to LV or another poker destination and play in the live high stakes MTT and juicy lower limit cash games.
I'm fortunate enough to have a job I can do anywhere in the world and a boss who is very understanding.