Does any long-time MTT grinder still enjoy it? - Page 6 - MTT Community

skater3598 · 11-20-2009, 04:13 PM

my right hand is near carpal tunnel, even if i can still play online with it, it constantly make me think how tenuous this job is, could be taken at any moment. i sometimes imagine this nightmarish scenario in my future where i'm grinding live 5/10 nlhe.

re: damon

when i read books it's as helpful to my writing as practicing writing is so i advise just keep reading if you're not actively writing

swd805 · 11-20-2009, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skater3598

my right hand is near carpal tunnel and, even if i can still play online with it, it constantly make me think how tenuous this job is, could be taken at any moment. i imagine this nightmarish scenario in my future where i'm grinding live 5/10 nlhe and hating life.

re: damon

when i read books it's as helpful to my writing as practicing writing is so i advise just keep reading if you're not actively writing

if ur getting carpal tunnel ur doin it wrong.

shaniac · 11-20-2009, 04:14 PM

I enjoy online MTT grinding about 10000x more since synchronized breaks. I probably wasn't really much of a grinder before them, really.

OTOH, I do NOT enjoy MTT grinding as much as I did when I was hitting 6-figure scores every now and again (like 05-07).

Who is Icurarook? I rememeber checking his DB once and, yeah, that dude is the illest.

brad2002tj · 11-20-2009, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smokrokflock

that isnt what he is saying. He means that playing a ton with an avg buy in of $100, like icu rook, is the way to go. Brad plays more than this with a lower average buy in.

Yes, it depends on ABI and tourneys you play.

Also,

Why the law, dad?

Cause the law my boy puts us into everything. It's the ultimate backstage pass. It's the new priesthood baby. Did you know there are more students in law school then there are lawyers on the earth -we're comin out, guns blazin'!

s00tedj0kers · 11-20-2009, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jon_midas

My advice to you PGH is to have balance. Everything in life is better in moderation. Ever been with/dated a chick that was a nymphomaniac? Ill tell you if you have sex 5+ times a day, it kinda loses its greatness after time #3 (this was in college for a brief time, no brag). The point im trying to make is that too much of ANYTHING is a bad thing, even good things become bad. I am 26 and am a financial specialist at a bank and get paid 80k/yr to read 2+2 most days. I also have an entertainment business with a friend, and am a musician/artist. I play poker seriously and make an extra 15-25k/yr, but the money is just play money. I feel like when you need the money to live, then poker doesnt provide you with freedom, rather it is a shackle, and something you "must" do, not want to do.

If I were you Id finish up school but find some form of your practice that you can potentially see yourself doing and start heading in that direction. Not that it will definitely be the life you choose, but give yourself more options rather than leave yourself without options. Try to lead a well rounded and healthy life, and you will enjoy everything you do that much more IMO.

Theres a microeconomic principle called the law of diminishing marginal utility that basically says this, and I know it to be true from personal experience. I've never understood how people like shaun can put in the volume they do and not lose sanity.

shaniac · 11-20-2009, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brad2002tj

Yes, it depends on ABI and tourneys you play.

Also,

Why the law, dad?

Cause the law my boy puts us into everything. It's the ultimate backstage pass. It's the new priesthood baby. Did you know there are more students in law school then there are lawyers on the earth -we're comin out, guns blazin'!

<3 this movie.

Killingbird · 11-20-2009, 04:18 PM

Im VERY fortunate to have had a job that I LOVE since I was 24 years old (I'm 37 now). In those years I was only really "not stoked" for about a year of it and even then I loved the job just not where the industry/company was going. I think one of the things that makes me still like playing MTTs everyday is that I don't realy on it for money and I can't wait to wake up everyday and start my "dayjob". I know I'm fortunate in that regard and I count my blessings almost daily.

I guess I'm just echoing some other peoples thoughts that balance is the key...having something other than poker in your life, be it friends, family, job, hobbies, exerciese, etc.

Scottsdale Douche · 11-20-2009, 04:23 PM

ive only been a mtt pro for 5 months (was a cash/sng pro for 3 years prior) but have put in like 2k mtts so far at about an average buy in of 90 $. i find mtt's to be far less of a grind then anything else. the rush i get from them is like nothing else in poker and i guess thats what keeps me excited to grind and something that i struggled with in my sng/cash game career. I dont see how anybody could play mtt's for a living if they didnt enjoy them since i think a huge part of what seperates the good from the great is playing a lot/not tilting/wanting to be there.

And what shaniac said about sync breaks cant be overlooked they really have made things so much easier for people to grind. I dont honestly know how u guys did it before hand and the breaks were a major reason why i decided to join into mtts in the first place (besides the equity)

s00tedj0kers · 11-20-2009, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GREEAR10

I think you hit on a great point. Whenever I'm asked what my job is half 80% of the time I just say online investing instead of poker. Whenever I say poker I just get weird looks because obviously 99.9% of people just aren't gonna get it and will just think im a kid that needs to grow up that has a gambling problem.

While I understand where you're coming from, I don't think you should ever hesitate saying you're a poker player when people ask what you do. Most people think that way because they are unfamiliar with the game, and don't understand the difference between poker and rolling dice. If it's someone whos opinion you value you can even take a minute or two to touch on the differences between poker and other forms of gambling. We need to do our best to remove the negative connotations associated with poker, not sheepishly shy away when granted the opportunity.

jon_midas · 11-20-2009, 04:27 PM

Listen, the economy is turning around. In 2-3 years you wont even remember that the economy was having problems. The job market will come back around as it always does. Its a cycle. So If you are thinking about having a regular 9-5, thats not an excuse.

Theres a difference between a job and a career. A job is something that you do for a paycheck and you will be that forever. A career is something that you do for money, but its something that has a future, something you desire or a position that you desire to achieve. From my experience in the corporate world, people who have jobs are miserable and people who have careers are happy.

The problem is that poker is a job, not a career. Sure you can eventually get a sponsorship, maybe, that will allow you to play more poker. But youre not gonna be promoted to the CFO of the Venetian from grinding 2-4. Youll always play poker, and if you ever want to stop, youll really have very little life skills to translate into any other industry or business.

edit: If I had the bankroll that some of the pros on here do, Id diversify my investments. Poker has obviously proved to be a great investment for you, but failure to diversify can lead to insurmountable losses. Put 100k in some some mutual funds, buy some property, open a business. By doing stuff like that you hedge against the risk that you primary investment (poker) fails long term. Open a laundromat IMO.

stanski · 11-20-2009, 04:28 PM

I play about 3600-4000 MTT SNG/mtt's a month and still get excited for the most part (i'll say 80% of the time). There are days where I go through the "am i even a winning player" phase (no matter how much you make you still doubt yourself), but most days I still find myself motivated to grind. I take days off when I want to, but honestly feel like a bum if i don't get 3500 games in a month, even though 4k should be really easy.

But I guess its a lot different when you are playing games with average game times (not total, total in a 180 is 2 hours obv) of 35-45 minutes. I struggle when I lose for 2-3 weeks, I can't imagine losing for 3 months or whatever would be normal if I played something like TT does. I'm sure its possible for him to have a losing year, and I am just not in a mental position to be able to deal with consistent failure like that at this point in time. It would drive me nuts to feel like I was "failing" by losing money for an entire year.

My job before this was I didn't have one, I completed college, was planning on grad school, then had life issues that made me decide that it wasn't right for me right now (though I still plan on going back at some point). I guess I see poker as something to do until i actually figure out what I want to do with my life, I'm 21 so I still have time i guess. I also was a super heavy gamer before poker, so playing 12-16 hour sessions many days a week was not unusual while I was in college... poker seems like a breeze compared to the hours I used to put into gaming. I mean 6 hours of 25 tabling seems like a joke really, and i really like the consistent money I should theoretically get from playing 35k mtt sng's/mtt's a year (though I haven't been doing it long enough to say I will continue doing this or for how long... but I played video games at the highest levels for 5-6 years and only don't play as much because I reached the level I wanted to be at and there was no money).

Sorry for adding more edits, but I think this is definitely just a personally trait specific to certain people that allows them to grind a ton of tournaments and I certainly wouldn't recommend this to everyone. I think if I played just 15k "normal" mtt's too I would go insane, I guess mtt sngs really shouldn't count as a game, they should count as like 1/4 of a game or something.