I'm going to respond more completely to all the recent posts for my next episode, which will be out a week from tomorrow (already have one recorded for tomorrow's episode), but so I have some context for the things you are recommending, would you mind sharing what you do for a living and how much poker you play if it isn't your occupation? If you are comfortable sharing your general location that would be awesome too.

New Episode: Examples of Faulty Thinking in Life and Poker

Very good last two episodes Cush, for sure enjoyed them

Depression as a pokerplayer (and in life) have been a well known theme for me through many years now, so could totally relate to that kind of stuff. It have been a huge mountain to climb at times, and still is. Alot of pokerplayers i have met struggles with depression as a diagnosis actually. I dont think it is a coincidence- poker probably attracts certain personality types where mental issues like depression/anxiety is more common. Another reason is because i have a personal theory/personal experience that people with a more "special"mental health have more naturl kind of instinct and talents regarding a game like poker than people with a more normal mental state.As an example ive discovered that i often pick up on a certain energy or body language a player gives off when they are nutted, and i correlate patterns with certain behaviour/mannerisms very fast+accurate. And i have noticed the same skills being shown at pokertables from players i know have the same type of mental problems. I actually believe this skills is connected to my personality as a "high sensetive"+ depression diagnosis,because those personality types is a vulnerable kind of high awareness people who can pick up on the smallest on details. Just a few of my own thoughts,ramblings on this topic.

Also you cracked me up with the rant about people thinking they are "freerolling" this and that in the last episode. On point.

Basically its excuses built in the human behaviour when people decides to yolo the 5 K they got back on taxes on the roulette/blackjack table, or buy the top modern 70 inch 4K resolution flat screen tv that costs a fortune. Cause they are "freerolling", lol.

Its a symbol of very common behaviour, making excuses when we have certain needs. If people have the need to gamble, go on a shopping rampage or whatever its alot easier to justify that type of behaviour for themself (and their surroundings) if they have a proper excuse lined up, like for example getting "free" money back on the taxpayment.

Very enjoyable. Thank you. Your point about current income from an entry level job vs current income from poker vs long-term income is very accurate. The daughter of one of my clients graduated from college but was making more money being a waitress than she would in her college degree career; it took the daughter a while to come to the conclusion that you did. Now 10 years later she is glad that she stuck it out with her career: money's good, benefits are good, vacation time is good and most importantly job satisfaction and the feeling that you get from making a difference in life is more than good.

New Episode: Poker in Wisconsin and Playing on the Side

Hey man, just listened to this and thought it was great, it was actually the first podcast of anyone I have listened to in full. I actually prefer reading threads/blog posts but thought you kept it interesting and enjoyed the entire podcast.

I'd actually have to listen to it again and make notes on things I want to comment on to get everything, but overall agreed with pretty much everything you said and see a lot of similarities between our lives (and a lot of the same thoughts) despite me having left poker and currently working full time instead of playing poker.

You say poker is an easy trap, that is how I see my current job. I know if I left my job I would see poker with similar disdain within a few years as well, the grass is not always greener on the other side, no matter how much we want it to be. By that, I don't mean poker is better or working is better, or anything else is better. Some people find jobs they enjoy, I think most do not. Keep your expenses low and save/invest and eventually you will have the freedom you want no matter how you get there.

I completely agree with your comments about how a full time job plus poker is too much for most people. Once your basic needs are met it can be hard to drive for more, plus I would not be playing anywhere close to 100% if I tried to do it on a normal basis on top of my job. I don't know if I'm lazy or lack passion, that is probably part of it, but having time to enjoy life is important too.

You have already said your expenses are pretty low, which I think is key to having the freedom to do you what you want. Keep your expenses low and save/invest as much as possible. You might not get there as fast as you want, but if you keep your expenses low, keep saving/investing, eventually you will have the financial freedom to do whatever you want.

My only current recommendation would be to focus your poker playing time on the weekends or whenever you feel the games are best. If you are only playing ~20 hours per week it makes sense to get most of those hours in when the games are good. The structure of dedicating a couple days to poker then having the rest of the week to work on other things could be beneficial as well. If I misinterpreted how many hours per week you are playing then disregard this part of the comment. Even though I dislike having a set work schedule, after playing poker for awhile I found that forcing some type of structure on myself was necessary to maintaining a reasonable level of productivity.

First off I don't mean to offend, insult, or otherwise be an ass to you or anyone else itt. There are some real losers in some other threads that I've gotten into it with... so if anyone has read my post history and suspected as much itt then you're mistaken. Just getting that out of the way.

When I said it's no sweat, I was basing it more off my own personal experiences and work ethic. Coming from a military background I can say without a doubt 99% of your problems irt work ethic and motovation are mental issues/ road blocks that literally anyone can overcome. If someone wants to be a lazy pos then that's their choice/deal but saying they aren't capable of working hard is a load of bs. If you structure your time and elimate most of the useless things in your life (and you don't replace them with other useless crap) then there's almost nowhere to go but up. The problem I see today is most young people dont know what real work is and instead fill their lives with bs and then complain about how rough they have it. If you eliminate all the crap filler in your life you'll be amazed at how much "extra" time in the day you have.

Limit games are more showdown bound but the play is so bad, you can play much wider and win many more showdowns with mediocre holdings than what you can playing full ring no limit. Making 45k on the side playing strictly 2/5 cap part time is def a stretch. but again, basing this off my own experiences, good games typically play much bigger than the advertised table stakes. From what you say, it sounds like nl games in Vegas suck... so move or play different games? I don't know what else to say about that.

This has been talked about a lot in other threads but it's really important. Poker is a social game, and from a work standpoint it's a service job. If you don't like socializing then do something else. I can see how exhausting it could be for an introvert/ socially ******ed kid but again, if socializing isn't your thing then do something else. I'm not an extrovert by any means but I have no problems getting strangers to open up and tell me when and where the good games are in the areas I work. It amazes me how kids think they can be a silent, smug ******* at the tables and then complain about bad games.

I think poker can be as hard or as easy as you want it to be. You don't need to be a genius to win at certain games and you don't need to con anyone into thinking you're someone you're not either. A big issue I see (and what you pointed out as well) is that many "pros" are just life losers who are trying to stick a square peg into a round hole. It's not rocket science and nobody should be trying to force poker to work.

I work in IT and have done quite a bit of work/travel throughout the southwest and west coast. If you enjoy problem solving and independent learning w/ good pay then look no further than IT. I play poker on the side, some months I play a lot and others I don't. Keep it simple. Again, I've had no problems finding great games / invites from strangers by not being socially ******ed/ hostile like so many young wannabe poker pros that I see at the tables.

Good points and reflections by the last two posters regarding the topics covered in the last podcast.

I would just add a few words about the thing about working full time+ playing decent poker hours on the side. I did that ratrace for like 1,5 years in the beginning when i started out live.Like i cant remember bringing forward that kind of gear and determination many times in my life. Last time was when i finished off my bachelor degree at university, that also forced me to bring forward every inch of energy i could possible have inside me. Cush is absolutely correct in my opinion about doing full time work+ alot of poker hours on the side for extended period of time is a stretch, and not realistic for many people.

It was doable for me during 1,5 years because my passion for livepoker at the time was so so strong, that i got energy from a basement i didnt even knew i had. Like, i worked monday-friday day schedule, then played 8-10 hour sessions both friday/saturday night, rinse and repeat.

But this is now 4-5 years ago, and i am pretty sure i woudnt be able to pull off that kind of struggle today-even though my passion for poker is still strong. Not on the same insane strong level though. Its just that doing it craves a special kind of drive/energy that dont come around all the time in my experience.

Double post because of lag, sorry about that.

I hate to be the one to break it to you, but most things in life become boring at one point or another... but they still have to get done.

As with any repetitive activity there are simple tricks that makes it easier to push through all the mundane bs you've seen seen countless times. Ask some of the older successful people in your life and they'll all tell you the importance of being able to cope with stress and pushing through all the boring ****. Everyone copes a little differently but imo being social, friendly, and having a sense of humor is critical... otherwise you'll just go crazy or burnout no matter what the activity is.

Working 70 hour weeks without end sounds like a ****ty life and to be clear that's not what I'm promoting. I'm saying most self made successful people busted their asses off until they got to a spot where they could ease up and coast. As your day job responsibilities and salary increases the less you need to work a second job.

New Episode: Less Poker, More Yoga, Figuring my Sh*t Out

Just wanted to chime in with couple of reflections regarding your last episode.

Getting totally rid of sugar, or at least cut down drastically on the amount you eat is huge for several health related reasons. Not just due to the reasons "everybody" knows like losing weight, better for your steady blood stream that kind of stuff, but also because of mental reasons. Caffeine,alcohol and refined white sugar is three of the worst triggers of anxiety to name one example. Those things in our diet is strongly connected to both depression and anxiety, but anxiety particularly. A very common theme that ive noticed is that amongst people i know, everyone that struggle with anxiety also consumes a high amount of all those 3 trigger products. Its obviously not a coincidence, cause these things is tied together. Most people is addicted+ they dont want to take the uncomfortable workload it indeed is to being able to quit those products.

Also i agree with the thing you told about what Squid said to you about if you had your back against the wall for x amount of reasons: you would be able to live at the tables and grind out 100 K a year. Its just that money alone, for the sake of just having more money to spend doesent cut it as you also probably agree with Like, if youre mother had cancer and needed 100K for needed treatment, that would be such a meaningful purpose that you would have been able to pull it off no doubt. You need to be motivated by something bigger,another goal,something more meaningful,something more interesting as you also put it in the podcast. When i did the ratrace with fulltime job and grinding i had a desire to grind up my biggest ever roll just to experience how it felt like having like $10 000 in cash that i could spend on whatever i wanted. It felt huge when i accomplished that, i could barely believe it. At that point in my life i had always spent all the money i earned in my jobs, and never been a good saver at all. So that goal driven from the inside combined with the huge passion for poker got me going for a long time doing both fulltime job+ pokering on weekends.

Anyway, i do think that when you have done poker for a good while in Vegas like you have done its natural that you kind of burn out looking for new experiences/challenges at the point you are now. Like you have seen it all, and done it all basically within the stakes you are playing. You have played at every casino countless hours,sucking out in big pots, being sucked out in huge pots, experiencing the emotional rollercoaster, building bankrolls, setting records in terms of bankrollsizes and so forth. At some point its understandable that you start to feel empty in some sort of way-so unless you have a huge desire to climb to higher stakes and go for that with everything you have its not hard to understand that you are looking around for other paths.

Just a few cents.

What is your average game like? Maybe I'm not understanding how ****ty Vegas games normally are in terms of atmosphere/ general attitude.

I played a 7 hour session and only checked my phone maybe 5 times while seated at the table. Have you thought about shifting from technical poker and instead focused on the social aspects of the game?

I think the year round Vegas games are super ****ty, too many backpack/hoodie/sunglasses kids around trying to grind out a paycheck. The social aspect of the games has died out, too many people trying to pay their rent via poker.

It’s sad when you have great dealers with good attitudes that sit down and ask out loud how everyones night is/saying hi, and not one person responds!

Just finished listening to this one while driving home. Another solid podcast.

My opinions:
I think you're at a time where you're not happy or satisfied with playing poker. The passion is gone from the sound your voice. So it seems like you want to find something new. Good news is that you're young and you're looking. So many people don't even do that when they are unhappy with their lives. Another good news is that you're not financially tied down i.e, have a wife with kids, so you have some flexibility.

A lot of poker pros over time will have a sense of no purpose in life. They feel that they are doing it for the money. We are all humans and we want some kind of meanings in our lives. And with poker, it's hard to find that meaning longterm.

The problem is that poker pros think that playing poker is about making money...that's the end goal. However, it would be better to think that playing poker is a mean to an end of happy, meaningful life. But what is a meaningful life? What is a happy life? From my experience, a good, meaningful life is one that includes:
1. good relationship(significant other, family, friends). Humans are social creatures...we need interactions.
2. good health - eating well, do some physical activities. This will make your body and mind happy. What good is money if you don't have the health to enjoy it.
3. be friendly - not just at the table but away from the table. If you see someone play a hand bad, just sympathize with them. No reason to label them as fish or donkey. When I was younger, I was an introvert. But as I've gotten older, I've learn how to talk and dealt with people. It's amazing what a unique, genuine compliment does to a person. Follow up on things that you and that person have talked before. He or she will think "hey, he remembers about xyz"
4. be charitable - I want to improve on this. It doesn't have to be money. I'm a budhhist. And I used to go to the temple and help out...cutting tree branches, trimming grass, planting plants. It's not always about +/- money or zero sum game. Doing charitable things has it's own rewards in terms of personal happiness.
5. Emotionally stable - I think cushlash is good with this.
6. Keep your ego in check and be humble - when you learn to accept your limitation as a person, it is when you really grow as a person

There may be some more that's not on my mind at the moment. It's getting late and my mind isn't good as it used to be.

Btw, appreciate the shout out.

Excellent post.Important to keep our head straight and not forget the importatn points you listed.

Great post. But in regards to doing it for the money and not having a sense of purpose, that's true for the majority of jobs. Sure there are some jobs where someone actually is accomplishing a higher purpose but mostly people are just out there working for a paycheck to pay the bills. Most people find genuine purpose more in the things they do outside of whatever their job is with family or charitable acts or friends etc. I think one of the biggest monetary mistakes that poker players make is they end up making a bit more money than they would working another job but they don't save any of it they just spend it. And then when they are sick of poker or can't beat the game anymore they are worse off because they have to start at the bottom somewhere and they don't have any financial stability or leg up by having made more money during that time they were playing professionally.

The Pimp - Very constructive comments that we can all learn something from.

Have you actually had a real job that wasn't entry level and or min wage? Or are you just projecting/ making **** up again?

Are you ever not angry for no reason on here? Yes I've had a real job that wasn't entry level or min wage. Please do explain when I have projected or made things up though lol. Not sure why I'm even responding to you tbh as you never want to have a productive conversation, you just want to spew out the same word vomit in every thread you post in.

New Episode: How Jobs Fit in with a Meaningful Life

Very interesting Podcast. I like that you are thinking about and learning from your life experiences - a depth of introspection that we all should be lucky to develop.

You make positive/good posts when it's strictly related to poker. But whenever you talk about real jobs and compare the two it's obvious (and tilting af)you don't know what the heck you're talking about. From your post history you've been a pro basically right out of college and you're barely 30? You're not in any position to make comparisons or talk about life in a real career.

Entry level jobs generally suck ass no matter what. It's that way because nobody trusts you with anything/ responsibilities and most of the cool stuff goes to people with more experience- that holds true for basically every industry out there. Around the 5 year mark and beyond (if you're good) things get really interesting and satisfying right up until they get you into a management track imo.

What you fail to realize is people with real careers with decent work experience don't have trouble finding employment and the moment they don't like it/ lose interest they move on to something else. Only a moron would think they're boxed in to a very specific job in a very specific field.

It's hard to bother responding to you because your reading comprehension is clearly terrible. Please post some examples of these things you think I'm saying about a standard career vs poker that you think are incorrect. I've worked two other jobs since graduating college neither of which were entry level or min wage but yes I have made the majority of my living through poker since graduating college. I'm actually in a fine position to have a well thought out position of both sides of things as opposed to you who doesn't seem to put much thought into any of the "advice" you try to give people on here.

In regards to the second two paragraphs, this is just further evidence of you not even paying attention to what you read. I've never written anything that contradicts what you wrote in those two paragraphs. In fact your opinions you just expressed in those two paragraphs is one of the rare times you have ever actually made any sense in your posts on here. Which is why almost every time you post your advice somewhere people almost always disagree with it. 90% of the time you post it's nonsensical ramblings about how no one should ever play nlhe anymore and how you think it's not that beatable because you aren't capable of beating it.